The Honoured Guest
by Ziltoid
Summary: What if Naruto's childhood had gone differently? After an incident, Naruto grows up as the guest of the Hyuga clan, though he is more interested in the legacy of his clan, and dreams of becoming Hokage. But there is always a certain fox in his way..
1. The incident

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or any of the characters Kishimoto Masashi created, apart from the few OC's I've added. Some OC's were created based on ideas others gave me. I will credit those people in the chapter those character exist.

**Warning:** This story is rated M, and not without reason. I aim for a more realistic take on the Naruto world, rather than the idealistic views which Kishimoto pursued. So there will be death, there will be suggestive themes, and there will be occasions where foul language is used. Though, in a world of trained killers, it shouldn't be too surprising that people get killed, right?

Thoughts: '_Thinking._'

Speech: "Speaking."

* * *

**Childhood arc **

**The incident**

* * *

Alone again, he wandered through the darkness. He cursed the tears that were still in his eyes, even though he had vowed to never cry due to sorrow or anger again. In his six years, young Naruto had gotten used to the way people mistreated him. He had cried enough, and was sick of it. It didn't change anything about his life. Not that the adults openly abused him, at least not usually, but no matter what he did people always seemed to blame him for something he did not do. For some reason, people always expected him to do the worst kind of things. No matter how hard he tried to please other, those eyes filled with hatred and fear kept staring down at him. He never got treated like the other kids. Never trusted. Never cared for. Never loved. He never once got a chance. And why?

Young Uzumaki Naruto did not know why.

All he knew was that the world was unfair. It frustrated him. But he was too weak to make them pay. Too weak to change a single thing about it. Today had been particularly frustrating. Even though Naruto had made a habit out of avoiding people, a few boys twice his age found him when he walked back to the orphanage. It had resulted in a firm beating. Sure, Naruto had tried to fight back, but he was too small. They were older, stronger, and outnumbered him. His powerlessness was enough reason to be angry. Why did they do such thing? There was no reason for such violence. There never was a reason. Not that they ever needed one.

Kids like them just did beat him up because no one would scold them for it. They could do to him what they wanted. And as long as he did not end up too badly injured, the adults would rather approve of their behavior than scold them for it. In some cases, the adults had even encouraged the other kids. Like on his birthday, the worst day of his year.. After all, who would care what happened to Uzumaki Naruto?

He was just one outcast orphan. A child nobody wanted to see. Only the odd old man, Sarutobi Hiruzen, met him once in a while. And young Naruto could not even bring himself to complete trust him.

Covered with bruises, dirt, and some blood, he had dragged himself back to the orphanage. Not that he liked it there, but it was the only place where he could go. With the lack of a better word, it was the place he called 'home'. Not that the word ever had the same meaning it had for other children. There was no kindness for him there, no warmth or care. In fact, Naruto had only been in this particular orphanage for a few months. And he already hated it more than the previous one. He hated it because 'incidents' like today happened with some frequency.

Being relieved that he had finally reached his 'home', happy that he would not need to sleep on the streets again, he only found the warden shouting at him. Scolding him because he was so dirty. Because he was late. Before she shut the door before him, she remarked that if Naruto was acting like an animal, he should live like one. That he should live outside, like the tray dog he appeared to be.

"Vicious old cow," Naruto mumbled.

True, the previous orphanages did not treat him well, but it usually came down to being ignored. At least, until they managed to find (or create) some petty reason to throw him out. But the warden of this orphanage really seemed to hate him. She enjoyed tormenting him as if he had done something to her. As if it was personal. Perhaps that was why she was the only one to volunteer after the last orphanage had thrown him out. No one else wanted him. They called him wild. Dangerous. Only because he had lashed back at one of the bullies that had tormented him in that place..

Finally succeeding in fighting back the tears, the boy sighed wearily. '_Why do they always have to pick on me_?' he thought. '_What have I ever done to deserve this?_' He felt angry, but ignored the weird sensation that always seemed to follow whenever he became angered. "Perhaps I should just kick them all out of the village when I become Hokage," he mumbled darkly. "Jiisan said people have to respect a Hokage, so when I become Hokage they will stop picking on me."

Lost in thought, Naruto failed to spot the man that was rushing through the dark alley. Nor did the man spot little Naruto, as he was preoccupied with the people of whom he knew that they were chasing him. The very moment the man smiled at the thought that had shaken of his pursuers, he crashed into the boy, losing the bag he was carrying in his fall.

"What the.." As he tried to get up he looked at the little boy who was now glancing at him. "Dammit, get lost you darn mongrel!"

His body hurt from the collision, especially his ribs as he was kicked there earlier that day. But Naruto did not mind this pain. Yet another person to shout at him. Another person who hurt him. When did it ever end? He snapped.

The anger he felt before was nothing compared to the rage that now pushed away every other thought he had. This smothering emotion which flooded his mind. Somewhere in the back of his head Naruto wondered why his whiskers itched so much, or why he senses suddenly improved so much. All those thoughts were drowned in his blood red rage. '_No more. No. More. I've had enough!'_

The man felt the boy's chakra spike. _'Impossible for a mere child, unless…'_ the man realized what the boy must be. Sure, it worried the man for a moment, but Naruto was no match for a fully trained jonin. The man just knocked him out, before more of his chakra would leak out. The boy might be too weak to stop him, but his chakra could give away his position to the man's pursuers. And even though he was confident he could beat just about everyone in one to one combat, he was literally is the center of the enemy's village. Combat would equal suicide right now. Combat would mean a failure of his mission.

* * *

An angry Hyuga Hiashi ran towards the place where the kidnapper was last sighted. No one would kidnap his daughter and heir and get away with it. As he got near, he activated his byakugan once more, and spotted two members of the police force waiting for him, and several others spread out in the area.

"Where is my daughter," he angrily demanded to know from the most senior of the two. Composure be damned, Hiashi had more important things to worry about right now.

"H-Hyuga-sama, we apologize, but the person who kidnapped her slipped away after he.." the man stuttered, before being cut off by a nearby blast.

Hiashi ran off before the agent could finish his sentence. "Incompetent idiots," he growled. If only the kidnapper had not used those explosives to attack the Hyuga compound, more of his clan members could have tracked the kidnapper down, rather than clearing the rubble and search for survivors. If only he had been home, then he could have protected his family.

'_Now is not the time for guilt,'_ Hiashi reprimanded himself as he arrived at the scene of the latest explosion.

In the narrow alley, the blast they had just heard had ripped right through two of the nearby buildings. But there was no one to be seen. Not a trace, even with his byakugan, could be found. "A distraction," the Hyuga growled. "Seems like 'head ninja' is not just an empty title," Hiashi already knew who had taken his daughter. His earlier suspicions must be right. "Damn that treacherous village!"

* * *

Naruto's head hurt. It felt like someone was still using a hammer, or a similar heavy and blunt object, and pounded it into his skull. Aching and disoriented, it took the young Uzumaki a few seconds before his eyes got used to the darkness. Where had he gone?

What he saw was some old room, part of what looked like a derelict building. The building was in an even worse condition than the abandoned shed next to the orphanage. And they had told him that the shed had been abandoned for six years now, an eternity to a young boy like him. But somehow, this building was even worse.

Trying out his body, Naruto regained some feeling in his limbs, and started to look around for a way out of this mess. Last thing he remembered was walking into a strange man, and that this man had attacked him. A kidnapper? It made no sense to him. People would beat him up, yes, but kidnapping had never happened before. Unless.. '_He carried something. Perhaps his target was not me?'_ Naruto looked at his side, and his suspicions were confirmed. Next to him was a girl of his own age, tied up and gagged so tightly that she could not make a single sound. Let alone move a muscle. Her eyes spurred wide open when she noticed that Naruto moved.

He froze for a moment. Looking right into her eyes, Naruto was confused by what he saw. She had eyes which Naruto had never seen before. Even though tears fell down from their corners, Naruto thought that the pure white eyes were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen in his life. So pure, so innocent, yet at the same time they seemed to pierce right into his soul.

Numbed from the kidnapper's hit, Naruto tried to get up. Much to his surprise, he was not even bound. Apparently, the kidnapper had never suspected that Naruto could recover that quickly from the blow.

* * *

The kidnapper stood at the doorway, thinking how he could escape. Catching the heir of the Hyuga clan had been his primary objective, but he smiled at the thought of how his village would reward him when he returned with a jinchuriki as well…

_'Raikage-sama should reward me richly for this.. But first I need to get out of this place. Their security is better than I had anticipated. This closed off temple was a stroke of luck, but I need to figure out how to get across the walls without being noticed first.._'

The kidnapper was a shinobi from Kumogakure. The Shinobigashira, or head ninja, of Kumo, ranked second only to the Raikage himself. Acting as a diplomat, the man was attending the signing of the peace treaty between Kumo and Konoha. Once he saw his chance, the man had grabbed his opportunity at night to execute his real mission.

His masters from the hidden cloud village had preferred capturing the byakugan over an unstable treaty. Though the girl he had captured was far too young to give birth, she had been of the strongest blood within her clan. And of the main bloodline, one untouched by that accursed seal of theirs. The Kumo shinobi knew that a decade of patience was worth the price of obtaining one of the strongest dojutsu that existed. Once she would be of age, they would make sure she produced enough children. Kumo would have access to the byakugan within several generations.

And with the loss of their jinchuriki, Konoha's position would be damaged too much for them to afford a war with Kumo. It would be more likely that the other nations would tear apart Hi no Kuni, in its weakened condition. '_Even that peace-loving old fool of a Hokage would not be able to prevent their downfall,'_ the jonin smirked.

But first he needed to get out of here first. After knocking out the jinchuriki, the man had rushed towards the wall that surrounded Konoha, but security was too tight for him to escape while carrying both of his captives. Their response time was faster than anticipated. But luck was at his side once more, when he saw the sealed off old temple.

Oddly, the jonin had not noticed the temple the day before, when he had been watching for possible escape routes. But across the bridge that spanned over the small lake, there had been the decayed building where he had found shelter. The ruin seemed to be an old temple, and it was conveniently located to the side of the mountain that backed Konoha. The temple was located at a small plateau that had been cut out at the foot of the mountain. From here, it was not even that far towards his left that the man from Kumo could see the gigantic stone face of the former first Hokage.

* * *

'_Now what.. How can I get out of this?'_ Naruto thought, pondering on what he could do best now. He noticed that his kidnapper was looking the other side, so getting away on his own wouldn't be that hard. '_But that girl… should I abandon her? I don't even know who this guy is, or why he took this girl away. Clearly, he is on the run from someone, so he probably is not an ally of Konoha. In that case, maybe I should go with him.. Wherever he's going, it can't be much worse than this place, right? But that would mean that I would abandon this girl to whatever fate is waiting for her in the place this guy is travelling towards. I can't let that happen, can I? Should I really risk my life for someone else? For someone I don't even know? Or should I make a run for it?'_

Naruto looked at the pure, white eyes. She was strange, Naruto noticed. Most children around him seemed to hate him, he could... he could _feel_ their hatred towards him. He could describe the sensation, but he knew it when he was near someone who had strong negative emotions. And in his case, this applied to nearly everyone. '_But this girl.. Why does she feel so innocent? Abandoning someone like her would make me the bad guy. Think, Naruto, what would Jiisan do?'_

Looking at him, with her eyes wide open, it was as if she saw his dilemma. It really seemed as if she looked right in his soul. Naruto shuddered a little when he saw her frightened stare. He knew she saw his dilemma. And a single tear was her answer to his doubts. One tear which answered all of Naruto's questions. Careful not to make a single sound that could notify their currently distracted kidnapper, he dragged the girl away to another room. Naruto found himself lucky that she was gagged, or she likely would have drawn the kidnapper's attention. Not that he could really blame the girl for being panicked. After all, she would probably be some spoiled kid. Because she would have to belong to some rich clan if someone wanted to kidnap her like this.

After he had dragged her to the other room, he started looking for a way to barricade the room. Or to escape. Naruto did not know what kind of knots the kidnapper had used, but he could not untie the girl. And the debris in this room was useless. Nothing was sharp enough to cut the ropes.

"Stay quiet," he whispered in the girl's ears. "Don't move. I'll look around."

The white-eyed girl paled even further, and nodded. Though, Naruto could see she did not like it that he left her there. But he couldn't drag her around either..

Naruto was lucky that the wind caused the old wooden building to make enough sounds to mask his own slip-ups. Though he had practiced his silent movement for most of his short life, as he always tried to avoid drawing anyone's attention, Naruto could not avoid a few accidental creaking sounds.

Sadly, the building was rather small, with a few small rooms and one large room in the back. That larger room was strange… not in the first place because of the strange sensation Naruto felt when he set foot in the room.

He looked around and felt confused by what he saw. "Masks?" Naruto mumbled under his breath. On the wall at the back of the room there was a small platform, and on the wall, below the decaying curtains that were hanging above, Naruto saw the strangest masks he had ever seen. '_Those masks feel… weird. Why were they abandoned in this run down hovel?'_

Naruto focused on one particular mask that drew his attention. All the masks were like the faces of demons, some broken, but most whole. Most demonic faces looked either angry, vile, or as if they were suffering from terrible pains. The one mask which drew Naruto's attention depicted a horned demon who smiled. Not an innocent smile, but rather a mischievous smile. As if it was taunting all it could see.

Though he did not know why, Naruto grabbed the mask from its standard on the wall. The mask was not made out of metal or wood. It felt remarkably light. '_Bone?'_ Naruto thought. He had seen dog carrying those things, and this felt very similar. '_What is this place? And on the back of this thing… writing?'_ Naruto saw some strange drawing on the inside of the mask. It almost resembled some kind of seal, like the ones he had seen in the old man's office. Only, the weird thing was the spiral in the center of the drawing. It was the same symbol as Naruto could see on the top of the wall, on the place where the old mothy curtains were attached to the wall. '_What is the meaning of that spiral-like symbol?'_

* * *

The head ninja had seen enough. Though the wooden construction looked unstable, the stairway was the only pathway to the top of the mountain he could see. It was worth the gamble. The Konoha shinobi would be searching in different directions, so the chances of getting away would be highest if he fled across the mountains. Going back through the village would be a no-go.

"I should strap that girl to my back, she is my primary mission.." the man mumbled to himself. He knew he had an impressive enough physique to carry two children, without being slowed down too much. The jinchuriki brat could just be carried along in the bag he had used for the girl earlier. If he somehow got into trouble, he could always drop the brat from the mountain. He had heard that, upon death, the creatures sealed inside a jinchuriki would break free. And a rampaging demon would form the perfect distraction in case of trouble.

"What the.." the man cursed after walking back into the forsaken building. The children were gone. He punched the wall near him. "Of course he would heal quickly, he has a damn demon inside him! Stupid! I should have tied that accursed kid when I had the chance!"

* * *

With the mask of the mischievous demon in his hands, Naruto was sneaking back to the room where he had left the white-eyed girl. Then he heard shouting. "Damn, he found out," the child muttered softly. "What should I do now…" Naruto had not found a single thing that he could use to untie the girl, other than a few splinters of the wooden building itself, so he wanted to return to her and try to look if he could find some other way out of their predicament, but it was already too late. Though, perhaps.. If the man started to search in the building, Naruto could grab the girl and drag her out through the now unguarded front door?

'_It is the only way out of this building, so if I move quick enough, it should be possible!'_

Naruto remained careful, not wanting to be spotted by the man, and hurried to the room where he had left the girl who had shared his fate. But, again, Naruto was too late. The man had already found the girl, and looked quite stressed.

"Of course.. That brat would leave her behind while he looked for a way out," Naruto heard the man talk to himself. "Stupid," the man cursed. "And now he probably slipped away.. Damned monsters. They're all the same."

'_Shit! He found her. I suppose I could hide myself, and let them go…'_ Naruto shook his head. He knew the man was bad news, Naruto never knew why he could do it, but he always felt if people wanted to mistreat him. That was how he managed to escape the worst people. And this man had definitely no good intentions. This man felt worse than usual. And whether it was aimed at him or the girl, Naruto could not say.

But Naruto knew could not abandon the girl. The sight of those white eyes looking at him, filled with fear, but also with a glimmer of hope, haunted him. She trusted him, he was the only hope she had. Naruto looked down to the mask. '_Perhaps I can scare him? And follow up with a hit.. If I hit him between the legs, I might buy enough time to grab the girl and get away.'_

Naruto looked around, and between the debris he found a chunk of wood large enough for him to use as a club. Nervously, Naruto waited till the adult was turned away from him. For some reason, the man was busy with the girl's ropes.

"Don't be foolish, brat," the man said, hearing someone enter the room. Naruto froze as the man stood up and turned towards him. "What the.." The head ninja had heard the kid. He was sure of that. But he saw nothing. "What kind of joke is this? Dammit, I hate these demonic freaks!"

Not that Naruto understood anything of what was going on. He felt his heart thumping, for a moment he had lost all hope. But the man looked straight at him, but did not seem to be able to see him. The mask suddenly felt heavy though, as if it drained Naruto from his energy. Without further hesitation, Naruto jumped forward, stabbing his improvised wooden weapon into the man's stomach.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen realized his age began to slow him down. In the middle of the night, an anbu shinobi had informed him about the attack on the Hyuga compound, as well as the chase that was currently going on.

"Hokage-sama," a boar-masked anbu bowed as Hiruzen reached Konoha's outer wall.

"Report," Hiruzen ordered.

"There are no signs that anyone has passed the walls," the anbu said quickly. "Someone has attacked the Hyuga estate during the night, and kidnapped the heir of the clan. Hyuga Hiashi has given chase, but most of the Hyuga are occupied with the danger done because of the explosion."

"Do we know who is behind it?"

"No, Hokage-sama."

Another anbu jumped down. The grey-haired shinobi panted as if he had been running at full speed. "Hokage-sama… The seal on the Uzumaki shrine was reported to be breached."

Hiruzen blinked for a moment. "That is not too far away from the place where the kidnapper was last seen. You people continue the search, I will go to the temple myself," he ordered. "Move out."

* * *

Kumogakure's head ninja was furious. He heard someone move around, but could not see a soul. And then someone stabbed him. Invisibility? He had lost patience. A man of his stature did not take it well when a mere child was playing trick on him. No, he was far too proud for that. '_Did the brat get some weird power from the demon he carries?_' Whatever was there, he would kill it. "No more playing around. Visible or not, you'll die! Raiton: Mahi no Hado."

Naruto did not understand what the man had done, but some kind of shock wave suddenly hit him. Every hair on his body stood out, and his mouth suddenly was as dry as if he had not had anything to drink in days. The demonic mask broke into several pieces when Naruto fell backwards, with his limbs moving uncontrollably. But there was no pain. Only a burning sensation, as if something in his stomach had caught fire, and the fire spread through his body.

Grabbing two of the largest pieces of the now broken mask, Naruto tried to get up again, but his body failed him. The last things Naruto saw before losing consciousness were the kidnapper move towards him, and then seeing same man falling to the ground after something, or someone, else burst into the room.

Then all vanished in the darkness.

* * *

**Author's notes: **

Welcome everyone! This is the first fanfiction I have ever written, so I will warn you in advance that there is something called a learning curve: the quality will improve the further the story progresses. But I do aim to edit these earlier chapter, raising the quality to current standards!

As the summary implies: this is a story focusing on Naruto and Hinata. I prefer a slow development between them, rather than giving you the whole deus ex machina approach in the first chapter. After all, this story starts at the very beginning, with them as children. That doesn't imply that this story will be 'innocent'. Also, there is a small deviation in comparison to canon, as the kidnap event happened a few years earlier in the manga. But for the sake of the story, I took the liberty to move it a few years. It wouldn't make much sense to have a three year old Naruto being able to stall the kidnapper, would it?

As I said at the start, this story isn't going to focus on the childish idealism which the original story opted for. So 'my' Naruto will be darker than the cheerful and naive boy from the manga, which will fit as his childhood is different in this story, and he will not find the need to wear a 'mask' like he did in canon. For instance, 'my' Naruto will not call the murderer of his parents 'the coolest guy'. This is in part caused due to our friend neighbourhood fox, the Kyuubi, who will cause more problems as the story unfolds. Naruto will have an interest in his clan's legacy, and as such fuinjutsu will be his main weapon. So, even though I am roughly following original storyline early on, the story will deviate more and more as time progresses. Then again, if I all I wanted was a repeat of the manga, I would read the manga rather than visit a website filled with fanfiction...

Anyway, I hope you will give my story a chance. And if you do, please take the time to leave reviews. Every writer can use constructive criticism and/or encouragement.

Enjoy,

-Ziltoid-

Raiton: Mahi no hado = Lightning release: Wave of paralysis

**Edited: **19/11/15


	2. The honoured guest

**Childhood arc**

**The Honoured Guest**

* * *

Hyuga Hiashi rushed to the Hokage's office. A silver haired anbu with a dog-mask had informed him that the Hokage summoned him, stating that it was a matter of the utmost urgency. Not that he really wanted to, though. In fact, he was outright annoyed at the moment. He wanted to inspect the damage done to his clan, he wanted to see how his daughter was doing. The dog-masked anbu had ensured him she was doing fine, but he wanted to see that with his own two eyes. But he could not disobey direct orders from his Hokage, clan head or not.

"Hokage-sama," he bowed slightly. Only barely enough to show the proper respect which the elder Sarutobi deserved.

"Hiashi," Hiruzen nodded, ignoring the man's restlessness. "I am sure Kakashi told you already, but both children are at the hospital, where they will first be checked for injuries. I think they will both be fine, even though a little startled from everything that happened to them today."

"Both?" Hiashi frowned. Though, he quickly discarded that bit of news. "What happened to Hinata?"

"Apparently, the ambassador from Kumo was more interested in capturing a jinchuriki and you daughter, than he was in the peace treaty we just signed," Hiruzen sighed. "Fortunately, he triggered a seal upon hiding in a building. I found the three there, and I was just in time, or so it seemed."

"How is my daughter?"

"As said, Hinata is fine. And from what I could see, it was because Naruto managed to slow the kidnapper down. Else, the man would have been on his way to Kumogakure before I had arrived at the scene."

"Uzumaki Naruto?" Hiashi asked. "Ah, of course, _that_ child.." Only now did he realize what the Hokage said. With all the adrenaline running through his veins, Hiashi was still rather distracted. It was one thing to keep your calm during battle, but when it was an attack to you family and clan..

"Hiashi," Hiruzen bowed forward over his desk. "We both know how much influence your clan has, but I must ask you not to take any measures after this incident. We have yet to ascertain whether or not the ambassador was acting independently, or if he was executing a mission on behalf of Kumogakure. But whatever happened, I would prefer avoiding war," Hiruzen put up his hand when Hiashi stirred at his words. "While the incident is disgusting me, I am not planning to let this escalate into something much worse. I do not think that this grave insult excuses the sacrifice of countless lives."

"The Hyuga have no interest in war either, but we will defend when we are attacked," Hiashi said. "But if you will excuse me, I will visit my daughter first, before I make any decisions."

"Very well, but do not delay too long. There are parties within the village who are already scheming for an immediate retaliation again Kumogakure. I cannot afford to wait much longer."

* * *

Pensive after his meeting with the village's leader, Hiashi barely paid attention when he strode through the hospital, towards the room which the receptionist had pointed him at.

"O!" he heard his daughter squeak when he entered the room.

"Hinata," Hiashi smiled. Though it was technically not proper behavior, he could understand the child's tears. She did go through quite an ordeal. "Are you all right, Hinata?"

The girl nodded, and quickly tried to wipe away her tears, knowing her father disapproved of such lack of composure. Not that she had much success, as new tears appeared just as fast. "Hokage-sama saved us. But.. But.."

"Naruto-kun is fine," a female voice spoke from behind Hiashi. Not that he was very surprised, as his wife at times seemed to be aware of everything. Hiashi knew very well that if he was to be regarded as the best juken practitioner of the clan, Hyuga Hitomi would be the one with the best eyesight.

"Hitomi.."

"Hiashi," the woman smiled. "Hinata is uninjured, despite the kidnapper's crude methods."

"Okaa-san, can I.." Hinata looked up to her mother. "C-Can I see him? Is he awake?"

"He is still asleep," she said gently. Hinata's face turned to the down, her disappointment obvious to her parents. "But the clan owes Naruto-kun, if he had not stalled the kidnapper, at the risk of his life, the man would have been on his way back to Kumogakure before Hokage-sama could have stopped him," Hitomi added.

"Can we help him?" Hinata begged.

Hiashi looked at his wife, who was busy correcting a deviant strand of her daughter's dark blue hair. His wife took a strange pride in that their eldest daughter had the same color of hair as she had.

"We will. And should," Hitomi assure her daughter, looking up at her husband's frown. "From what Hinata just told me, Naruto-kun could have chosen to stay out of it. He could have run for his own life and abandon our daughter, but he did not. His wounds are not severe, but his tenketsu are strained. We could offer him a place where he could recover in peace, while we find a proper way to repay him for his role in today's events."

"Naruto can stay with us?" Hinata said hopefully.

Hiashi nodded. "That would be… proper. For now. I will convey this to the doctor, and ask Hokage-sama for formal approval."

He emphasized on the last word, making clear to his wife that the case of Uzumaki Naruto was a special one. Not that he needed to tell her. Hitomi often paid more attention to affairs outside of the clan that he did. She knew very well who and what Uzumaki Naruto was.

"Excellent. I will arrange that my cousin Haruki looks after Naruto. If I recall correctly, the cottage next to his recently became vacant, I suppose it would be a suitable place for Naruto to remain. I can imagine that some distance from main building would be better for the child. And it would no doubt be preferred by many within our clan. Besides, if we would accommodate him inside the estate itself, it would create the wrong impression that we took him in."

She smiled at her daughter. "Shall we visit Naruto together, after he wakes up?" Any thought of refusing his wife's plans vanished when Hiashi saw his daughter's smile. Even though he thought she showed to much emotional weakness, she was still his daughter, and he loved her with his entire heart. As much as the responsibilities to his clan weighed on him, he could still allow himself a humane side underneath his cold Hyuga façade.

* * *

"Hokage-sama"

"Hiashi..." the Hokage answered with a tired voice. Meeting the elders of the council had be a very bothersome half hour.

"Any developments regarding the kidnapper? Did Kumogakure respond?"

The Hokage sighed. "Ibiki has worked quickly. Interrogation revealed that the ambassador was sent here with a mission to kidnap a suitable female Hyuga, so that Kumo could gain _access_ to the byakugan."

Hiruzen saw Hiashi's eyes narrow, as he considered the implication of what was said. No father would like to hear his daughter was targeted for the children she could bear. It wasn't like Hiruzen wasn't angered by this, but he lived too long to know that he couldn't make decisions based on emotions. But he was not in control of the Hyuga clan. And if the Hyuga would demand retribution, with the substantial influence they had within the village this demand could lead to war. '_It all boils down to what Hiashi decided..'_

"Fortunately, things did not turn out that way," Hiruzen added with his weary voice. "Now that the peace treaty is formalized, and we have quickly spread that piece of news across the borders, Kumo knows that their position is unfavorable. They cannot make any demands without revealing that they breached the treaty themselves first. Besides, we know that Kumo ordered their ambassador to execute this kidnap, and have proof of this. Kumo will not be able to try something like this again, not without damaging the diplomatic position it has with other nations as well. If this got out, no one would trust them again. I believe Kumogakure would choose an uneasy peace over an international scandal which could potentially lead to a war between them and a coalition of hidden villages."

Hiashi nodded. Though alliances and treaties were not respected as much as many would like, there was a consensus between the nations that those who broke a treaty within the same year should be considered honourless and could therefore be attacked by any nation without consequences to international relations. Even though the military prowess of Kumagakure was great, perhaps even being the strongest nation in the world, it would not withstand a combined attack from the other nations.

"Hokage-sama, the Hyuga will not officially blame Kumo, neither for the attempt to kidnap my daughter, nor the damage they have caused at our estate. We were fortunate that there were no grave injuries, and that Hinata returned safely." Hiashi took a short breath before he made his request, knowing the sensitivity of the subject for Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was rumored to have an attachment to the boy.

And even beyond that attachment, the village's jinchuriki was deemed to be a creature outside of the control of a single clan. Else, the Sarutobi would have adopted him the day he was orphaned. But the potential power which a jinchuriki represented was a thing which every clan coveted. And as such, would not allow another clan to have. But if the voices of the most powerful clan, the Hyuga, and the most powerful person, the Hokage, aligned… even if it was done in order to repay a debt, Hiashi was shrewd enough to ensure that his clan would benefit.

"Hokage-dono, though I will not blame anyone, I would like to acknowledge the debt our clan owes."

"Your debt?" Sarutobi answered wonderingly.

"Without Uzumaki Naruto, my daughter and heir would be on her way to Kumo. I would like to repay him, at least by sheltering him for a while."

Hiruzen's eyes went wide with surprise at the request, and dropped back into his chair. For a few moments he stayed silent, considering the possibilities. "…Hiashi, you know very well that this child cannot be attached to any clan."

"Yet his presence would my remove my desire for retaliation."

Sarutobi Hiruzen closed his eyes, and sighed. He then stood up, and made sure the door was closed and no one could listen in, before continuing. "So either the Hyuga get their hands on Naruto-kun, or you will vouch for war? Hiashi, you are well aware that this matter transcends simple local politics. You cannot reduce this situation to a mere gamble. If this situation goes south, it could result in a World War."

"I am well aware, and yet it does not change my request. But do not be mistaken: I do not wish the boy to become property of my clan. No, he would be my clan's guest of honour. Besides, we already took him in, and provide the medical care he needs for his recovery. Even if the hospital released him, it was obvious to us that his tenketsu were badly damaged due to the attacks he sustained. We could, with good conscience, let him walk out of the hospital without proper care."

"I assume you know what caused the damage to his teketsu?"

"The damage does not seem a result from an outside attack. And I suspect that a child of his age is not capable of generating enough chakra to withstand any jutsu cast by a jonin. Still, the child did survive an attack from one of Kumogakure's strongest shinobi. Knowing what resides with the seal the boy carries, I suspect that 'it' is both the cause that Naruto survived, and why he sustained a lot of damage."

"I believe the Kyuubi forced some of its chakra into Naruto's chakra system," Hiruzen admitted. He looked at the face of the Hyuga, on whom the discomfort was obvious. "You should know that Minato made the seal, and that it is easily strong enough to contain the Kyuubi for at least another ten years. There is no danger from Naruto."

Hiashi inhaled as he considered the implication of what was said. "Only ten years?"

"Perhaps longer, perhaps shorter," Sarutobi admitted with a sad voice. "It depends on the strength of the child himself. Both his physical and mental strength. And seeing how most people in Konoha are treating the boy, in spite of the laws I put in place in order to protect him, I think Naruto has faced a lot of trouble. Not that they openly act against him, they fear me too much to do such things, but still.. You know as well as I do that there are many forms of pain. I suspect that the anger and hate which Naruto feels makes it easier for the Kyuubi to force some of its chakra into the boy. If that process continues long enough, it could affect Naruto's mental stability and that might give the Kyuubi a chance to break the seal."

The Hokage started pacing through his own office, his sadness now somewhat replaced by an undercurrent of anger. "The kidnapper stated that he accidentally ran into Naruto… I contacted the orphanage where Naruto lives and they claimed Naruto did not return on the night of the incident."

"Claimed? So you doubt their intentions?"

"The warden clearly lied. But unless I fully investigate the situation, I cannot be sure. I don't want to draw to much attention to Naruto, his position as a jinchuriki already draws enough unwanted attention. I had to transfer Naruto a few times already because I suspected that the orphanage did not treat him well.. But you know why my clan could not take him in. And if I show too much concern for the boy, I even create the risk that _my_ enemies will turn to him in order to get to me.. And the other clan's would not allow me to adopt him either, as the jinchuriki should not be bound to a single clan according to the will of the council, last time it was put to a vote."

"I am aware of that, but this day changed my opinion of the boy."

"And you want my support in this, no doubt?"

"When we treated Naruto, he was already covered with bruises and had two of his ribs cracked. The hospital did not seem to care, but our doctor suspected that those injuries were older," Hiashi changed the subject. "Months, or perhaps days.. The rate at which he seems to recover makes it hard to be sure. But it is sure that the boy was injured before today's events."

"I think I will ask Ibiki to pay the orphanage a visit as well.." Hiruzen said darkly.

"The Hyuga owe a debt to Uzumaki Naruto, he saved my daughter, and my clan's heir, from a fate worse than death. This is why I request to give him shelter for a longer period of time. At the very least, my clan owes him that. And yes, this will create some resistance, but there are plenty of people whom owe me a favor. But this will require your help, Hokage-sama, to make sure that this will pass through the council."

"I admit I had not expected such an offer," he said softly. "Personally, I want what is best for Naruto-kun, disregarding the whole political situation. And I think your clan could at least see the difference between Naruto and his burden."

"I understand. In fact, my wife was adamant in this case, because she knew the previous Uzumaki who lived in Konoha very well." Hiashi looked thoughtfully and remarked, "considering his hair, his looks, his behavior, his name, and the fact that Kushina was pregnant at the time, it is easy to deduce who the father-"

"Naruto's lineage is an S-class secret," Hiruzen warned. "Exposing this secret is punishable by death, regardless of rank. Even the council is not aware, and I would prefer it to keep it that way. And I expect that those who knew Kushina that well, also know the reasons for keeping it a secret." Hiruzen paused for few seconds. "Naruto has been the victim of several 'accidents' before. I don't want to attract any more attention to him, especially from abroad. Iwa would go to war for this. And I highly doubt the people from Konoha will treat him very different if they knew the truth. I am afraid that many only see the monster, and not the boy."

"Do you intend to tell Naruto?"

"Do you expect him to understand? No, I will tell him when he is ready. I would prefer not to burden him with the issues of his lineage and his prisoner. You will notice he hardly trusts anyone, always expecting the worst of others. I tried to talk to him at times, just like how Jiraiya 'accidentally' met him a few times. But even to us, he hardly shows any trust."

"I cannot blame him," Hiashi sighed.

Hiruzen sighed. "Very well, I will agree with your proposal. But I will compensate for the cost of his stay. Even if the Hyuga clan allows Uzumaki Naruto to live on their estate, funding him through my office would at least create the impression that he is not dependent on your clan. But, would you also be willing to provide him the education he needs? I would like him to become a shinobi, just like his parents. And it would be best for him, both as a person and as a jinchuriki, to learn as much as he could even before he entered the academy. I do not think the civilian population will ever understand him," Hiruzen looked up, straight into Hiashi's eyes. "Even the majority of the shinobi would never come close to understanding his burden."

"I accept, Naruto will be taught and prepared for when he will enter the academy. He will remain on the estate as our honoured guest and get a small cottage near the main building on the compound."

"Thank you, Hiashi," Hiruzen said, when the Hyuga nodded and left the office.

Once alone, Hiruzen slumped down in his chair. Out of the hidden compartment in his desk, he took a bottle of his best sake. Nothing worked better than a few sips of the 'Marked Man' to cure him from his tensions. And this day surely excused a fair amount of sips, even from this expensive bottle of sake.

* * *

He felt heavy. And very, very tired. As if he had not slept for days. A sensation which he, sadly, knew all too well. Hostile environments tend to make people rather paranoid, and paranoia is not the best recipe for a good night's rest. But for some strange reason, Uzumaki Naruto found himself lying in a very comfortable bed. The most comfortable one he'd ever experienced. And there were all kinds of strange objects around the bed, just like when he was at the hospital last year, the day after his birthday. '_Odd,'_ Naruto thought, '_how the hell did I get here? And this isn't the hospital.. Is this prison? The warden said they would put me in that place if I didn't behave._'

Naruto grabbed the white clothes which were lying next to the bed on a dresser. They were not his own, but he did not see his own clothes so this just had to do. He would rather steal, than get stuck in prison because he got caught for nudism.

'_Wait, how did I get here? I was in that old run-down place, that big mean guy did something, and then I wake up here? But where is 'here'?_'

Before Naruto got the chance to figure out what had happened and where he was, the door opened and a tall man with white eyes appeared. He appeared to be in his thirties, but it was a bit difficult to estimate, due to the exhausted look on the man's face.

"Good morning, Naruto-san," the man said. Oddly formal and polite, unlike everyone else Naruto had met before. Well, Jiisan and that strange toad man were nice to him. But they were old and strange, so Naruto suspected they just were different from normal adults. And this man had regular brown hair, not white or silver. So he could not be that _old_. But he didn't feel 'wrong' either. Should he run? Or try to act friendly? Naruto was at an impasse at how to deal with this newcomer.

The white eyes scared him, though. "Ah.. H-Hello?" he forced the words out of his throat.

"I see you already got out of bed, how are you feeling this morning?" the man remained patient and polite. No shouting, no scolding… it actually unnerved Naruto more than the usual treatment he received.

"Feel? Me? Umm.. Good I think.. Wait, what? What is this place? Where am I? Who are you? Is this a weird hospital? Am I in prison? I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Calm down Naruto-san," the man chuckled, seeing the child's confusion. "My name is Hyuga Haruki, and you are at the Hyuga estate. When we found you, you were wounded. You were recently attacked, and we also found that some of your ribs were broken and that you had quite the number of bruises. I am here because I was asked to check up on your condition. Did that answer all your questions?" the tall man answered with a small smile.

"What's a Hyuga?" Naruto flapped out, even though he remained on guard, as if he expected the older man to lash out to him at any moment. The old man was too friendly, so something fishy was going on. Aside from the Hokage and the toad man, no one had ever been this friendly to him without some kind of ulterior motive. And Naruto half expected the Hokage and toad man to have some kind of hidden agenda as well.

"Hiashi-sama will explain that to you when I am ready." The man gently pulled Naruto to the bed, so that he could sit down. "Please remain still for a moment," he said, and then he just looked at Naruto with his white eyes. And somehow the veins around his eyes bulged out, freaking out Naruto. Though Naruto wanted to get away as quickly as possible, those freaky eyes urged him to remain immovable.

* * *

Still confused by all those pupil-less eyes, and whatever it was that happened to him, Naruto was walking alongside the man who had introduced himself as Haruki. Aside from the hospital, Naruto had never been in such a clean building. And this one was more luxurious than anything he had ever seen. Haruki had said something about a speaking hashi, which he knew to be a fancy word for chopsticks. His preference for ramen had taught him some good things as well. He had heard the stories at the orphanages, even though they were not meant for his ears, about the talking chopstick. Though he thought it would be a bit silly, Naruto guessed that rich people like this could also own magical shinobi stuff, so speaking hashi would not be a big deal to them. Haruki turned left, and opened a door to a larger hall.

"Greetings, Naruto," another white eyed man said when Naruto entered.

"Umm, hello?" Naruto asked, still utterly confused. This was a plain man, and not a chopstick. It actually disappointed Naruto a bit. The confusion did not escape the white eyed man's attention, but he seemed to be expecting it.

"My name is Hyuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuga clan. I was wondering if you wanted to eat something with me." Naruto nodded, though his stomach agreed even more, and so loudly that Naruto had to blush and a hastily apologize. Naruto's curious eyes were cast down immediately, as if expecting Hiashi would try to hit him. Hiashi swallowed his annoyance. _'Is this how people raised that child?_'

Haruki left the room and quickly returned with a platter with some food. Then excused, and left the room.

Though initially disappointed that there were no talking chopsticks, Naruto soon forgot about that when he saw all the food. Only once in his life he had eaten such nice food, and that was when the old toad man had taken him to something the man had called a restaurant. But these were places that were usually forbidden for him to enter, just like most of the shops in Konoha.

"This must be the best orphanage ever!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed.

"Well, this is no orphanage, Naruto-kun," a gentle feminine voice spoke up. The woman, with long dark-blue hair, walked into the room and took the seat next to Hiashi. "Greetings, my name is Hyuga Hitomi" the woman introduced herself, "and I thank you for saving our daughter."

"…Daughter?"

"Four days ago, you aided in the rescue of our daughter," Hiashi answered.

"Four days?" Naruto pondered, and then shrugged as he continued eating. After two bites, however, he realized what was said. "I stopped that evil man?!"

"Evil?" Hitomi asked somewhat confused.

Naruto tilted his head somewhat, as if he was considering telling them the truth or not. "Yeah, he felt evil," he decided. "I do not know how to call it otherwise, it's not sight or smell, but I definitely felt that he was wrong.."

'_If he can sense malice, the Kyuubi's influence might stronger than I anticipated,'_ Hiashi thought. Aside from everything he had to manage for the repairs to the compound, he had also taken the time to research several of the records on jinchuriki and their abilities. And Mito, the wife of the Shodai Hokage, had this peculiar sensory ability. "You saved our daughter, who is the heir of our clan. As such, we would gladly thank you, and offer you to stay at our estate."

Naruto looked like his brain just exploded, "I don't need to go back to the orphanage? Is this a joke?" he asked cautiously, prepared to have his hopes shattered.

"No, Naruto-kun, it isn't a joke," Hitomi smiled gently. "If you so wish, you can live at the small cottage next to that of Haruki-san."

"If I wish…" Naruto frowned, as if his mind could not process their words. "Seriously? It's not a joke? You're not… Eh, ah.. Yes! I.. I m-mean, thank you," he quickly stood up and bowed deeply. Both out of gratitude and in order to hide the furious blush on his face.

* * *

As such, Naruto moved from an orphanage into a small cottage near the main building on the Hyuga compound. Even after a few days, Naruto still could not comprehend why they let him stay there, but even Jiisan seemed to be happy about it when he visited. The Hokage's visit also made it clear to Naruto that this wasn't a joke, a dream, or a hallucination. Not that the white eyed people seemed to like jokes, though. They all seemed oddly serious, quiet and reserved.

Well, Haruki seemed to be a little different. At least he smiled, from time to time. Though it was scary how much the older man knew. Not as scary as when he changed his eyes though. Pretty soon, Naruto spend nearly every day with Hiruki, as the latter took charge over his education.

The two other exceptions to the 'regular Hyuga' were lady Hitomi and her daughter, Hinata. Naruto could not understand the latter. Not at all. The girl was of his age, but did not chase him away like most of the children he knew. Did not call him names. Did not try to hit him. She didn't do that. In fact, she didn't do anything at all. Instead of the mistreatment Naruto expected from those of his own age group, Hinata blushed every time he saw her, and seemed to be unable to speak. Though he thought she had said something which resembled "thank you," the first time they had met after Naruto had woken up in this peculiar clan.

Naruto really did not know how to act around her. She was of high birth, so Haruki urged him to watch his behavior, something which Naruto had to struggle with anyway. All the 'san', and 'sama' stuff was really confusing to the little boy at first, but in the end he managed. But Hinata… her eyes seemed to have something that no other person Naruto had ever met before had. Nearly all the Hyuga had that cold and calculating look in their white eyes, but Hinata was different. Beyond that, it was strange for Naruto to meet someone who was 'invisible' to his other sense. It gave Naruto an oddly naked and blind feeling. Not that Naruto knew how to properly talk with her, no one of his own age had really done that. Even at the orphanages, both because he was often kept away from others and because he was often moved.

Still, there were many more things which Naruto could not comprehend. For one, why there was such a difference in how the white-eyed Hyuga behaved. One group was humble and reasonably friendly, even though distant. The other group, however, barely took the effort to notice him. As if he was too low for them to even want to see.

"Haruki-san, why do so many Hyuga cover their foreheads?" Naruto asked in one of his lessons.

"Hmm.. There is a difference between the main house, and the branch house, Naruto. The main house is the family of the head of our clan, while the families of the Branch house serve the main house."

"So are you of the branch family, Haruki-san?" Naruto asked upon looking at the man's head protector.

"Yes, that it why I am assigned to take care of you, as you are the honoured guest of our clan. And as I retired as a shinobi shortly before you moved in, this became my new task. It's certainly more interesting than gardening," Haruki smiled.

"You were a shinobi?" Naruto asked with his eyes wide open in surprise. "Could you please tell me about that?"

* * *

In his small cottage, living next to his caretaker, Naruto spent three years within the Hyuga clan. Haruki taught him etiquette, cooking, gardening, and generally just everything he needed to know to live a normal life. Hiashi's brother, Hizashi, from time to time, helped Haruki with Naruto's combat training. For some reason beyond Naruto's understanding, Haruki was not capable of exerting his body, even though he could teach the theory and stances. But where he initially was capable of sparring with Naruto, he soon grew too weak to do such strenuous things.

And though Naruto was, officially, a guest to the clan, he happily helped carrying chores in his 'spare time'. Especially gardening was something Naruto found very satisfying to do. And it gave him some chances to interact with other people from the branch family as well. At the very least, it could be said that young Uzumaki Naruto was not bored in his time growing. It probably saved Konoha from quite some pranks which he might have pulled if he had been bored..

Not that Naruto was always well behaved. But pulling pranks on people who seemed to see everything was a bit difficult. Well, the other children he could trick, but Naruto still preferred to stay away from those of his own age, as he had never forgotten the orphanages. In his experience those of his own age were the cruelest to him. Though, to his amusement, Hinata always seemed to be embarrassed when she didn't notice him on time. Haruki always berated him for teasing a main family member though. But Hitomi never seemed to mind. For some reason the wife of the clan head always seemed to tolerate his deviant behavior even when most frowned upon it.

Especially the elders of the clan did not hold him in such high esteem. They, and with them many others, avoided him whenever they could, or ignored him if they had been unable to avoid him. Still, these three years were, by far, the best of his life. He did not even notice that the weight in his stomach had lifted as he grew happier.

But this happiness was not supposed to last.

The day he had to go to the academy came closer. And Naruto was not really looking forward to his first day at the academy. But for the Hyuga, it seemed to be a celebratory event. Hiashi and Hitomi invited him to a party, which was thrown in honour of their daughter Hinata, who would enter the academy at the same day as he would. As Naruto approached the dining room, he frowned at the thought that they would have the same classes. Naruto never really understood the girl. She avoided him just like all those who disliked them, and blushed in shades of deep red as if she was really mad at him. But she never said anything, and always avoided looking him in the face, especially when he directly looked at her. Perhaps he could determine whether she hated him as much as he feared she did.

In his defense, young Naruto had only met the disapproval of other in his life. How was he supposed to expect anything different from others?

Before Naruto reached the doors of the dinner room, though, he smelled something familiar. Well, smelled.. '_What do you call this sense, if even Haruki didn't know what I mean_' Naruto thought. Still, it disturbed him. Usually he only felt such a thing near people who wanted hurt him, so he looked around. '_It does not come from the kitchen, nor the living room. Guest room perhaps?'_ Naruto thought as he walked towards the said room, noticed voices.

"I assure you it'll work, just spread the powder over it," a whispering voice said.

"If you say it will do the trick, than who am I to doubt you," another voice answered sarcastically.

"Do not forget your position.. And the cinnamon rolls are powdered anyway, so no one will notice the difference. Well, next morning they'll know" The first voice answered with a soft laugh. "And perhaps you could try to offer one to that fox brat as well. Who knows if we are lucky enough to take him as well?"

'_Odd,'_ Naruto thought, '_They talk odd and 'feel' odd. That guy almost feels as foul like that one elder with the funny nose..'_ Naruto spurred open his eyes at the realization.

He quickly regained his composure before one of the branch members, tasked with serving dinner by the look of his clothes, left the guest room. "Where is the bathroom?" Naruto asked innocently, but the man just looked coldly, pointed, and moved on. '_Heh, good thing they rely too much on their eyes, and have such bad ears' _Naruto though, smiling a bit as he recounted the times he exploited his much better hearing. '_But now I'll need to go to dinner, and quick. Whatever they put over the powder, with that intent it can't be good. __Probably poison.'_

Again.

* * *

As Naruto closed the doors of the dining room behind him, he had finished planning a way out of this mess. Sure, it was quick and dirty, but Naruto was convinced it would work. "Welcome, Naruto. You're late," Hiashi's said accusingly. It would work, _if_ Hiashi cooperated..

Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his head – a gesture Haruki couldn't get out of him, no matter how hard he had tried – and simply stated "My apologies Hiashi-sama, I got distracted on my way here."

Hizashi muttered "Kakashi" while massaging his forehead, which made Naruto notice it wasn't just the head of the clan, but also his wife and children, along with his brother and cousin who attended the private celebration.

"Well, it doesn't matter today, take your seat Naruto," Hitomi said with a gentle voice. "Appetizers have just been served so you're just in time." Naruto took his seat, next to Neji and opposite to Hanabi.

As the branch member passed him, to put the last plate on the table, the cinnamon rolls which Hitomi and Hinata liked so much. Naruto decided that the timing was right to ask, with his most innocent voice, "May I ask what you put on the cinnamon rolls?"

The branch member only froze for a fraction of a second before he recomposed himself, but Hiashi noticed. And before the man could start to attempt talking his way out of it, Hiashi asked: "Why do you ask such an odd question, Naruto?"

The latter chuckled, as he knew Hiashi was suspicious. And he knew the clan leader well enough to know that he wasn't the type would let go easily once something drew his attention. But, Naruto did not want to lose the momentum, so he just told the truth. "Well, as I walked towards this room, I heard something interesting had to be put on the cinnamon rolls. And since they said that it wouldn't be noticed due to the powder which was already on them, I merely got curious as to what would be different. And why it would be so... interesting."

The branch member paled, and backed away, looking for an escape route, but Hizashi already stood behind him. "What is the meaning of this, Katashi?"

"N-nothing Hizashi-sama, I- I-."

"Quit your stuttering, and answer my question. What did you put on those rolls?"

"N-nothing.. O-only what I had to," Katashi said, before he tried to get away.

It was a futile effort though. With the two best juken practitioners of the Hyuga clan next to him, Hyuga Katashi of the branch family merely took two steps before he was paralyzed. Sadly, that was also the last thing Katashi ever did, as he suddenly twitched and suffered an unspeakable pain as his caged bird seal was invoked.

While Hitomi ensured her daughters and Neji left the room, Hiashi gestured Naruto should stay put. Then, Hiashi's anger was pointed at Hizashi.

"Find out who is responsible. Now," he growled. It had to be someone of the main family, but who would betray him? He needed to know. No one would hurt his wife, nor his child. Even though the performance of the latter was disappointing until now, Hinata was still his daughter. And the idea of someone of his own family trying to hurt them… a cold fury took hold of Hiashi.

"Yes brother," Hizashi bowed and left.

After a branch member confirmed the 'extra powder' to be poison, as already expected, Hiashi turned to Naruto, who had patiently remained in the room after the hand gesture from Hiashi earlier. "Thank you again, Naruto. You saved the lives of both my wife and my daughter."

"If I hadn't been a bit late, I would've missed it. It was merely coincidence, Hiashi-sama. Blind luck."

"Coincidence or not, this is the second time I am in your debt. If there is anything the Hyuga clan can do for you, please ask."

Naruto closed his eyes while thinking if there was something. Then he just shrugged, and said "there isn't anything I would want, though I am curious of one thing: why do some people refer to me as 'fox'? Many people talk about it when they think I cannot hear them. And they seem to mention me with that word. It's either 'fox brat', 'demon child' or just simple 'that' when they refer to me.."

The seemingly simple question caught Hiashi completely off guard. "I am sorry Naruto, but I will have to ask you to wait till tomorrow before I can provide you an answer to that question."

* * *

-Z-

**Edited**: 19/11/15


	3. Academy years

**Childhood arc**

**Academy years**

* * *

Without making much haste, Naruto followed Hinata and her guard Ko to the academy. After the events of the day before Naruto had hardly slept, due to overthinking what happened and what was said. Time after time, the scene replayed in the young boy's mind. How bad was the situation really? Naruto had realized through his years living among them that Hyuga strongly restrained themselves when it came to showing emotions. And as the clan leader, Hiashi especially did not easily show any surprise. The man was, after all, the prime example of what a proper Hyuga was supposed to be. Though, in Naruto's view Hiashi was also the epitome of boredom. How terrible would it be to always keep up that mask of his! The only variation Naruto knew to his regular mask of neutrality was when he displayed his dismissive mask.

In that light, Naruto knew very well that the fact that he stumbled over Naruto's question was not something to be taken lightly. Even at nine, Naruto knew that Hiashi's slip was a matter of great importance. But why? Naruto couldn't fathom what it could be that was so important about him. He often wondered why people hated him, even if he had done nothing wrong. He sometimes wondered if his parents had been criminals, but never found any answers. He did not know a thing about his family, or about his own origins. All he had were a date of birth and a name. And even the latter was a subject of frustration. He carried the clan name Uzumaki, but he could not find much about them. Even in the books from the library at the Hyuga compound, which Haruki provided him, the Uzumaki were only mentioned as being a clan from Uzushiogakure.

The only other hints at his own 'wrongness,' were the occasional mentions of the word 'fox'. But foxes had nothing to do with the Uzumaki. The only fox which Naruto had learned of which was as hated he was, was the demonic creature called the Kyuubi. Naruto could not resist the chill that crept up his spine as he thought about his conclusion.. He had a seal on his stomach, was born in about the same time the demonic fox attacked Konoha, and people called him 'fox'.

Maybe he really was the Kyuubi, but simply did not know.

Perhaps he had lost his memories when the famous Yondaime Hokage had beaten him? Or maybe it had been a result of what the man, whom had been one of Naruto's idols, had to do take away his power. Because it was obvious to Naruto that he was powerless compared to that demon. And then what... If he was right, what would happen to him? Would his powers recover, and return to his demon form once again? And when?

So lost in his pondering, Naruto failed to notice that Hinata had stopped walking. The result… well, Naruto knew that she'd be mad when he bumped into her. Still, he tried to save the situation, and with his quick reflexes he was fast enough to catch her before she would hit the ground. Though this, as usual, only made things worse for the young Hyuga heiress. Whether it was embarrassment or anger, Naruto could never tell. But considering how people usually treated him, he assumed the latter. Still, Hinata was someone with whom Naruto had a hard time understanding. She acted so differently from all the others he knew, that he usually ended up being confused with how she behaved around him.

"My apologies, Hinata-sama," Naruto said. She blushed until even her ears were crimson. '_Great, now she hates me even more.._'

"Oh, well, I guess this is it… pretty small place. I expected the academy to be a lot bigger. Shall we go in, Hinata-sama?" he quickly continued before the frowning Ko would scold him for his indecent behavior. '_No surprise there, that stuck up Ko-teme always seems to think I'm not even worthy to look at. Prick..'_

"Y-yes," Hinata mumbled, looking away from him.

"Then let's see if classes are as boring as Neji-san said they are," Naruto tried to hide his discomfort, and attempted to lighten the mood a little. But considering the shades of crimson which Hinata still displayed, he failed miserably. So he sighed, entered the building, and left the two Hyuga behind.

* * *

"So, how was your first day at the academy, Naruto?" the Hokage asked kindly.

"Well... it was more interesting than I expected. Though, I guess Haruki-san already taught me most of the things I've heard about today. You know, history about the shinobi of Konoha, and so on. That part was pretty boring."

"I can imagine," Hiruzen chuckled, before turning more serious. "I understand you asked a question yesterday," Hiruzen nodded to Hiashi.

"Umm.. Yes, Hokage-sama. I.. I overheard people talking about me and they called me a fox. Well, not that they realized that I could hear them," Naruto added quickly, after seeing Hiruzen's angered expression. "My hearing is just a little better than most, so sometimes I hear things others don't expect me to hear. And-"

"Like the attempted poisoning yesterday?" Hiruzen interrupted. "Hiashi told me about the situation," he gestured at the clan leader standing with them in the office.

"Well, yes. I heard someone talk, and… I knew it wasn't good, so I interfered. But the talk about the fox confuses me." Naruto frowned. He hesitated to speak his mind, but decided that the quickest way to get it over with was just to ask. Even though his traitorous voice faltered.. "J-jiisan.. Am I… Am I the Kyuubi?"

Hiruzen paled, and from the look on his face, it was clear that Hiashi had not expected this direct question either. Hyuga diligence or not, this surely created a few crack in Hiashi's stoic mask.

"No! No you are not the Kyuubi. And don't you ever think you are!" Hiruzen exclaimed. "Oh Naruto…" He sighed and suddenly seemed to be older than Hiashi ever saw him before. "The truth is that you are not the fox, but that you imprison it. That is why my successor, the Yondaime Hokage, placed that seal on you. Despite what many think, even he was unable to kill it, so he had to seal it away. So, you are not it, but you are its prison."

Naruto nodded and listened to the Hokage's explanation. Not that he fully comprehended the situation, but at least he was not a demon himself. At least, he decided to take the old man's word on it that he wasn't. This demon thing also explained the behavior of others towards him, why they radiated such fear and hatred towards him, even when there had never been a reason for it. "Why? Why me?" Naruto eventually forced the words out of his mouth. He felt tired. Exhausted, simply because he had to process this piece of information.

"You were the last Uzumaki. You were the best candidate for it, the only candidate," Hiruzen said softly. "The village was under attack, by something we could not hope to defeat. The Yondaime had to act quickly to avert the village's total destruction, and you… Because of you he could save countless lives."

A silence fell, uncomfortable even to Hiashi. The latter knew the truth, and could see how much it pained Hiruzen to talk about these things in front of Naruto. Though, he understood. He too would rather give his children a normal childhood. '_Unfortunately, our world doesn't allow us such things,'_ Hiashi sighed.

"I am so sorry, Naruto" Hiruzen continued, his tired voice filled with sadness and regret. "I am sorry for the sacrifice you were forced to make. You keep the fox at bay. By all accounts, people should see you as a hero. But instead, all that people give you in return for your sacrifice is hatred. Hatred, because of the Kyuubi and their own ignorance."

Naruto scowled at the thought. Why would people insist on blaming him for something he didn't even do? For being something he was forced to be? Why was the world so unfair?

"Naruto, please try to understand that at the time, half of the village was in ruin," Hiashi saw Naruto's conflicting emotions. "That day, everyone lost friends, family, parents, and children. The people had lost their homes, and lost their leader. All that was left to them was a little baby who now held the monster inside him, the monster which was responsible for all that suffering and pain." Hiashi sighed. "I know it must be difficult for you, and I agree: it was wrong. But people had so much sadness, that they took it out on you, the only thing left of the Kyuubi. It is… as wrong as it is, the response was unavoidable."

"We believed you would not understand," Hiruzen continued. "I believed that the truth, while you were still but a child, would only make your burdens even harder to bear. And I... I didn't want to burden you any more then you already were. That is why I forbade anyone from telling you," Hiruzen admitted. "There were those who wanted to kill you for what you are. Those who experienced the pain the Kyuubi caused… But I hoped that by forbidding anyone to speak about your burden, and forbidding them to act against you, I could at least give you a somewhat happy childhood." A tear fell from his old eyes. "I am sorry that I failed you Naruto."

The boy heard it all, but stood there as if he was frozen. When Hiruzen finished speaking, Naruto stood up and left the office, not wanting to show anyone his tears. Tears of anger, sadness, and relief. Relief that he was not the monster he had feared to be. He didn't know how to feel any more.

Though he realized he had yet to understand the magnitude of his problem.

* * *

Hinata was worried. Not about herself, for a change. No, she knew well enough that she always disappointed her father, as she had little courage and even less talent. Her mother seemed to be the only one who was not worried about her shyness and accepted her as she was. No, she was worried about someone else. And she hated herself, as she did not even possess the courage to speak to the boy who saved her life. Who saved her not just once, but twice. She was found herself despicable.

Yesterday, Naruto seemed very sad. Hinata thought it was because what happened to Katashi-san, but her mother said that it was not the case. She would not tell her why though. "Why don't you ask him about it, Hinata?" she had replied to the girl's questions. But as they walked to the academy, flanked by Ko, she only noticed his pensive look. And instantly lost what little courage she gathered.

During the break, Hinata watched as Naruto sat down on the swing in front of the academy. He looked so lonely and sad. She realized she was pressing her index fingers against each other again. '_How can I be bothered by my nerves while Naruto-kun is in trouble,'_ she mentally scolded herself.

"H-he-hello N-Naruto-kun"

Startled, as he had not noticed her getting near, Naruto nearly fell of the swing. Regaining what little composure he had left after that action, he replied: "Ah.. H.. Hello, Hinata-sama".

"Are you all right Naruto-kun?" she asked hesitantly. Even his way of speaking was unlike the Naruto she knew. He was too pensive, too… Too fragile. To her, Naruto was a shining example of strength. And to see that example acting like this, it just didn't feel right.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Fine," Naruto said sheepishly. He still held that absent look in his eyes, even as he spoke. Although, when she remained silent for a bit, he suddenly seemed to wake up and realize whom he was speaking to.

Hinata almost giggled as she saw him scratching the back of his head. Especially because she knew how much time Haruki had spent on it. By the standards of the Hyuga, such tics were a sign of bad manners. But no matter how hard Haruki tried, Naruto stubbornly continued to do it. Even leading Haruki to lament that Naruto just didn't seem to think before he would act. "Ehm.. If I may... I'd like to.. You don't seem to be very happy about going to the academy."

Naruto frowned a bit. "Well, most people don't seem to like me much, so I just stick to myself," he tried to smile it away. Hinata saw it bothered him, though. She had seen his subtle glances at the other children of their class, and how they played and laughed together. To Hinata, it seemed as if he wanted to join in, but for some reason he wouldn't.

"Erm, d-do you m- mind if it eat l-lunch here?" she asked while blushing furiously.

"Eh?" Naruto squinted his eyes and looked at her, wondering if she was serious. "Ah.. Of course I don't mind. But there's no seat, wouldn't you rather go inside, Hinata-sama?"

"I- I am fine." She waited a moment to gather the courage for her next question. "W-Would you like something to eat, I have too much.. And I noticed you f-forgot your lunch box," she squeaked. "Please.."

Naruto seemed to be completely puzzled, and for a moment Hinata expected that he would just turn her down, causing her to fidget even more. Would he turn her down like everyone else did?

"Ah sure, fine.. Erm thanks Hinata-sama," with a very strange voice, as if he did not believe this was real.

Naruto sat down on the grass beside her, not comfortable on the swing, and ate a little from the food stuffed in her - far too big for a single person - lunch box. '_Is this why Okaa-san gave me this lunch box?'_ Hinata realized. _'So that I could..'_

Though they ate in silence, as she didn't trust her voice anymore and he was too confused about her sudden change in behavior, Hinata rejoiced. Finally she was a little closer to him. Finally she managed to cross that frightening distance between them. She was painfully aware that Naruto was only a few foot away. '_So close.._' she looked on as he ate, noticing the movements of his whiskers, the somewhat confused look still in his bright blue eyes. She looked at his beautiful golden-colored hair. She still recalled the first time she saw him.

'_Why would Hinata-sama do this?'_ Naruto pondered. _'I thought she disliked me like everyone else, but now she just offered me food. Maybe she wasn't angry anymore? She never seemed to like to talk to me, but at least she didn't run away this time. A well, whatever it is, it is better than it was before. And the food is nice too. Hmm.. I should thank her, but how would I thank someone of the main house for such a gesture?'_

As he looked up, he realized why it had become so silent. Hinata had stopped eating. She had fainted, her face still bright red.

* * *

'_The teachers don't seem to like me very much_,' Naruto realized. They weren't too happy when he brought the unconscious Hyuga to them. Their glares kept getting colder and there seemed to be more distance between Naruto and the others then before. After all, the students mimicked the behavior of their teachers. '_Ah well, at least now I know why_,' Naruto pondered. '_Though, the history lesson this morning was a bit annoying._'

The teacher, a chunin named Mizuki, had taught them about the four men who had held the position of Hokage. The first, renowned for his strength and his unique skills, the second, the younger brother of the first, who was well known for his ingenuity and intellect, and lastly the fourth, the hero who had sacrificed himself to save the village. Mizuki also spoke of the third Hokage, who had taken back his position after his successor had died, and to Naruto's surprise Jiisan was known as 'the professor' due to his famed knowledge and wisdom.

Naruto had thought about his view on the old man. He was one of the few people who seemed to trust Naruto, so when he revealed the truth, Naruto had decided to trust the decision of the old man. '_I guess that if Jiisan is that smart, he probably figured out the best way for me as well. And what Mizuki-sensei told about Yondaime's death… I guess his death really created a lot of trouble for Konoha.' _

Naruto had always admired the fourth, as everyone said that he had been the hero who had saved the village. When he was younger, Naruto had always dreamt of becoming a revered hero like him. '_Ironic, that it was him of all people who had to seal the Kyuubi inside me. Guess I can't blame Jiisan for what he, and all the others, did. Just like others shouldn't blame me for what I didn't do. After all, that was all the fault of that Yondaime-teme…' _

Naruto crossed the small square in front of the manor. He was walking alone today, as Hinata had been dragged away again by a bossy and dangerous looking blonde girl, who was followed by an insecure looking pink haired girl. The latter looked like she hated Naruto. Though it was mostly masked a cold attitude, he could clearly sense it. He couldn't really blame her. Just like the kids at the orphanages he lived in, most of his classmates just copied the behavior their elders had towards Naruto. Naruto had seen it happen over and over again. And even though it was only a few weeks ago that he joined their class, this pattern had already showed up.

Still, Naruto was somewhat disappointed that the pink-haired girl, who others had called Sakura, acted like that to him when she was bullied by others herself. Naruto had hoped that she could, perhaps, relate to his struggle of being an outcast. But that did not seem to stop her from picking on him, whenever she decided that his behavior was 'annoying'. He honestly did not understand why someone who was bullied would inflict that same pain upon others. It made no sense to his young mind. '_Perhaps it's just to show to the others that there is someone ranked even lower than her in this group?'_

Though Hinata had tried to apologize to him for having to leave, Naruto had just shrugged and wished her luck with the flower arranging class, and walked home. He knew Neji had gone home a few hours before, as he had a different schedule, being one year their senior. So he didn't have anyone else to wait for. Besides, aside from Neji and Hinata, Naruto didn't really know anyone else. At least, not anyone who would actually talk to him.

He had enough to worry about, so Naruto had thought that a little solitude was actually nice. '_It is still hard to understand all this stuff, I guess that is why Jiisan and Hiashi-sama waited to tell me,'_ he realized. They had talked with him a few times now, regarding his fate. Naruto was what they called a 'jinchuriki'. A jinchuriki was someone who acted as a container of a demon. The way they had talked, Naruto had felt hope for a moment that there were others like him, but those hope had been short-lived when they told him that there were no other jinchuriki in Konoha.

Opening the door of his cottage at the Hyuga compound, Naruto noticed one of the windows had been left open. '_Odd, that's not like Haruki-san_,' Naruto thought, on his guard for possible intruders. "Who is there?"

"It's been a while, Naruto," a familiar voice spoke. "My, you've gotten quite a big boy now, haven't you? What did they feed you to get you to grow this much?"

Naruto hadn't heard that voice in a long time, but still recognized it immediately. "Toad guy? What are you doing in my house?"

The man sighed. "Toad _sage_, Naruto. And the name is Jiraiya." And he added with a sarcastic voice: "Besides, I am as much a toad as you are a fox." Jiraiya chuckled at the confused look Naruto gave him. "The Hokage told me you learned about your… burden. So he asked me to teach you a thing or two. You know, so that you can deal with this stuff a little better."

"Teach me? But I have to attend.."

"The academy will get a notice from the old man himself, and Hiashi already knows about this as well, so don't worry. We will be back in soon enough."

"I have already prepared you backpack, Naruto-kun," Haruki added, startling Naruto when he showed up behind the boy. "Please be careful with our guest, Jiraiya-sama. Teach him well. And properly," Haruki added with a respectful and formal, though slightly worried tone. Obviously, Haruki had learned about Jiraiya's other 'profession'. Erotic novels were not something a nine year old boy should come in contact with. In fact, Haruki would rather have joined the boy in his travels.

"Don't worry," Jiraiya smiled. "I'll take the brat to the forests around Konoha. He will probably need some space for the jutsu I intend to teach him." Picking up the backpack, and dragging along a stunned Naruto, Jiraiya left the estate, making sure no one would notice them leave the village.

'_Two weeks should be enough. But between the bunshin and the summoning contract, I will probably need all the time I can get. Sensei and Hiashi may think the kid has talent, but to expect a nine year old brat to grow that much in such a short time…'_

* * *

"Naruto-kun is not at home today, Hinata-sama," Haruki said when he saw Hinata standing in front of the door of his pupil's house.

"A.. W-where did Na-Naruto-kun go? He d-did not attend today's classes either," she asked shyly. "Is he ill?" she continued with a worried expression.

"No, he is fine. You know how Naruto is: he's incapable of getting sick. So don't worry," Haruki smiled gently. "The truth is that Naruto-kun left Konoha for training, so there is nothing to worry about. It is only for a few days" he added after seeing her distraught look. "Naruto-kun had some trouble with the lessons from the academy. So he receives some separate lessons to deal with those issues, so please don't worry about him Hinata-sama."

After she bowed and thanked him, Haruki watched her walk away. '_Poor girl. She is too kind for her own good. If only she hadn't been the heir..'_ Though he could not suppress a smile when he noticed the small bouquet of flowers she left on his pupil's doorstep. _'Ah, so her admiration has already gone that far. That would explain her behavior during the… attempts to talk with Naruto.' _

"Hinata-sama!" he called out to her.

"Y-yes, Haruki-san?" Hinata froze, wondering what it was that she had done wrong.

"If you want to give Naruto-kun those flowers, why don't you help me putting them in a nice vase?" Haruki suggested. Though the girl blushed furiously, she agreed and helped him. If only because it meant she could be in Naruto's cottage for a little while.

* * *

Thanks to Haruki's lectures on the twelve hand seals, Naruto picked up the basics of the skills easily. But the bunshin no jutsu proved to be extremely difficult for the young boy. After two days, Naruto only managed to produce two copies of himself, which both looked sickly and frail before they weakly exploded in a little cloud of grey smoke.

'_The forms are good, he way he draws onto his chakra is correct, and he certainly doesn't have a shortage of chakra either. What am I missing? If only I had those byakugan,'_ Jiraiya thought. Not for the first time, mind you. For someone like Jiraiya, having the byakugan was a life-long dream. Either that, or the Hokage's crystal ball, as these would enable him to do all the 'research' he ever wanted. All the women in Konoha should count themselves lucky that Jiraiya had neither. _'The bunshin no jutsu is basics. Though, I haven't used the jutsu much ever since I was a genin myself. But if I want him to learn the kage bunshin he should at least be capable of this..'_

Suddenly it occurred to him. '_Basics. What kind of fool am I?! Normal rules don't apply to the brat, he never needed to train to grow his chakra reserves! And I am wasting time on basics. Stupid! He never needed to grow his reserves like any other person would. In his case, it would probably be the contrary: he has to learn to control his reserves first. Perhaps I should just skip to the kage bunshin. Though I gotta be careful he doesn't go too crazy with the chakra. I can't have him die because he tries too hard..'_

Unaware of Jiraiya's train of thought, Naruto just soldiered on. Training proved difficult for Naruto's confidence. His chakra control always seemed to lag behind others, a fact which people like Neji enjoyed to emphasize. Whenever Hizashi or Haruki tried to teach him something 'basic' Naruto either performed badly, or far too good. Like how he spectacularly failed when he had to create a soft breeze, but instead blew a section of the garden apart.

The old man's curious gaze annoyed him. Even though the geezer remained patient, Naruto couldn't figure out why he had to learn this separate from the other children of his year. He remembered meeting the man a few times, and he even got a frog-shaped plushy once, when he was very young. Or over a year ago, when Naruto had found a frog-shaped wallet, which Naruto had named Gama-chan. Naruto was convinced that he got it from this man. And still Naruto couldn't figure him out. Why would anyone do this for him? Why would anyway willingly spend time with him? '_There is no darkness in him either, so why would he be genuinely kind to me?_'

Suddenly, Jiraiya stood up. "Naruto, perhaps you should try this," as he showed Naruto a different combination of hand seals. "Though you should only put about half of your chakra in it. I trust that Haruki taught you how to estimate your own chakra reserves?"

Naruto nodded, and did as was asked of him. The first few tries went wrong, as his either messed up the sequence of seals or failed to generate enough chakra at the right time, but at the fourth attempt..

Jiraiya paled as he suddenly looked at five Naruto's. "Kami.." he exclaimed slowly. '_So many clones at that age? Even several of the jonin..'_

Contrary to his earlier attempts, these clones were solid. And they all looked confused upon seeing himself so many times.

"So I was right. Kid, you have so much chakra that many of the basic skills become near impossible to you." Several of the Narutos frowned, like they didn't know whether Jiraiya was giving them a compliment or an insult. Meanwhile, Jiraiya pulled several sheets containing the drafts for his next book out of his pockets, and handed those notes to several of the clones. "Read them," he said. "And dismiss one of the bunshin after you've read them."

All the Narutos shrugged, not seeing the point of it at all, but decided to humor the man and do what he said. '_Like anything could happen.'_

Naruto blinked, and looked at his clones. "Wait… how do I.."

"You figured it out?" Jiraiya chuckled.

'_How could I remember what the bunshin read?'_ Naruto was shocked when he realized that he somehow knew what his clone had read. Popping another bunshin, Naruto knew for certain that this was no mere freak accident. "How.. I didn't know bunshin could do this," he exclaimed. "I know what he just read! What I read, I mean."

"It is impossible for the bunshin no jutsu, but it is easy for the people who master the _kage_ bunshin no jutsu"

"Kage bunshin? Shadow clones?"

"Yes, those are autonomous, unlike the normal bunshin who are merely a illusionary distraction. Unlike the elemental bunshin, like a mizu bunshin, the kage bunshin is create purely from chakra. You effectively create a complete replica of yourself, which is capable of thinking and acting on its own, with the added benefit of transferring whatever it experienced back to the caster when it gets dispelled," Jiraiya explained patiently. "Though the sheer amount of chakra it takes make the jutsu impossible for most shinobi, aside from those who have at least high-chunin or jonin-level chakra reserves. But considering who you are.." Jiraiya paused for a moment. "Well, you know: who you are, _and_ who you hold inside you. Fact is, your reserves are probably near jonin-level already, though your control over it is extremely bad. But you possess a crazy amount of raw chakra, kid. All you need is the skill to use it properly. I mean, five were taxing for you right now, but once you learn to use your chakra a bit more effectively a dozen clones will be a piece of cake."

Naruto couldn't help but grimace once he saw the exaggerated pose which Jiraiya struck after finishing his speech. '_And moments like that make me wonder whether he is the greatest teacher alive, or the greatest idiot..'_

* * *

'_Sixteen clones is his limit now,' _he finished counting, a few hours later. _'It went way faster than I estimated. Sure, the clones he created are weaker than the ones he created initially, and they'll be mostly useless in battle, but still… Sixteen kage bunshin is quite the feat for a kid his age. At this rate, __I can let him sign the toad summoning contract, give him the scrolls, and make his clones practice fuinjutsu. This might work out after all!'_

Jiraiya frowned. He had read the reports, but during his fourteen month absence from Konoha, Naruto had grown far faster than he had anticipated. It sure looked like the guardian the Hyuga had appointed to him had performed miracles on him. Naruto's chakra control and capacity had grown considerably, but that was not it.

'_The brat has always been troubled. Who can blame him, after the treatment he got,'_ Jaraiya mused. He still recalled his rage when he had heard about the way the last orphanage had mistreated Naruto, though the owner had been lucky enough that Hiruzen had punished her. Else, Jiraiya would have made sure she would have ended up like a petrified toad. Or that she had wished to be petrified instead.

But despite the improved situation, Naruto still kept to himself. Barely trusting adults, and avoiding other children. Naruto had associated social interaction with danger, especially with those of his own age, and it frightened Jiraiya when he thought about the consequences it might have for the future. '_Especially now that idiotic sensei of mine decided to tell him the truth. It was way too early,'_ Jiraiya sighed._ 'Though, I guess that telling the truth would be for the best, now that Naruto had partly guessed why he is hated that much. Having him walk around with the wrong ideas would have been an even worse situation. Still, the question remains why the kid is acts like this. It's like his behavior is getting darker over time.'_

While he was near, Jiraiya decided that he could just as well go fishing for the truth behind this. "So, Naruto, how is the academy?"

A sweaty Naruto looked up, with a hint of annoyance that he was disturbed while gathering chakra for a next attempt to execute the kage bunshin no jutsu. "I guess I will learn a lot, if Haruki-san is right."

Jiraiya tilted his head a bit. Still the boy mistrusted what others told him. "And your classmates?"

"What about them?"

"Well… anyone friendly? Some nice girls, perhaps?" he grinned.

"Aside from Hinata-sama, I don't really know anyone else," Naruto shrugged, uncaring.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Well, there's a blonde girl who looks like trouble. I think she was named Ino. She always has that pink haired girl tailing her," Naruto looked blankly at the sennin, wondering why the older man would ask for such things.

"Don't you want to know them? Who knows, you might get friendly with some," Jiraiya tried.

"Friendly with me?" Naruto frowned. "Perhaps, but it seems unlikely. They have no reason to get close to me, and I don't mind keeping my distance. Even though they don't know _what_ I am, everyone still avoids me whenever possible anyway. That's one of the few things they quickly picked up from our teachers.."

"Don't refer to yourself as a 'what,'" Jiraiya corrected him gently. "You are Uzumaki Naruto, and you will become a shinobi of Konoha. A great shinobi, by the looks of it. And believe me or not, but I've got a great eye for talent, kiddo! No matter what others have done to you, you are not to be blamed for the creature that was sealed inside you."

"Yeah, right.." Naruto scoffed. "Even if they shouldn't, they still will.

"People will call you a jinchuriki, as you are someone who acts as the jailor of the demon that was sealed inside you," Jiraiya continued as if he hadn't heard Naruto. "But you are also a normal human being. We all need friends if we want to survive in this world. No one can last while all alone. Also, after you graduate, you will form a genin team with two of your classmates.. So spend some time to get to know them a little, and show them how wrong they are about you."

Naruto opened his mouth, but shut it again as if he forgot what he wanted to say. After a few minutes of silence he spoke again. "Perhaps I could try, if they did not resent me like all the others. Otherwise, I just follow my own path, and become strong enough that I would never need someone else."

"No human can live alone, Naruto," Jiraiya said with a hint of sadness. "What would you fight for, if you had no one you cared about? What would be your reason to live?"

Naruto looked at the old man's face, and for a moment Jiraiya saw only loneliness and pain in the boy's eyes. Not wanting to talk on, Naruto changed the subject. "Why did I need to learn the bunshin no jutsu, before the kage bunshin?"

Jiraiya sighed, knowing that the stubborn boy would refuse to talk about it any longer. He swore that this kid was even more stubborn than his former teammate. Then again, she was part Uzumaki too. And considering how his mother had acted, Jiraiya suspected that this stubbornness was an inborn trait of every Uzumaki.

"Normally, people need to be able to do the regular bunshin, before they can attempt to master the shadow clone variant. But you already possess too much chakra for the regular, or simply too little control over it. So while you cannot do the regular one, which you'd need for your final exam, you have little trouble with the advanced form. I suppose you still need to train your chakra control, until you are capable of limiting the amount of chakra you put into the simple jutsu's."

"I still put too much chakra into it?" Naruto frowned. "I thought I limited myself enough, and barely used any at all.."

"It was still way too much," Jiraiya laughed jovially. "That's why the normal bunshin failed. But like I said: the kage bunshin requires more chakra so your overcapacity does not cause it to fail like the simple bunshin did. Though, I suggest you keep this particular skill a secret."

"Why?"

"The regular bunshin is a skill they teach you kids at the academy, but the kage bunshin is usually reserved for the jonin-level shinobi only," Jiraiya smirked. "People would become suspicious of you if they'd know you possess this level of skill. And I'd prefer it that they all stay unaware of the fact that I've been training you."

"So that's why you wanted me to keep it a secret? Why?"

"Yes, the less others know about me training you, the better," Jiraiya sighed. "Look, kid, I can't fully explain it now, but if too many people knew that you and I knew each other... well, it could be bad. So I would like to keep the fact that I train you hidden for now. That's why I took all those precautions when we left town. But enough about that, now that you've managed to execute the kage bunshin no jutsu, we will continue with…"

* * *

Three weeks later, a very ragged looking Naruto finally showed up in class again. Though now he wore a subtle orange belt over the otherwise regular long-sleeved white robes, and black pants, which were custom to the lower ranks within the Hyuga clan.

Hinata was happy he returned, and quickly decided to go talk to him when they had break. At least, once she could get away from Ino, who seemed to have taken the 'duty' to take care of the hesitant Hyuga heiress. After all, the others knew each other from the previous year, which Hinata and Naruto had skipped due to the training they received from the Hyuga clan.

The doujutsu clans always kept their children from the academy the first year, as they learned the basic skills in a different way. They could learn from _seeing_, after all, something the academy teachers could not comprehend. Subjects like the usage and detection of chakra were completely different to them. Though this obviously did not apply for Naruto, but for some reason he had gotten his lessons on the estate as well. Not that he minded: Haruki was a far better teacher than those at the academy.

"Aww man.. Why do those ruddy thing transfer memories, but can't get some sleep for ya," Naruto yawned, as he walked outside with a sluggish pace.

"H-hello Na-Naruto-kun," Hinata stuttered.

"Good morning Hinata-sama," Naruto bowed. If he was startled that Hinata had been waiting for him he didn't show it. Then again, this could also be because he was simply too exhausted to react.

"P-please don't.. Don't use that honorific.. We are all just classmates," she blushed.

Naruto frowned a little, mistakenly wondering why him being polite angered her. "I can't.. As you wish, Hinata-sam... san."

"A-are you all right?"

"Eh? O, yeah. I'm fine, just had to skip some classes because I needed some extra training" He grinned. "It seems like my chakra control was a bit of a problem." Picking up a leaf, he held it up and said "Watch," and put the leaf on his head. Activating her byakugan shortly, showed Hinata that he focused some of his chakra into the leaf. As always, when she looked at him using his chakra, she thought he was unique, he was the only person she knew who had _that_ much chakra, or who had two colours of chakra. Sadly, Naruto's little performance turned sour when the leaf ignited. Moving quickly, Naruto threw the burning leaf away and stomped on it to extinguish its tiny flames.

The only fortunate thing was that no one else saw his failure, but Naruto noticed someone walking towards them.

"Together again?" a blonde girl mocked. "One might get curious what kind of relationship you two have," she added with a curious voice.

'_Re-re-relationship?' _Hinata's poor mind suddenly spun out of control. And crashed.

"Wait, Hinata-chan? Hinata-chan?" the girl exclaimed after Hinata lost consciousness once more.

Naruto looked down on the girl who now glowed with a bright red light, and shrugged. "She'll be fine in a few minutes" he stated, earning him a curious look from the blonde. "Don't look at me, I didn't do anything. She just does this from time to time. I think she is ill or sometime, but she always denies that. He temperature is too high though.."

"You live at the Hyuga compound, don't you?"

"Er.. Yeah, they took me in a few years ago."

"So, you are related to the Hyuga?"

"Not that I know of" he shrugged. "They offered me a place to live at. And it certainly beats any orphanage."

"But you know Hinata-chan?"

"I… I guess? Not that we ever talked that much," Naruto frowned. "Why?"

"Just curious," Ino chirped. "Yamanaka Ino," she extended her hand. "Well, come on, it's not like I would bite you," she frowned when Naruto stared at her hand.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he didn't understand why she was acting like this, but decided to answer the gesture. "Shall we carry Hinata-sama back in?"

"Eh? But I haven't asked you about-"

* * *

Despite her inborn curiosity, Ino could not figure out the new boy. Most of the others seemed to ignore him, following the example set by their teachers and parents. Her father did not want to give her any information about the boy either, though he did seem very weary because of the subject. Yet, Ino refused to give up. The more of an enigma he became, the greater her determination to unravel his mystery.

Yamanaka Ino knew one thing for sure: Uzumaki Naruto was not a regular boy. There was something fundamentally different about him. He was something very special, and yet she could not define why or how. As she stalked him, she noticed that he preferred spending his time alone, though he seemed to accept the presence of Hinata. But with the exception of her, he remained neutral and distant towards all the other kids in their class. It had already been more than half a year since he and Hinata had joined class, he was still an outcast. Even the ever-silent Shino belonged more to their group than Naruto did.

"Hey Shikamaru, I found out that he came from an orphanage, but why do you think _he_ is such a loner?" she asked her classmate one day. "It doesn't make any sense! If he came from an orphanage he want to make some friends, right?"

"Who cares," Shikamaru sighed. He wondered why she kept prying, when it was obvious Naruto rather not talked about it. "If Naruto prefers to be alone, let him be alone. Don't be such a meddler." But before he finished speaking, he already knew as sure as his name was Nara Shikamaru that she wouldn't just leave it at that. He knew her long enough to recognize that look. That troublesome curiosity of hers. He sighed. "Listen, for some reason most of the adults seem to avoid him. Have you seen Mizuki-sensei's eyes when he looks at Naruto? I don't know why they do it though. Naruto seems friendly enough, even though he seems to be extremely careful with keeping his distance from others. Obviously, there is some secret that is way too troublesome for us to get involved in, or else their behavior wouldn't make any sense. I mean, they wouldn't just hate him for no good reason, right?"

Though he didn't tell Ino what his father told him earlier, when Shikamaru had asked nearly the same question. '_Naruto may be different from other kids, but don't let the behavior of others affect you. Though a lot of people do not like him living in Konoha, the Hokage trusts him. So try to shape your own independent opinion about him. You know what I taught you: only trust your own observations, do not believe what others might say, or you'll end up making the same mistakes.'_

Shikamaru frowned at the contradiction, while thinking back. How was he supposed to both ignore other's opinions, and to accept them at the same time? Adults were always so troublesome..

* * *

Similarly curious, but less frank about it, Hinata also tried to learn more about Uzumaki Naruto. But the more she hesitated, the harder it became for her to start talking to him. And he never started talking himself.

She could see that he was hiding his real ability, as she also saw his efforts at the Hyuga complex, but she couldn't fathom it. He was neither weak nor stupid, so why was he deliberately holding back? Why did the others avoid him, and why did many of the teachers act so differently towards him? Hinata felt like she was a disappointment herself, but people treated her well at the academy. Not that she was popular, in the contrary. Her position as heiress of the famous Hyuga clan seemed to intimidate most others. Well, apart from those who were born in similar high positions within their clans, like Ino , Shikamaru, or Choji.

No, Naruto never seemed to expect anything of anyone. Most would think he was simply not interested in others, but Hinata suspected that was not the case. He was hiding for some reason. And at days, he even seemed faint when she looked at him while she activated her byakugan. As if he only had access to a small portion of his regular chakra. Not that she activate her byakugan openly in the middle of the classroom, she wouldn't dare. After all, many seemed to think that the byakugan looked ugly and scary.

'_I'm just pathetic.. Always watching, but always from a distance and never at his side..'_

* * *

Unknown to most, Uzumaki Naruto usually did not even attend the majority of the classes. After he managed to master the kage bunshin no jutsu he just sent clones to the lectures, though he did go to the taijutsu and bukijutsu trainings himself, not wanting to risk his clones getting popped and revealing his secret. No, right now he thought it was more useful for him to spend time with the scrolls the Toad Sage had given him.

At the orders of the Hokage, and with permission from Hiashi, Jiraiya had given Naruto the scrolls of the Uzumaki clan he had in his possession. Since Naruto was the last known survivor of his clan, he had the right to possess the scrolls. Though Jiraiya had sealed most of the scrolls, just like how he had explained when he gave Naruto the scrolls.

"_You will first require learning the prerequisites from these scrolls, before you can unlock the seals I have placed on the others," the toad hermit had said to him. "You will get access to those skills the moment you are ready for them. That is why I sorted them out like that. First you need to learn the basic theory behind fuinjutsu. Once you know that, you can start practicing the low ranked seals. That's the way your clan taught their children, if my sources are correct." The old man had patted Naruto's head when he saw she annoyed look of the boy. "Listen brat," he smiled, "There aren't many people around with such knowledge of fuinjutsu.. Be patient and learn as much as you can, as fast as you can. And keep your knowledge hidden from others for now."_

Jiraiya had only made one exception to the secrecy he had made Naruto promise. And Haruki was happy to help Naruto where he could. Though, his ability to help had decreased over the years. Naruto had long been unaware of this, but it was now clearly visible that his caretaker suffered from illness. They never spoke much about it, though Haruki did seem to regret that it had forced him to quit as a shinobi. Naruto worried about his caretaker, and often did as much for him as he could. The man's seemingly indifferent attitude towards his own fate also puzzled Naruto. But the situation did not affect Naruto's training. As the scrolls predominantly contained theory about fuinjutsu, the sealing techniques of the Uzumaki clan, Haruki could help him a lot with understanding the theory, despite his inability to create the required amounts of chakra to actually form the seals himself.

Seals required an eye for detail Naruto never really had. Not before, at least. However, his impatience was outmatched by his desire to learn his clan's techniques. To Naruto, it felt like the only link he had to a family he had never known. It made him feel as if he was part of something bigger. And with time, and a lot of Haruki's help, as well as the ever increasing skill with his kage bunshin, Naruto's skill grew faster than anyone suspected. Haruki quickly realized that Naruto's unusual creativity allowed him to alter seals in ways normal people would not have thought of.

Not that Haruki would tell his protégé that he was a genius.

No that would be far too dangerous. Especially because Haruki's byakugan had more than once avoided costly mistakes, so overconfidence was the last thing Naruto needed. And with the use of his clones, Naruto also quickly mastered the kawarimi no Jutsu. Quite an invaluable technique when testing seals that carried the risk of explosions, shock waves, or electrocutions upon activation. More than one clone ended up in a small crater.

Most of the seals he mastered, however, were not used for combat, but rather for utility, like a simple storage seal which allowed him to carry several objects with him at all times. But the seal which was Naruto's favorite made people unable to notice him. Even Jiraiya, who usually visited once every few months, was surprised by the Suteruse no Fuin (stealth seal) as Naruto had named it. Jiraiya even joked that it was more useful than his peeping jutsu, earning him a glare from Haruki, though he remarked that he never knew that the Uzumaki scrolls contained anything like that.

A fact Naruto did not emphasize on.

In truth, the scrolls had not contained that particular seal at all. Naruto had kept an item from the events that had changed his life so much: a part of the mask that he had found in that run down temple when he was kidnapped. Though the seal written on the mask was very, very tiny, and a small part of it had broken off, Naruto had still been able to recreate the seal. Though, the chakra consumption for maintaining the seal was no joke. Not even for Naruto, who had come to realize that his chakra capacity truly was exceptional, as time had passed at the academy. In fact, Naruto suspected that this particular seal would be completely useless to most others. But to him, it was invaluable.

Even though Naruto kept growing, he carefully kept his increasing skill a secret from his classmates. Though he did well enough during classes, Naruto made sure not to stand out. He attracted enough attention to him as he was – even though they did not know about his 'guest'. Though Ino kept prodding, at times even nagging, him for more information. And more than once he spotted the shy Hyuga heiress watching him. At some times, Naruto simply activated the stealth seal just to avoid Ino during breaks, whenever he spotted a blonde ponytail. '_Some people are just too curious, while I have no desire to tell anyone anything that might arouse suspicion_,' Naruto sighed. He had promised Jiraiya to keep his skills a secret for now, and Naruto intended to never break his promises.

Not that his secrecy seemed to work perfectly. Some people seemed to look at him differently than most. Like Shikamaru, a boy who Naruto would almost call friendly. If Naruto had not grown the suspicion that the Nara was simply too lazy to hate him, that is. But Shikamaru often made sure that either he or Choji, a rather 'big boned' Akimichi, paired up with him when they had to spar during classes, something which Naruto never really understood, but appreciated nonetheless. Though, he made sure never to call the usually calm and gentle Choji fat, having seen the effect when the unruly Inuzuka had said that once.

Still, their strange behavior was rather useful for Naruto, as probably they were only ones who willingly worked with Naruto aside from Hinata. And the latter kept fainting at the worst moments. Like during the taijutsu practice where Naruto accidentally hit her against the chest. Or when he tried to explain her how he threw his kunai, and accidentally touched her hand. If Naruto learned one thing at the academy, it was that girls were strange. Not to mention dangerous. A short tempered Sakura, for example, was something Naruto quickly learned to avoid. Not to mention the tenacity that someone like Ino displayed on a daily basis.

Yet, of all the people in class, there was one in whom Naruto could particularly empathize. Ironically, it was a boy who was his counterpart in almost anything. Uchiha Sasuke enjoyed endless popularity with almost everyone, not to mention the heart of nearly every girl. The teachers all favored him as much as they detested Naruto. At times, Naruto enjoyed pissing Sasuke off, just for the fun of it. And it was pretty easy to do as well, as the latter always tried to be best of the class, and handled any defeat badly. Very badly.

But Naruto got a different view on the boy after he had learned that boy's clan was massacred a few years before, all during one night at the Uchiha estate. And though Sasuke acted spoiled, and ignored all the things Naruto desired – the love, trust, or admiration from others – Naruto couldn't bring himself to being jealous. Though Naruto never really had any family to begin with, while Sasuke was someone who lost everyone he had cared about. Naruto could easily see the pain, sadness, and loneliness the Uchiha boy tried to hide. It was certainly something Naruto could understand, and relate to. The look in Sasuke's eyes was so similar to when Naruto saw his own eyes in the mirror. Still, at times, for instance due to losing a match, Naruto also saw the boy's lingering anger and hate smoldering underneath it all. As if some kind of darkness lay waiting for a chance to consume him.

In an introspective mood, Naruto realized he too had a lot of anger and hatred inside him. With all his heart, he felt like he never could repay what the Hyuga had done for him. He felt gratitude to Hinata, to the point where he vowed to keep her safe from everything. But he was also thankful towards Hitomi, Haruki, and several other Hyuga. Just like he felt gratitude towards Jiraiya and the Hokage. But Naruto could not forget how everyone else had treated him either. The villagers, many of his classmates, and those teachers, such as that bastard Mizuki. Many of them treated him like he was some rabid dog whom they'd rather put down than teach. Though, Naruto thought that one teacher, Umino Iruka, was different from Mizuki.

Perhaps Iruka was the only non-Hyuga adult aside from the Hokage and Jiraiya who treated him like an actual human being. Even to the point where he once treated Naruto on ramen, when he saw the boy wandering through the streets of Konoha. Naruto did not understand why the man did it, but he never forgot about it. Ever since, the two visited the ramen stand every now and then, and Naruto even got to the point where he actually started to trust the man. A little.

* * *

"Uzumaki Naruto," one of the teachers called. Years had passed, and now Naruto was asked to enter the classroom for the final exam of the academy. The theoretical parts were already done. The taijutsu and bukijutsu exams had been the day before, and Naruto had passed those with relative ease. All that was left was the ninjutsu exam which he had to attend right now. The one he found the most annoying.

After closing the door behind him, Naruto saw that Mizuki took the lead. Predictably, as he had started out like this on every exam, seemingly eager to make Naruto fail. "Well Naruto-san, could you please start by showing us your skill in the henge no jutsu?"

Naruto smiled, as had long mastered the techniques that were mandatory in the academy. Well, the bunshin was still impossible to him, though Naruto had to admit that he had not really put any effort in it either. After learning the kage bunshin no jutsu he simply thought it was not necessary. '_And again that Mizuki-bastard wants me to fail_,' Naruto thought bitterly, after the said person had picked every technique he thought Naruto was bad at. Naturally he kept the bunshin no jutsu for last, knowing that Naruto never succeeded with that one.

"Thanks, but I'd rather not do that jutsu, Mizuki-sensei"

"What? Do you _want_ to fail the exam?" Mizuki asked, with a bad effort to keep a smirk from his face.

'_I might not have the byakugan, but the Haruki taught me well enough in the art of reading people's expression and posture.'_ Naruto sighed. "You know all too well that I cannot perform the bunshin no jutsu, sensei. But if you don't mind, I could show an alternative."

"An alternative?" Mizuki asked, confused. "What alternative is there to.."

A few hand seals later, and Mizuki's mouth fell open upon seeing the entire classroom filling up with Narutos. Iruka, though equally shocked, at least responded with some cheer. "Was that kage bunshin?! Naruto, how on earth did you learn this? This is not something that a genin or even a chunin is supposed to know!"

Naruto shrugged and smiled, not willing to reveal that Jiraiya had taught him. "Can't tell, sorry, I made a promise to keep it a secret, Iruka-sensei. But does this mean I passed the final exam?"

Not answering his question, Iruka just proudly stood up and gave him his forehead protector. "You have earned this, Naruto. Congratulations on making it to genin." He smiled at Naruto's exaggerated theatrical bowing, realizing that this was probably the first time he ever saw Naruto show real happiness. This boy had suffered more from the fox then anyone did, just like the Hokage had remarked at Iruka's appointment the previous year.

Sure, seeing Naruto made Iruka remember the loss of his own parents, but this boy was not the demon. After the efforts of getting to know the boy a little better, Iruka had only gotten angry at how easily all other had dismissed him as 'the demon'. In the end, rather than reminding him of the Kyuubi, Naruto had reminded Iruka more of his younger self.

"I guess that means I owe you some ramen in order to celebrate this, don't I?" Iruka joked, ruffling through Naruto's spiky blond hair. He only smiled more as he saw Naruto beam even more.

* * *

As Naruto walked out, finally free from the academy, he noticed Hitomi waiting outside. Obviously, Hinata was somewhere near, but she always seemed to have problems facing him.

"Well, how did your exam go, Naruto?"

Naruto held up the metal plate with the sign of Konoha inscribed in it, and proudly smiled. "Perfectly, Hitomi-sama. Even though I messed up the bunshin no jutsu," the boy said at a mischievous tone.

"It must've been a pleasant surprise to them," the Hyuga smiled, knowing full well that Naruto had shown his 'alternative'. Naruto's skill with the kage bunshin was probably the worst kept secret in the Hyuga clan, as none of them were surprised when they saw dozens of Narutos littered around in the training grounds, library, or his own cottage. '_Naruto hasn't been this cheerful in a long time.'_

Blushing furiously, but smiling as well, Hinata also showed her 'prize' to Naruto.

* * *

What followed could be viewed as a party. At least, by Hyuga standards. No wild music, laughter, or free banter, but instead Naruto was invited to join a cozy dinner with main family.

Fortunately, this dinner was without any incidents. Which was a good thing, considering how restless the Hyuga clan was at the moment. The residents on the compound had gone through several incidents, which often involved fire. There were some who lost their lives, and others had vanished in the thin air. It was unnerving the Hyuga that someone could cause all this without them seeing it. The supposedly all-seeing byakugan did not help them, which led to people pointing fingers. At each other, which only increased the rift between the main and branch families, but it was more popular to blame Naruto. Even when there was little to no proof that he had been involved.

Still, it was whispered that Naruto had to be responsible, and it were rumors originating from both sides of the clan. But a simple test had pointed out that Naruto had an affinity for futon jutsu, rather than katon. This removed much of the suspicions, but not all. After all, people knew that the Kyuubi was rumored to be able to breathe fire. So, whatever Naruto did, he still ended up being a suspect every time a corpse was found, or a person went missing. Even after living among them for several years, the Hyuga clan still couldn't decide whether or not Uzumaki Naruto could be trusted.

It was tiresome, but Naruto tried not to be bothered by it. At least the Hyuga were too 'civil' to openly act against him. Not like some shopkeepers in Konoha who would just throw him out for no good reason, or the more violent responses some people had at his presence. Naruto knew who and what he was, and the injustice of his situation frustrated him. But he had no choice but to accept it, and move on. At least, this was what Haruki told the boy. Lingering in the past and resenting people for what once happened was a bad thing. Especially for one as young as Naruto. And Haruki always told him to never treat anyone in a way he don't wish to be treated himself.

Naruto listened, though mostly because elder Hyuga had emphasized that other behavior would not fitting for a Hokage. But tonight was a night Naruto did not have to worry about those things. Tonight was celebration.

As formal as the Hyuga might be, having two of their residents go through a promotion was reason enough to throw a little feast. Even when it concerned the two children who were arguably also the two least trusted by the clan. And where Naruto was not trusted for whom he was, but at least appreciated for his ability, Hinata was at the short end for both of it. Many within the clan doubted her skill just as much as her personality.

It was not a secret that Hinata was considered to be too gentle to ever become a proper shinobi. Not that Hitomi ever allowed anyone to openly speak such words about her daughter. Still, it was impossible to stop the gossip, especially when it was a public secret that her own husband was the first to be disappointed in their daughter's skill. To make matters worse for the young heiress, Hanabi, Hinata's younger sister, was considered a great talent within the clan. The younger sister showed a lot more potential and determination, making Hinata's position as heir shaky at best. Especially now that Hiashi had shifted his focus on training Hanabi rather than Hinata. It left many people guessing when Hinata would lose her position, rather than 'if'.

But in spite all these sad things, this dinner was a relatively happy occasion. There was enough food to even satisfy Naruto. Though he really did not understand why ramen was not appropriate during celebratory banquets, no matter how Haruki tried to convince him about it. Apparently, this discussion greatly amused both Hinata and Hitomi, causing him to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment.

'_How uncivilized would this boy have become if we hadn't given him lessons in etiquette..'_ was what Haruki thought at the display, and sighed, knowing all too well that Naruto would be a recidivist in this area. In the formal environment of the Hyuga clan, Naruto would always stay foreign. Though the few who knew him well enough, realized that his apparent cheerfulness was just a mask. Haruki recently discussed this with Hiashi, being aware of Naruto's burden.

At the end of the dinner, Haruki saw Naruto's pensive look, '_perhaps it would've been better if he had lived in a less formal and rigid environment. That look he has, could Hiashi-sama be right about him being slowly infected by the monster? At times, Naruto even _feels_ the same as the fox did all those years ago. If had been anyone else.. It's not just his physical strength, but his mental strength which is extraordinary,'_ Haruki mused. '_Perhaps this change is good a chance for him. A team could mean he finally creates some real bonds with children of his own age. It would give him a good reason to resist the corrupting influence of the bijuu.'_

* * *

**A/N**: The plural of Naruto… Narutea? I decided to go with 'Narutos'.

-Z-

**Edited:** 19/11/15


	4. Team 7

**Genin arc**

**Team 7**

* * *

Only the last nine of those who passed the tests and made it as genin were now waiting in the classroom. Much to Naruto's rejoice, this meant that it was the last time he was forced to spend time in a place he had come to hate. '_Well, come to hate it back, is more like it_,' he considered with some bitterness. And most of the biggest idiots of his class had already entered the previously summoned teams. Well, with the exception of the Uchiha of course… '_I hope they don't screw me over and put me in a team with the teme..'_

After a while, a tall, black haired and bearded man first entered. With a casual tone and posture he spoke: "Would Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino come with me to training area six?" None of the three seemed surprised. Naruto knew that their parents had been teammates as well, and as they were the heads of their respective clans, it would be highly likely that their children would be put in one team as well. After all, it was 'tradition'.

'_Stupid traditions,' _Naruto sighed. If Naruto had to pick anyone from his class, he would have liked it if he had been in a team with Shikamaru or Choji. Or both, which would be even better. Well, at least he wouldn't be in a team with Ino now. Not that he disliked his fellow blonde, but she was far too curious and meddlesome for her own good. And Naruto liked his privacy a bit too much to get along well with her. He did not want his secrets exposed just yet. He knew it would be impossible to hide the truth from his classmates forever, but as long as they would just see him as an outcast, and not as an incarnation of a demon, they would at least treat him somewhat normally.

'_At least Hinata-sama is still here. Perhaps I would end up in a team with her, that wouldn't be too bad either._' But immediately after team ten left, a fairly tall, black haired woman entered. She had remarkable red eyes, like they just looked right through someone. She had a gentle voice, though the message it carried was hard, as much for Naruto as it was for Hinata. "Would Hyuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba follow me?" Downcast, the girl followed her, casting one last glance on the Uzumaki boy whom she had hoped to be teamed up with.

Naruto groaned when he considered who were left. He would be in a team with Sakura and Sasuke. '_Great, just the two who hate me most, Sasuke's number one fangirl and the teme himself.'_ Naruto barely heard how Iruka apologized, stating that their sensei would probably be late. '_Perfect,'_ Naruto thought sarcastically. '_A team that doesn't want me and a sensei that seems to care too little about us to get here on time. Just fucking great. Can this day get any worse?_'

He sighed, looked outside, and began dozing off. The downside of using the kage bunshin no jutsu to learn things faster was the mental strain. These days, it seemed as if Naruto slept half of the day, even though he worked harder than any other genin of his class. Well, not that anyone who knew Shikamaru would call Naruto lazy. Shikamaru was the king of laziness.

After a while Iruka had to leave, and Sakura started to talk to Sasuke. Though, it was one-way traffic, as the latter hardly seemed to listen. Sasuke was equally disappointed in the team. He did not think that he would need team members, being as talented as he was, but if they insisted he took some of these weaklings along they could at the very least have picked a few more useful ones. Looking to the other side of the room, he saw Naruto had fallen asleep. '_Great, the annoying fangirl and the lazy idiot._'

About an hour later, a man finally entered the room. His silver colored hair spiked in all directions, giving him the appearance of someone who just got out of bed. His single visible eye did not show any hint of interest in them. He coughed hard enough to wake Naruto, seemingly annoyed that the genin showed so little interest. "Training ground three, thirty minutes," he said, with a bored tone, before he vanished in a small puff of smoke and leaves.

"Wait, what?" Sakura exclaimed.

Naruto shrugged. "It's just a little north, next to the river. I guess he wants to see how fast we are."

"Yeah but he could at least have… wait, where did he go?" Sakura turned to Sasuke after she noticed Naruto had already left. Not that Sasuke was still in his chair, making Sakura realize that she too had to move. And fast.

* * *

Like he had expected, the Uchiha prodigy arrived first. Kakashi had heard a little about him, and knew he was the top of his class. '_Well, it made sense to drop the last Uchiha on me_,' Kakashi mused. '_I am the last one capable of teaching him. Aside from his brother of course. Heh, not that they want Itachi to teach this boy even a single thing.'_ The second one to arrive was a surprise.

Kakashi hadn't heard that much about the Haruno girl, but when he observed them for a few minute while they waited for him just now she had mostly seemed the fangirl type of girl to him. Usually not the most useful type of kunoichi, but she seemed to have above average chakra control, Kakashi remembered from the reports Hiruzen had given him. Well, not that he had really read them, but while scanning through Kakashi had noticed that her scores on the theoretical exams were even higher than those of Sasuke. Sadly, she was average at best when it came to applying those skills. Still, she had been good enough to compete with the Yamanaka heir for the position of kunoichi of the year. This did not exactly give Kakashi high hopes for the current generation.

Kakashi actually began to worry as the thirty minute mark was nearly reached. The reports on the Uzumaki boy were a bit inconsistent, Kakashi realized now that he thought about it. '_On average, his grades weren't anything special, but every once in a while he excelled, and his ratings were all over the place. Never showing much talent at ninjutsu, and then suddenly throwing out kage bunshin at the exams like it was nothing. Failing to perform something simple as kunai practice one day, and then defeating someone like Sasuke in single combat on taijutsu the day after. Obviously, he has been hiding his true skill. Hokage-sama warned me he might be a bit troublesome to deal with, but didn't say much about his skill or potential. And the jinchuriki business only complicates things further. Sure, my sharingan gives me an edge if the boy would lose control, but as long as I don't even know how strong he is, it still is bothersome. Though his status as jinchuriki also explains why no one ever bothered to properly examine how skilled the boy actually is. Still, Iruka spoke highly of him, perhaps that made me expect a little too much?'_

Luckily, Naruto arrived just in time. Casually strolling, with an empty box which had contained the take-away food he had bought at Ichiraku's. The fact that he took the time to buy and eat food made Kakashi's brows raise a bit. At least, the one that was visible behind his mask. '_He couldn't have used shunshin on this distance, could he?'_

"Well, now are all here, welcome to team seven. Hmm... Introductions first, I guess. I'll introduce first, and then each of you will state your name, goals, likes, and dislikes, ok? My name is Hatake Kakashi, I'm a jonin, I don't have any desires to talk about my likes or dislikes. Uhm as for my dreams… and hobbies.."

The three genin looked at each other, and shrugged at the nondescript statement. Naruto started out, even though he did not like to. But he just wanted to get it over with. "Ok, I guess… My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen," while he held up the empty box, "and I dislike short-sighted and stupid people," he resisted the urge to point at the other two genin, albeit just barely. "I guess my dream would be becoming Hokage."

The latter caused a cynical chuckle from Sasuke, irking Naruto. But before the blond could react, Sakura continued, not even having listened to the Uzumaki in the first place. "My name is Haruno Sakura. The thing I like is… well the person I like is... and uhm… my dream is... OH YEAH," she squeaked.

Obvious to all but the fangirl herself, was the sigh of their new sensei. Naruto found the somewhat embarrassed look on Sasuke's face amusing though. The perfect pay-back. Because Naruto knew very well that the Uchiha hated the fangirls of their class just as much as he did. Or perhaps even more, considering that Sasuke was their target.

While Sasuke looked away, attempting to hide his embarrassment, Naruto just rolled his eyes. He had seen enough of these kinds of situations the previous three years. Worse, he had seen Sakura and Ino together. In hindsight, it didn't surprise Naruto that much that Hinata never really managed to fit into the little group of aspiring kunoichi. '_Hinata may be a little odd, but I would rather have had her in my team than any of the other girls. Why can't they just act normally around Sasuke? It's not like he ever gave them any hope.'_

Having had enough, Sasuke spoke up before the girl's rant could continue. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are lots of things I dislike, and there is not really anything I do like. And my dream... I guess you can call it a dream: the resurrection of my clan and the death of the one who caused it to fall."

It was the first time Naruto saw, and felt, this kind of anger in Sasuke. In almost worried him, wondering if Sasuke meant the Kyuubi… but the Uchiha massacre had happened several years after that incident.

"All right, so much for the introductions, now we will do a little test," Kakashi said as he put down a clock. "You three have till noon to get these two bells from me. Those who don't have a bell at noon fail the test, okay?"

"What happens with the person who doesn't get a bell, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, suddenly back to earth due to the stated assignment.

"Well, if you fail you go back to the academy. So attack me with the intend to kill if you want to get the bells. Oh yeah, another thing: if I see you I might attack you, so make sure to be careful…" Kakashi added with a deceivingly innocent voice. And he vanished again.

'_I wonder what was worse, that guy's lazy attitude or the plain disinterest toward us?'_ Naruto frowned. '_Damn… I had hoped to hide it a bit longer, at least until the pervert returned. But I did not have to keep my promise if it was for Konoha.' _Naruto thought a bit, and smirked. '_And showing that silver haired bastard what I can _is_ my duty to Konoha right now, isn't it?'_

* * *

Hiding on tree across the clearing, Hatake Kakashi watched how Sasuke and Sakura quickly hid themselves. It was the best option, considering they faced a superior opponent. He was mildly disappointed that Sasuke ignored the kunoichi, but at least she had some sense of teamwork. Well, she did ignore her other team mate, but… '_Wait, what is he doing?'_ Kakashi wondered when he saw Naruto sitting down on the ground. The boy calmly put four sheets of paper on the ground, and placed an empty scroll in front of him.

'_What the... barrier seals? Guess that explains all those scrolls at his belt. And what is he drawing? Did someone teach him fuinjutsu? No, that is not something that suits the Hyuga. Then again, it isn't taught at the academy either. Ah well, I'd better take down that barrier first, and worry about where he learned it later,'_ Kakashi considered. To test the boy's constructs, he threw a couple of shuriken at the barrier. Though, he did not forget to keep an eye out for the other two genin. While unlikely, Naruto could also serve as a distraction, so that the others could strike.

Surprisingly, the barriers exploded the moment the shuriken hit. And though the young Uzumaki jumped out of the smoke unharmed, he had an annoyed look on his face. Kakashi created a kage bunshin to deal with the boy. While the boy's fuinjutsu had surprised him at first, the weakness of the barriers made Kakashi reconsider. Sitting out there with such deplorable barriers was just plain stupidity.

Strange enough, the boy's look changed from annoyance to amusement when Kakashi's bunshin popped up in front of him a few moments later. '_He's smiling? Either he is really stupid or this is some kind of trick,'_ the clone of Kakashi eyed the boy suspiciously.

"Thank you, sensei," Naruto said, nonchalantly. Not against the bunshin, but against the real Kakashi. And not from down there, in the clearing, but from behind him.

"How... how did you get here?" Kakashi managed to say, after a short pause, as he was caught completely off guard. In fact, he could still see Naruto in the clearing, happily waving at the confused jonin. "Bunshin? _Kage_ bunshin?"

The boy grinned. "Well, I had to finish this while you were still underestimating me, so I only used the barrier as a diversion. I prepared my own jutsu as well as a kage bunshin," Naruto deliberately kept vague about his skills. "The bunshin leapt out of the smoke created by my barriers, giving me the opportunity to track you down. It was a basic way of distracting you, though it probably only worked because you were not expecting anything from me to begin with."

"But how did you sneak up to me?" Kakashi wondered. The diversion had been smart, but the part where the real Naruto had gotten to him confused him a lot. "How did you find me? I never noticed a thing."

"Simple, one of the seals I know makes sure you can go around unnoticed, unless you touch someone or start talking. The bell was kinda hard to take without touching you though," the boy admitted while scratching the back of his head, with a somewhat embarrassed look on his face. "I expected that your reflexes would've kicked in any moment, but luckily it worked. And… Well, as for finding you, you probably know who I am. No offence, but sensing you is not that hard at all. You're a rather troubled person, so negative emotions can be sensed aplenty."

Still, it was obvious to the jonin that Naruto hadn't expected this to be this easy. Kakashi nearly lost count of how many people he had tested, and none had ever taken the bell. Sure, a few had gotten close, but to pull this off… Never had Kakashi expected the boy to possess such skill. After a few moments, Kakashi regained enough composure to start worrying about the other two. "You wait down there, Naruto, by the logs over there. But be careful that you don't trigger the traps."

'_Gheh, what a kid. He didn't even give me the chance to start reading my book... Damn, I haven't felt embarrassed like this since Itachi. I'm going to be the laughing stock of Konoha when this leaks out.'_

* * *

It took a while, but when noon finally arrived, Kakashi returned to the three stubs at the center of the clearing. All things considered, Kakashi was somewhat impressed. Not that he would show it to them, of course. No need to make his genin too complacent. Especially because they did fail the actual test. But the individual level of skill which Naruto and Sasuke showed had been reason enough for him to be a bit more lenient than usual. They had peaked his interest, if only a little.

Sakura had just kicked Naruto, who had been sitting against one of the logs and was fast asleep. "Where the hell were you? How can you sleep during the test?! Did you want to fail?" she shouted.

Sasuke looked annoyed, but Naruto, for one of the first times, showed emotion. And he was angry. "Go kick someone else, birdbrain! Whenever you can't deal with your own shit, you always need someone to throw your frustration at, don't you, Sakura?" Before she could reply, he threw the bell at her face. "Here," he sneered, ignoring the wincing girl. "If you act like that, it is obvious that you guys couldn't catch one. Now you can at least see how it looks like…"

"What?" Sakura started to protest, not believing what she saw. "How did you... but Sasuke-kun.."

"Well, seems like Naruto-kun was the only one who caught a bell. And it looks like you two need to go back to the academy…" Kakashi sighed. "But that doesn't matter. All three of you should just quit pretending to be shinobi".

That certainly caught the attention of the three. Naruto was the first to recover. "That cannot be right. You said that we had to catch _a_ bell to pass it, and I caught one," he said, his eyes narrowing.

"If you think like that you should already know why I think all three of you should quit. Why I think that none of you deserve to be shinobi. Naruto, your performance was easily the best. Yes Sasuke," the jonin responded to the scowl Sasuke made. "But Naruto, you never considered your team mates. Even worse, you hid your abilities from them, hindering any chance of teamwork."

"…not like they ever intended to work with me," Naruto scowled.

"Sasuke," the jonin continued, ignoring the Uzumaki. "You just rushed away on your own. Right from the start, you never considered your teammates, just like Naruto. How is this teamwork? You cannot expect yourself to do everything, no matter how good you think you might be. You came close to grabbing the last bell, I have to commend you for that, but otherwise your performance was unworthy of a genin."

"And Sakura, your performance was the worst. Easily. You really should not have fallen for a simply genjutsu like that," Kakashi added with a disapproving tone. "Unlike the others, you thought of someone besides yourself, but you only focused on Sasuke. You were close enough when Naruto caught me off guard. If you had paid a little attention to what he did, you would have had a fair chance of getting a bell as well. I don't say your affection is something bad, but at least try to control your heart a little. If you allow yourself to be blinded by your love for Sasuke, you can better quit entirely. Just go work in a hospital, or something like that. If you continue as a kunoichi with that mindset, you would only be a liability in the field. A burden to your team."

Sasuke looked infuriated, and Sakura blushed, ashamed but incapable of objecting to the words Kakashi had just spoken. Naruto was merely confused. Why would this jonin expect others to want to work together with him? Surely the man must know who and what he was, so why even expect such a thing?

"All three of you should consider this: if you want to become a shinobi, you need to think about your team first. If you only think about yourself, it will not be just your own funeral, but also that of your team members. And then I don't even want to think about the possible consequences it could have for the village if you ended up failing a mission," Kakashi paused for a moment. "But, since you did manage to catch one bell, I suppose it would be fair to give you another try. Stop underestimating shinobi, even the most basic genin should be capable of teamwork. We will start again in fifteen minutes," Kakashi took Naruto's bell and vanished into a puff of smoke.

'_Perhaps I should just fail on purpose, just for the hell of it. Would also be a chance to avoid being in this shitty team,' _Naruto considered for a moment, before he rejected the idea. Going back to the academy again would hardly be any better than this. Both would be boring, but at least missions could be fun. Being out of the village would certainly be a welcome development.

"I don't get it, why work as a team if one of us fails anyway?" Sakura asked confused.

"The test isn't about the bells, he just said so," Sasuke replied with an undercurrent of anger. "You, how did you manage to catch that bell?" He pointed at Naruto. Who was somewhat offended by the Uchiha's rudeness. At least, he would be, if he wasn't accustomed to it already.

"Have you really not paid any attention at all? Morons," Naruto sighed. "Listen, I'm not particularly happy about this team either, but I don't plan to fail due to something like this. Yes, I might be able to catch him again. But it seems unlikely that the same way will work again. He's too good for that. The seal I just used to sneak up to Kakashi only applies to me. I have yet to figure out how to do it on anything besides myself and my bunshin. Besides, the chakra cost is annoying. Not something either of you could handle, I guess. But I do have other options. All I need to know is where he is, and someone to hold him still for a second."

"And that is where you need us," Sasuke inferred with a sigh. Even though it severely hurt his pride to cooperate with the blond, he knew there was no other way against this opponent. Failing this test was an even worse option. And in order to pass, teamwork was inevitable. "All right then, you are right, we have no other option. Not against someone like Kakashi. What do you need us to do?"

"Wait, what are you planning to do Naruto?" Sakura demanded, surprised by Sasuke's sudden twist.

"Well, if I put enough chakra in my Inryoku no Fuin (Gravitation seal), it would probably immobilize him long enough for someone else to capture the bells. Though, I'm not sure how long it would restrain an actual jonin. The downside of that seal is that it applies to everything within the range of the seal, the moment I release it. So I won't be able to move either. And whoever manages to lure Kakashi-sensei will be caught as well."

Naruto looked at Sakura, and smirked for a moment. "So distracting Kakashi-sensei will be your job. Between the two of you, Sasuke is obviously the fastest, and considering the limited duration of the seal, and the distance that needs to be crossed, he would be the only one to have a proper chance to grab the bells."

"Is there is no alternative? I sounds too much like a gamble," Sasuke scowled.

"Not unless you or Sakura have some hidden power," Naruto replied dryly. Luckily, they would not understand the irony of the remark he just made. Besides, he knew that Sakura would never hide anything that could impress Sasuke, and Sasuke would never hide anything if it gave him the opportunity to show how superior he was. "Before I fell asleep, I watched sensei move. Obviously, his speed is far above my own. His taijutsu is perhaps the best I've ever seen, unless I'd take someone like Hiashi-sama or Hizashi-sama into account. And he also uses skills to hide and escape which I've never seen before. Not even mentioning the speed at which he executes his hand seals. We don't even stand a ghost of a chance if we rush up to him. Hell, even if the entire class was here we would lose against this guy. Especially when he stops underestimating us."

"But how… If Sensei is that much better, how-" Sakura muttered.

"It is obvious that this task is designed so it would be impossible for any individual genin to even get near those darn bells."

'_Yet still you did it...'_ Sasuke grimaced, before he nodded. "Teamwork is the only viable option."

Sakura could not follow all the new information. The outcast, Naruto, suddenly possessed great skill? Skill great enough that even Sasuke-kun would listen to him? "But there are only two-"

"The bells don't matter," Sasuke cut her off, annoyed that the girl was still repeating that. "This is simply a test to look at our teamwork. And considering this is the first time we work together, it's probably aimed at our potential, and not the actual performance. Teams always consist of three genin and a jonin sensei. We just got fooled," he concluded, frowning.

"Yep, that's correct. And this sounds a lot better," Kakashi said while looking down on the genin from the stub behind them. None of them had noticed him being there, a testament of his skill. Naruto wondered how the jonin had managed to suppress his presence like this. Though, he knew he was focused on planning and not on his 'sense'. Kakashi smiled carefree, underneath his mask. "If you continue to act like this, you might just make decent genin after all. I guess I can let you guys pass. Though, I need to hear more about your fuinjutsu, Naruto."

Well, that was partly true. The other part was that Kakashi did not want to bother with another few hours of being chased. '_And that fuinjutsu of Naruto sounds dangerous. What else did he hide? This surely reeks of Jiraiya-sama's meddling. It would make sense if he is the one who kept the library from Minato-sensei and Kushina-sama. It would make sense for Naruto to get them eventually. Though, I wonder why Hokage-sama never said anything about it. Then again… perhaps I should've read those files a bit better.'_

"You know, you guys are the first who didn't start fighting with each other after I scolded you," Kakashi continued after hopping down from the stub. "Most of them were just morons, who only thought about their own chances, blamed each other, and were not willing to risk being the one not getting a bell. There are all those great codes and rules, but most people just fail to understand that they have to risk their lives, or sometimes chose to forfeit their lives. And only trash sacrifices others for a meaningless mission. The real heroes of Konoha you can see on the stone monument at the entrance of the village. Those are the people who sacrificed their lives for their team mates, for their friends, family and village. Tomorrow at nine we meet again at this training ground, all right?"

* * *

"Just tell him about the team I'm stuck with, I guess he will want to know. Though Kakashi-sensei was one of the few jonin he previously mentioned, so I suspect that he already knows," Naruto grumbled. Hinata, who noticed him as he entered the estate, frowned. Whatever he talked to, it was small. Curiously, she decided to get closer.

"Though, you might add that he could've picked another pair of genin, if he had a hand in the formation of my team anyway. Putting me in a team with those two idiots... Though I suppose Sakura wouldn't have been such a problem if _he_ wasn't around," Naruto added sourly. "I'd rather have had Choji or Shikamaru around, or Hi.."

"Ehm.." Hinata tried to speak up, though they were both cut off by someone else grumbling something unintelligible.

"Why didn't you call a messenger if that's all you want?" an odd voice croaked after that.

"And a few days ago you complained that I hadn't summoned you enough, Kichi," Naruto chuckled.

"Well this is no action, nor is it fun. And I should go, before the chick sees me," the one named Kichi said before vanishing in a tiny cloud of smoke.

Hinata noticed Naruto stare at her, and was unpleasantly aware of how her jaw had dropped. "A f-frog?" she managed to say.

Naruto laughed which surprised Hinata. Naruto did not laugh very often. Not genuine laughter, at least. "_Never_ mention that to them, they hate frogs. Don't ask me why, though. No, Gamakichi is a toad," Naruto chuckled. "I signed the toad summoning contract a few years ago," he explained upon seeing her confusion. "Jiraiya made me do it, and taught me summoning them. Best way to exchange messages, he said, as we are the only two who have the contract. He also made me promise to keep it a secret. So, please don't tell anyone, especially not Hiashi-sama. I heard he met Gamabunta, Gamakichi's dad, a long time ago. They weren't very friendly from what I gathered. Toads aren't very well mannered," he smiled. "And your family is… well, they like etiquette a bit too much to handle Gamabunta."

"I… I see," Hinata stammered. "H- How did your meeting with y-your jonin sensei go?"

"Hmm I got that Kakashi-guy. Remember the one that Hizashi-sama is always grumbling about? The guy who is always a few hours late?"

Hinata smiled faintly as the recalled her uncle's latest rant concerning the 'less punctual' jonin. "Ojisan did say that Kakashi-san was highly skilled."

"I saw that during the test he gave us," Naruto agreed.

"T-test?" Hinata wondered. "Kurenai-sensei did not give us a test. She seemed very nice, though she did scold Kiba-san a few times."

"Knowing Kiba she didn't do that without reason," Naruto frowned. "But yeah, Kakashi-sensei tested us for our teamwork. Not very surprising, in hindsight, if you know a little about my 'team'," he added sarcastically.

"Sakura and Sasuke in one team might prove to be a bit... Troublesome," Hinata copied one of her other classmates.

"That's quite the understatement," Naruto added darkly. "Sasuke seems to be just as annoyed by her behavior. I suppose everything annoys him." Naruto suddenly looked at his watch, and apologized to her. "Apologies, Hinata-sama, I have to run some errands for Haruki-san and Ako-san."

"I told you to stop with 'sama,'" Hinata said softly, unheard by the boy as he already ran away. Though, she supposed that it was progress, being able to talk with him for this long. Usually, either she messed up, or he went away with some polite reason. She always got the feeling he wanted to flee, whenever someone was talking to him.

As she turned towards the main building on the compound, Ako appeared.

The younger sister of Hinata's personal guard, Ko, had been tasked to take care of Naruto and Haruki, after the latter had suffered a particularly heavy seizure a few months ago. "Apologies, Hinata-sama, but Haruki-san asked me if you wanted to speak to him," the brown haired young woman bowed, and led Hinata towards the man's cottage after Hinata had nodded.

Ako was a bit of an atypical branch hyuga. While kind and responsible, almost to the point where she appeared to be docile, Ako also had a bit of a temperament once you got to know her. Due to that, she had gotten into a chain of events which had led her to serving Naruto. Wearing the standard full-length kimono with a white apron, Ako was now the example of seriousness. Hinata could not figure out why, but for some reason the young woman seemed to be conflicted about something. The inquisitive gaze from her white eyes made Hinata shudder, when the young servant held the door open for her.

"Good afternoon, Hinata-sama," Haruki greeted the girl from his chair. "Don't look that worried, please. I don't look that bad, do I? Though I hope you don't feel offended when I don't stand," he added with a slight grin, before nodding towards Ako, who left the room and closed the doors.

"Though it is not very... courteous to do this, I'd like to discuss Naruto-kun's well-being with you," Haruki became a little cautious. "I am sworn not to share any details, but I do believe this is necessary. You must understand Naruto-kun has some burdens to carry. Many people dislike him for that, which in the return also adds another burden for him."

Hinata looked downcast. "H-Haruki-san, why do people hate Naruto so much? Otou-sama won't tell me, and Kaa-san said that I should either ask Otou-sama or Naruto-kun himself." Tears appeared in her white eyes. "Naruto-kun never did anything wrong, yet no one ever gives him a chance. It is so unfair! I know he acts like it doesn't bother him, b-but…"

"...but he hides his feelings and evades other people whenever he has the chance to do so," Haruki finished the sentence for her. "I must apologize, but I cannot tell you more about this either. What I do want to ask of you is to help him. Naruto-kun has no luxury of friends, and no one of his own age to share his burdens with."

Hinata's shocked look made Haruki laugh. "I apologize for being so blunt, but I know you are quite uncomfortable around Naruto. On the other hand, you are one of the few people who Naruto talks with, who he cares for, and who genuinely care about him as well. I think that Naruto keeps people at a distance in order to protect himself, but he sees you as the one who saved him from those orphanages. I think that, if anyone is capable of helping him, it is you, Hinata-sama. If you are willing to do so."

Hinata's blushed, and seemed confused. "B-But, N-Naruto-kun saved _me_! Twice. How could he feel indebted to me?"

"My guess would be that Naruto-kun thinks he did what was the right thing to do, while the Hyuga clan did something for him which was unprecedented to him. He had only experienced orphanages, where people only thought of him as another burden, at best. The Hyuga clan took him in, trained him, and educated him," Haruki said. "And I believe Naruto now thinks in terms of what his 'duty' to others is."

"I... I never knew he felt like that. I- I- Whenever I t- talk to him, I always seem to m-mess everything up. I just freeze and f-faint… I'm just a failu-"

"I believe Hinata-sama has a lot more strength than she thinks. Please believe in that too. I know our clan puts high demands on you, but there are many kinds of strength. Your kindness is not a weakness," Haruki added kindly, looking at her shocked face. "Your kindness could be the thing which can save Naruto. I fear what could happen if Naruto-kun completely loses faith in humanity. And Kami knows that people did enough for that to be understandable," Haruki sighed.

Hinata nodded, seemingly more confident than when she entered. Even though she was not in the same team as Naruto, she could at least talk to him when he was at the Hyuga compound. The few years older Ako let her out, with a look of sympathy. "Please ask me if you ever need any help, Hinata-sama. I will do whatever I can for Naruto-kun."

* * *

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi bowed.

"Ah, good afternoon Kakashi," Hiruzen answered. "So, how did your team perform at the test?"

"Hmmpf. Can't say it much of a team. Individually, both exceeded my expectations, but I still don't understand why you insisted in putting Sasuke and Naruto on one team. They are about the two least compatible genin I've ever seen. If you ask me, putting them together will only result in more trouble."

The Hokage sighed, and gestured that Kakashi should take the seat opposite to his desk. "I know that both boys carry heavy burdens. But my hope is that they might be able to understand each other _because_ of those burdens." Hiruzen paused for a moment. "Besides, they both need your sharingan. Sasuke will need someone to guide him when he awakens his own, and Naruto… The sharingan might be the best chance we have if he should lose control."

The visible part of Kakashi's face paled. "You mean you really expect me to... How stable is his seal?"

"The seal is as strong as it could be, after all these years. But the Kyuubi no Kitsune is no simple creature... Not something that is stopped, even with a seal as strong as the one which Minato made. I fear its influence on Naruto could become dangerous. You are one of the very few who might stand a chance when the monster takes over, and it might be possible that Sasuke could help you, if he manages to awake his sharingan."

Kakashi nodded, knowing what he would need to do. This assignment was more dangerous than expected, almost enough to make him long for his old position with the anbu.

"I do have a few questions regarding Naruto's current level of skill, Hokage-sama…"

* * *

"That was quite a harsh thing to do, to put such a burden on an already troubled girl."

Haruki's white eyes widened in shock. "Hitomi-sama!"

"So, cousin. Can you explain to me why you took this course of action? You must know there already have been a few attempts on her life, because the consensus is that my daughter is unfit to be heir. Why did you add another burden on her frail shoulders?"

Recognizing the undercurrent of anger, Haruki decided to tell her everything. Well, as much as could, without violating the trust Naruto placed on him. "I realize her burden very well, cousin. Yet I also see Naruto's burden. I truly believe that they can help each other. Yes, the majority of the clan would not approve of her rather obvious affection for him, but I highly doubt either of them would care. Well, not that Naruto realizes any of it yet, even though Hinata is not very difficult to understand in this aspect."

Haruki sighed deeply. "Naruto may have his grand goal of becoming Hokage, but that is not his real goal. To him, becoming Hokage is merely a way to become accepted, and to change the world that tormented him. From the moment he was born his life has been a struggle. I care about him as if he was my own son. Minako and I always wanted to have a kid, but you know she died before we could get married. And as things are now… There is no doubt that I will soon join her. I do not regret it, you know that as well as I do. But I cannot simply abandon Naruto to the hatred of our village, or the hatred of the Kyuubi, either. You of all people _must_ be able to see that he is slowly losing the struggle."

"His body language fluctuates, his chakra sometimes spikes, and its color... I know enough, also that Hiashi is concerned. But to shove it on my daughter, I cannot accept that."

"I know. But she is the only one capable of helping. In their own ways, they care for each other. More than even you would expect, cousin. If there is one who can break through the downwards spiral he is locked in, it is your daughter. At the same time, he is the perfect person to help her with her problems. And about the consequences..." Haruki took the time to formulate it carefully, knowing full well his cousin was the Hyuga's master of ready body language. "I do not think Naruto would allow anyone to harm Hinata."

Hitomi's eyes narrowed at his statement. Knowing that the boy's true lineage would not present a problem, she never opposed the two children getting closer, even though Hiashi had his reservations. But she thought it was even more important because of Hinata's feelings. Being accepted by the one she loved, her self-confidence would increase, and with it biggest problem in her fighting ability. Which, in turn, might change the way the clan saw her. Still… The risks were no laughing matter. Though she clearly saw her cousin was hiding _something_. Were he or Naruto somehow connected to the failed attempts on her daughter's life? '_Either way, there are no signs he means to hurt Hinata, even though he knows the risk he took._'

Hitomi sighed, and rubbed brows. "Very well, I will not interfere. Not yet at least. But I warn you, she is not yet aware of his burden. Her response when she will realize it can cause a lot trouble, especially if you are right on how much he cares about her. But you should at the very least briefly teach him about the subjects of love and relationships. Though I have to admit that he is mostly an enigma to me, it is clear that he is oblivious on that," she chuckled.

'_That would make teaching him etiquette look like nothing...' _After raising his brows, knowing how difficult _that_ could become, he bowed. "I will, Hitomi-sama." She left him while thinking how she could bring this to Hiashi. _Gently_. He might not think his daughter would be a suitable heir, but he did not seem to look very favorable towards her getting involved with a boy, especially not when that boy was Konoha's jinchuriki as well.

Or perhaps she should just remain silent. After all, she knew better than anyone that Hiashi used to be just as clueless as Naruto. She smiled while thinking back on how long it had taken until he finally realized that she loved him. Even _after_ she taught him to read body language.

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you all for your reviews so far! This is the kickoff for the genin arc. Just like in the canon story, Naruto left the academy to join team 7. Obviously, this team is far from perfect. Perhaps it'll grow, and perhaps… perhaps this story isn't going to be your typical team seven fic? Perhaps I keep it as dysfunctional as it was in the manga? You'll see soon enough which route I am taking.

And no: I do not aim for a near-perfect Naruto. I've given him more skill than he originally had at this point, which is a logical result of his alternate upbringing. But in spite of his hard training he still has a lot of flaws. Personally, I think that fanfics with overpowered characters are boring. But it is inevitable that Naruto is different from the other kids, being the host of the most powerful bijuu.

-Z-

**Edited**: 26/11/15


	5. Morning exercise

**Genin arc**

**Morning exercise**

* * *

It was nearly half past ten when Kakashi finally showed up. Much later than the time he had said they were supposed to meet. Naruto, knowing the man's reputation, had been too bored to stay awake and had fallen asleep sitting next to a large oak. Sakura knew that Sasuke was somewhere nearby, but he had stalked off after she had tried to talk to him. "Sasuke-kun! Sensei finally showed up," the pink-haired kunoichi shouted, waking up Naruto in the process.

"Morning guys," Kakashi said on a casual tone.

"Weren't we supposed to meet at nine?" Sasuke scowled.

"Hmmm nine you say?" Kakashi raised his visible brow. "Ah well, let's not fret about such details. Now we are all here, we should start our job!"

Naruto stood up, his bored expression making it obvious that he still had no interest at this charade anymore. "You will always show up late, won't you, sensei?"

Kakashi ignored the remark, and instead focused on putting his flak jacket right. "Well, we had a little experience in teamwork yesterday, but let's talk a little about our skills. You guys are supposed to work as a team, and the first thing I expect from my team mates is to know what they can do."

"Err… Sensei? What do you mean by skills?" Sakura asked, raising her hand. "We just left the academy."

"Attending the academy did not stop you from learning jutsu outside the standard curriculum, right?" Kakashi said on a dry tone.

"Well… no... but."

"Sakura, in your case I would recommend studying genjutsu," Kakashi said to the hesitating girl. "From what I saw yesterday, it seemed to me like you were the genjutsu-type. You definitely have the precise chakra that is required for it."

"Genjutsu? But that would…" Sakura started, before she noticed Sasuke's dismissive look.

"Of course, the Uchiha have the advantage with their sharingan," Kakashi said pointedly, also spotting Sasuke's expression. "But in-born talent rarely matches the actual skill people can reach if they work hard for it."

"They don't teach proper genjutsu at the academy anyway," Sasuke said coldly. "The basic skills aside, I can execute some katon ninjutsu."

"I saw, yesterday," Kakashi remarked. "Though, with some additional training in your chakra control, you would be able to do more damage. Your affinity for it alone is not enough. Not by a long shot," the jonin turned to the silent last member of his group.

"Basic skills, plus some futon ninjutsu, and fuinjutsu," Naruto sighed when Kakashi kept looking at him. "As well as kage bunshin."

"I saw your kage bunshin yesterday. Very impressive for a genin to master an A-rank jutsu like that," Kakashi admitted. "And I would like to hear more about your fuinjutsu."

"What I can do with it?" Naruto frowned. He sighed when Kakashi kept looking. "Well, I can create markers for barriers, and have a variety of more offensive seals next to it."

"Such as…"

"Kakusa no Fuin (stealth seal), Inryoku no Fuin (gravitation seal), and Omori no Fuin (weight seal)," Naruto shrugged. Those few he named had already been revealed anyway, so there wasn't any point in remaining silent about them. "Nothing special. I mostly focused on learning the basics of fuinjutsu, thus far, rather than memorizing specific jutsu."

'_Nothing special he says,_' Kakashi smirked under his mask. '_While I presume that these jutsu are relatively low level fuinjutsu, learning them and being able to use them in combat are completely different things… I wonder how many of our jonin or anbu are capable of such a feat. Then again, the kid is an Uzumaki. It makes me wonder whether he is still hiding more._'

Naruto did not have to look at Sakura's surprised face, or Sasuke's annoyed expression, to sense the tension in their little group. Not that he cared much about the opinion his team mates had. They didn't like him, he knew that. And that uncaring jonin seemed little better. Although Naruto considered that indifference was less annoying than outright hatred. Still, he had plenty of reason as to why he wasn't willing to tell that much about himself.

"Well… I'd suggest we make a little schedule from now on," Kakashi said. "Every day we start at one in the afternoon and execute missions together. These missions will be easy ones in the beginning, seeing how you are all merely rookies. I suggest you all spend your time in the morning wisely, and train yourselves hard. If you want any help on it, either ask me, or consult the central Konoha library. With the clearance you guys have as genin, you can probably access most of the basic information you need to improve your skillset."

"So... That's individual work?" Sakura asked with a disappointed voice, while looking at Sasuke.

"If you guys want to become shinobi, you should be able to take care of yourself… Though most things are done as a group, your individual skill is very important as well. I won't lie, I expect discipline from you guys. If you want me to take you seriously, that is," Kakashi said on an even tone. "Or you can just mess up, and I'll treat you like kids. Your choice. Take today to plan out what you want to do, and meet me here at noon tomorrow, after we discuss your plans, we will take our first mission."

'_Or he just doesn't want to admit he is too lazy to teach us personally,' _Naruto sighed, looking at the smoke his teacher left behind as he disappeared. '_Jiisan certainly knows how to pick 'em.'_

* * *

"So, how did your genin do?" Yuhi Kurenai asked when Kakashi entered the room. Sarutobi Asuma and Mitarashi Anko looked up curiously, while the fifth jonin, Yamanaka Inoichi, only continued his grumbling.

"They passed," Kakashi shrugged.

"Genin who passed _your_ test?" Anko exclaimed. "Wow... impressive, considering your track record."

"My track record is not half as bad as yours, Anko," Kakashi smirked from under his mask. "I take it you failed your team again this year?"

"Of course," she smiled. "Those fools should even be happy I did. Possibly the worst team I saw in five years. Though, they endured longer than I had initially expected. Well, until my snakes caught them," she chuckled, triggering some concerned looks from the others.

"We weren't very lucky, indeed," Inoichi sighed, seemingly depressed. "Perhaps the curriculum at the academy should be improved, if kids like them were able to pass…"

"Still, with Kakashi passing his team, that makes three teams who made it this year," Asuma remarked. "While I have to admit my team does have quite some work to do, if it wants to function properly, it really isn't that bad this year. Sorry Inoichi," he added when the blond jonin's head jerked up, "But you really spoil your daughter too much. She's proud and bossy, and in combination with Choji, who lacks confidence in himself, and Shikamaru, who is as lazy as one can get, their teamwork is completely terrible at this point."

"I could've told you that in advance," Kurenai smiled. "I followed that class for a day, when Hokage-sama ordered me to take charge of one of the new genin-squads."

"I know you didn't want to be a jonin sensei so soon after being promoted, so why didn't you just fail them? You are too damn nice, as always," Anko laughed at her friend.

"Well, I have my doubts on this team, but they are good kids. I couldn't fail them, even if they all have their flaws. My only worry is that they lack the skills for when they get in a real fight. But as trackers or scouts, they will be great," Kurenai replied with some pride.

"An Inuzuka, a Hyuga, and an Aburame…" Inoichi said with noticeable envy in his voice. "Though I guess you would be right. Imagine that team if the Uchiha boy was in it… That would certainly increase their fighting ability!"

"Yeah, how did the famous Uchiha prodigy do, Kakashi?" Anko asked. "He was the top of his class, after all."

Kakashi shrugged. "He did pretty well, for a genin. Not as exceptionally gifted as his brother was at his age, but with his lineage, he should be able to become one of Konoha's strongest shinobi in a few years."

"That good?" Asuma whistled. "Though of course it is a bit unfair to compare him to Itachi…"

"Yeah," Kakashi sighed. "Itachi was unlike any I worked with. He was already exceptional when he just joined the anbu. I never saw anyone with such talent and determination. Though perhaps…"

"What's wrong?" Inoichi asked when the silver haired jonin remained silent. "Don't tell me you have another genin in your team with such talent?" he laughed. "I mean, if you look at the academy results, Sakura-chan excelled only in the theoretical tests, enough to rival my Ino-chan. While the Uzumaki… Well, we all know…"

The others nodded, and remained silent. Anko even scowled, thinking back of the Kyuubi's attack on Konoha. Kurenai solemnly remembered her father, who had fallen that day.

"He scored average on the academy. But either he was hiding his skill, or those tests were falsified," Kakashi said, somewhat surprised by the others. "He caught me off guard when I tried to test him, managing to capture one of the bells."

"What?"

"What test did you do?" Kurenai asked.

"The usual, they had to get the two bells I carried. But I guess I underestimated them this time," Kakashi admitted. "Sasuke is considered a genius, and he came close to catching one bell, nearly touching it once. Which is rather good for a mere genin. But Naruto... Like I said: he must have hidden his real skill all these years. Next time I face him I'd better use my sharingan or I'll be fooled once more. The brat managed to snatch on of the bells right at the start of my test."

Asuma whistled, and the others seemed equally impressed. They all knew Kakashi's reputation, and a mere genin pulling off such a feat was extraordinary. Besides, it was supposed to be an _impossible _test, with the aim of forcing the rookies to work together against an overwhelmingly stronger opponent. For a mere genin to force Kakashi to use the sharingan was…

"Did he use... Well, you know, _its _chakra?" Anko asked, with a hint of fear. It was the only conclusion she could reach to logically explain Naruto's surprising skill. And by the looks the others cast at him, they too thought that way.

"No, he never needed it," Kakashi smiled. "And I hope he never will. No, he used fuinjutsu to somehow hide himself from me, while I tried to attack his kage bunshin."

"Kage bunshin?!" Asuma exclaimed. "Damn. How did a kid like him learn that jutsu?"

"I really do not know how he learned it. I think you would have to ask your father for that," Kakashi replied dryly. "But with Naruto's reserves, it was to be expected that he would never get the chance to grow up like the other kids. Unlike us, who grew up in a time of war, none of those kids had to struggle like Naruto had to. Aside from him and Sasuke, none really know what it is to suffer... I admit I am curious to see how those two will grow while on one team."

"They did not seem very compatible," Kurenai remarked. "I mean, I saw how the Haruno girl acted. And Naruto and Sasuke seemed pretty much the opposite of each other. The Uchiha wasn't exactly subtle with his sneers against Naruto, even though Naruto ignored him most of the time."

Kakashi nodded, but did not want to repeat his hesitation regarding the decision that the Hokage made. "It'll be fine," he answered nonchalantly. "So everyone's curiosity is satisfied? Where is Genma, by the way?"

"He failed his team in what must be an all-time record," Anko laughed. "The bastard was even faster than I was. He already got back to his regular duties though. Hey, why don't we stop by at Dangoya's?"

* * *

Enjoying his break, Umino Iruka took a stroll through the village. With a class having graduated, and the next one not having started yet, he had a lot more spare time. Which was a good thing. As much as he loved teaching, those kids could really get under his skin at times. Lost in thoughts, Iruka suddenly notice a blond tuft of hair between the people on the street.

"Hey! Naruto!" Iruka shouted. "How are you doing," he added, when he caught up with the surprised genin.

"Fine, Iruka-sensei," Naruto smiled. "And you?"

"Ahh.. Good, actually. Though the academy is a little quiet now you guys left," the chunin laughed. It had taken him some time to get over the fact that Naruto was the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, but in the end, when he got to learn who the boy was underneath his distant façade, Iruka had come to appreciate the boy's company. "Though, fewer classes also mean more spare time. Come on, I'll treat you some ramen, I owe you that, remember?"

"Thanks, sensei," Naruto smiled, quickly following his former teacher to Ichiraku's.

"Now, tell me all about your team."

Well, that was a story which didn't last very long. Naruto didn't lie about his discontent, from how he and Sasuke barely tolerated each other, to Sakura's… fangirlism. Kakashi wasn't really a subject which Naruto had to spend many words on either. The jonin seemed to be perfectly happy with not doing a thing for them, and just left them to figure out their own paths.

"So what it boils down to is that you guys train in your own time, individually, and take missions as a team in the afternoon," Iruka repeated. "So what are you planning to do for your training?"

"Well, I got no shortage of work," Naruto admitted. "I mean, my clan's fuinjutsu is a bit difficult to learn."

"So I've heard," Iruka smiled. "There are some quite incredible rumors going around about you, Naruto. Why did you keep such skill hidden?"

"Rumors?" Naruto was a bit worried. Rumors regarding him usually were not good. At all. Most of the times it would revolve around the Kyuubi and how Naruto was an abomination. Etcetera. There was never a shortage in stupidity.

"It seems you managed to trick the infamous copy-ninja Kakashi, so you bet that this is the kind of news that travels fast throughout the village," the man laughed, while Teuchi handed them their bowls.

The owner of Ichiraku's frowned. "Kakashi... Isn't that the guy who recently stepped down from the position as captain of the anbu?"

"Kakashi-sensei was part of the anbu?" Naruto asked surprised.

"Hatake Kakashi is quite a famous jonin," Iruka smirked at the oblivious boy. "Tricking him is quite a feat."

Teuchi laughed and congratulated his now famous customer, adding that the ramen was free for them today. A thing which definitely did not go unnoticed. Naruto attacked his ramen with doubled ferocity. Much to the dismay of Ayame. The young woman had no idea how she was supposed to keep up with that.

When Naruto ordered his fourth bowl, another extra-large serving of miso ramen, Iruka had to apologize. "Sorry, Naruto, but I have to go now, or I'll be late at the academy. And remember to keep variety in training. You need to work on your taijutsu, right? If you ever need any help, make sure to ask me, alright?"

"Yes sensei," Naruto smiled back, waving Iruka goodbye. No matter how people treated Naruto, Iruka had always been a sympathetic man. The only teacher who treated Naruto as an actual human being.

"You actually want to train? You must be nuts," an exhausted voice startled him. Naruto was not used to people talking to him, as most people in Konoha tended to avoid him. And with his other sense, not many people were capable of sneaking up on him. Unless he was too focused on a subject, but that wasn't the case right now. "Hey, aren't you… Don't you live at Neji's place?"

Naruto looked at the brown-haired kunoichi who had just ordered something to eat. "Yeah, I live at the Hyuga compound," Naruto frowned. "Aren't you Neji's team mate? Tenten-san, if I recall correctly?"

"Thanks," the girl said when Teuchi gave her 'the usual'. "Yesh, by dame ish Denden, hungry, eat fisht," she spoke, while frantically attacking her bowl of ramen at the same time. Naruto was somewhat surprised by her behavior, as if the kunoichi who had her hair in two buns had not eaten for days. Naruto shrugged, and attacked his own bowl, before his precious ramen would get cold.

"So, you plan to train on your own, Naruto-kun?" Tenten said after she finished her bowl in a time which impressed even a self-proclaimed ramen expert as Naruto.

"Yeah, that was what my sensei told me."

"Who is your sensei?"

"Hatake Kakashi."

"Kakashi! Where?" another voice startled them.

"Not here, Lee, just sit down," Tenten said somewhat annoyed. "You already finished your extra lap?"

Lee nodded enthusiastically and quickly ordered something to eat.

"You guys were training just now?" Naruto frowned.

"Yeah… Maito Gai is our sensei… and his morning exercise is hellish," Tenten groaned.

Lee blinked a few times, which Naruto found rather amusing due to the remarkably round eyes. "Gai-sensei makes us work hard, so that we can get stronger each day," the heavily eye-browed boy added with more than a little pride.

"I… See…" Naruto looked from the green-clad genin, who now attacked his food, to the exhausted kunoichi. So the other jonin trained their genin themselves. As he had suspected, Kakashi was tardy. "What does he make you do in this training regime?"

"Lots of push-ups, sit-ups, and running, a more of that sort of things," Tenten said. "And after all that we get two hours of sparring."

"Damn," Naruto whistled. "You guys make long days."

"Well, Lee starts early. At seven, each day, usually I join them at eight," Tenten admitted. "After four hours, we usually get something to eat in this area, before we join with Neji and do some missions. Neji trains at the Hyuga estate," she added a bit softer, almost as if she was disappointed.

"Yeah, I've seen," Naruto remarked. "He spends each morning with Hizashi-sama and seems to train pretty hard. I guess his juken requires another approach with training."

Tenten nodded. "That, and because Lee always takes the sparring too seriously."

"He started it," Lee looked up from his food.

"Neji certainly is not the most… friendly… person around," Naruto said with some sarcasm, while attempting to remain neutral in front of Neji's teammates. "What did he do to you?"

"He told Lee that he was a failure. A loser. That is why Lee made it his goals to beat Neji."

"Yosh! I will beat Neji! And then he will see that hard work can beat any genius!"

Naruto smiled at the overly enthusiastic genin. "Those geniuses are certainly annoying. I have the bad luck of getting one in my team as well. The arrogant bastard always thinks he is better than me." Lee nodded frantically, as if he fully understood Naruto's problem.

A heavily panting jonin joined them. Though, for a moment Naruto had wondered if something was wrong with his eyes. The jonin was an adult version of Lee. The same haircut, the same suit, the same brows… "Ah, Lee, Tenten, there you are…"

"I told you, Gai-sensei," the kunoichi said dryly. "Doing even more laps than Lee is pointless." Gai quickly seemed to recover, as Teuchi gave him some food as well. Apparently, Teuchi was accustomed to this ritual, as he had already finished preparing the meal before the jonin got there.

"Naruto, why don't you join us in our morning training?" Tenten remarked, anxious to have someone 'normal' around her while spending the hours along the two training fanatics who seemed intent on driving her mad.

"Eh?"

"Yeah, that way, I would have someone around me who is still sane," Tenten pointed at Lee and Gai who looked surprised. "And there are some great stories about you going on. And seeing how you don't have anywhere to train in the morning."

"Ahh… But..."

"That's a great idea, Tenten," Gai suddenly shouted, startling Teuchi and his daughter, Ayame. But none more than Naruto. Certainly this jonin must know who Naruto was, and still he thought it was a great idea? "I heard great things of you, that even my eternal rival was surprised by your skill! I would be honoured if you took your morning training with us! Yosh! That way, we can train as a three-man team as well, and ignite the fires of youth even higher!"

"Yosh!" Lee shouted, before the genin, in his enthusiasm, accidentally knocked away Gai's bowl of ramen, straight into the man's face.

"Lee, you fool!" Gai hit his student on his head, rubbing the noodles from his face. "A true youthful ninja should always control himself!"

"I'm sorry sensei," Lee cried.

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

Tenten facepalmed when she saw their usual antics. "Don't worry Naruto. Just look away… they always do this," Tenten sighed when she saw Naruto's baffled look.

"Are… Are you sure this is alright?" Naruto said, not sure what to make of the near-identical duo. Was the jonin too silly to be bothered by the Kyuubi? He seemed to be completely insane, yet Naruto knew that someone holding that rank also had to be smart enough to earn it.

"You live at the Hyuga place, right? I'll pick you up at tomorrow morning," Tenten smiled, ignoring her slightly insane team mate and sensei.

* * *

"Why the disappointed look, Naruto-kun?" Gai asked loudly.

Naruto sat down, too tired to keep standing up. "I knew… my stamina and speed were bad... But this..."

"But y-you just did the same things as we did, on your first try!" Tenten exclaimed.

"Perhaps, but much slower… And getting this tired in only a few hours like this… My condition really has deteriorated," Naruto panted. He had focused too much on learning fuinjutsu, that his physical condition had gone down. '_Dumb, Haruki even warned me that this would happen.'_

"That's not a very youthful thing to say, Naruto-kun," Lee frowned with his humongous brows.

"Indeed," Gai agreed, "It took Tenten and Lee a lot of training to reach this level. You should feel a little more pride, Naruto-kun!"

"Perhaps," Naruto sighed.

"You know, why don't you join us more often?" Gai proposed. "You mentioned that you had other materials to learn as well, but training your taijutsu should also improve you chakra reserves and control."

Naruto frowned. "You wouldn't mind that?" he said surprised. "I mean... Most people…"

"This training isn't fit for 'most people'," Tenten replied sarcastically, not understanding the point Naruto wanted to make to Gai. "Besides, wouldn't it beat training on your own?"

"Yes. I guess," Naruto said softly, surprised that anyone would make him such an offer. "Perhaps, if you guys don't mind, I could join you another morning? Next week maybe?"

"Why don't you join us every other day?" Gai laughed at the surprised genin, who opened his eyes as widely as Rock Lee had them all of the time. "You need to train in your other arts as well. Besides, I heard something about kage bunshin! Those would be ideal for Tenten's target practice!"

* * *

**A/N:** There are reasons why Tenten is a little friendlier towards Naruto than most others. The connections to Neji and Kakashi are part of it, but so is the Konoha political system. I'll explain that later! As for Lee, he is just a general good guy, too friendly for his own good. Gai acts similarly, but is a lot smarter. Smart enough to look beyond the fact that Naruto is a jinchuriki, and see boy's potential…

-Z-

**Edited**: 27/11/15


	6. Cats and rocks

**Genin arc**

**Cats and rocks**

* * *

"What happened to you?" Sakura looked disapprovingly as Naruto came near. "And why are you so late? You know we were supposed to meet up a while ago!"

"Training," Naruto sighed, wondering if that wasn't obvious already.

"Right.." Sasuke smirked like the sight of the dirt-covered Naruto was a big joke. "You could at least have cleaned yourself first."

"Either a shower or food. Chose food," Naruto grumbled, before sitting down. Naruto's expectation about Kakashi being late again came true. Not that he cared much, as he found it rather amusing to see Sasuke's annoyance. Naruto wondered if Sakura would ever realize that the object of her affections did not like to talk. Probably not. Naruto quickly dozed off, enjoying the moment of peace after four hellish hours of training. He really understood why Tenten had been like that the day before. If you had to go through this every morning, and then still had to do missions with both Gai and Lee around.. Naruto was not very surprised she had developed a more strict nature, with the need to continuously slow the green-clad duo down before they went out of control (again).

Naruto felt the warm sun, and the gentle breeze, and sighed. He just made it himself a bit comfortable. Well deserved, he thought.

"Sorry about being late," Kakashi said, what had to be at least half an hour after, looking at the position of the sun.

"Good evening, sensei," Naruto said sarcastically, opening his eyes. "Just in time, our poor Sasuke-kun almost got a seizure from anger."

* * *

They each had described, briefly, how they planned to train themselves. Something at which Kakashi had made several additions, for instance at the theory Sakura had planned to study. Or better, the lack of physical training she had planned for. Kakashi advised at least two hours of hard physical training each day, claiming that theory and knowledge alone were insufficient. He had frowned when Naruto had explained what Gai proposed.

"Quite… unusual for a jonin to approach another jonin's student," Kakashi remarked. "But I don't mind. Gai's taijutsu is probably the best in the whole of Konoha. If not the whole world. Don't tell him I said so, though. He takes that rivalry stuff way too far.. But, I approve of your schedule, Naruto. Just a word of warning: Gai is rather insane when it comes to training, so it's not yet too late to back off."

Though, Kakashi did not add that a large part of his surprise was due to the fact that Gai hardly ever accepted students. Despite his peculiar persona, the man was actually rather secretive about his skills and training methods. _'Gai didn't just do this because of his rivalry with me… he is not that petty. No, he must be convinced that Naruto has quite some potential in taijutsu if he decided to include him with his daily training. If that's true, only genjutsu would be a weak spot for him. When you look at them, I guess Sasuke is more all-round in terms of talent, though not as exceptional as Naruto in several aspects. I knew Naruto was a monster when it comes to chakra reserves, but I expected him to have a whole lot more trouble with controlling it. The Hyuga really did well with training him.'_

"Good," he continued after approving Sasuke's schedule. "Then we start doing our missions today. Each day we will meet at one, in front of the Hokage's office.. Eh.. Sakura?" he blinked, somewhat surprised why the genin had put up her hand.

"Sensei, why don't we agree to meet at twelve?" Sakura suggested politely, while scowling enough to make it abundantly clear she was fed up with waiting each and every time.

"That way, you are still more or less on time when you finally show up," Sasuke agreed, showing his lingering annoyance. Naruto nodded, not really caring because he had already decided to never show up right on time with the sluggish jonin.

"Eh.. Well, that's fine as well," Kakashi replied sheepishly. "Erm.. As I was saying, we meet in front of the office building, and take missions each day. Now, I brought some communication devices along for you guys, take some time to get used to them so you can properly use them during the missions. Remember, my cute little genin, communication is vital for teamwork, So use this wisely, at least until you get used to each other to such a degree you don't need words anymore."

* * *

"Chasing cats.. Pulling weeds.. Collecting and disposing of garbage.. Chopping wood.. When do we get a real mission," Sasuke grumbled after they had just reported to the Hokage about their 'successful' weed disposal mission.

"Every genin is assigned D-rank missions until they are capable of handling the more difficult C-rank missions," Sarutobi Hiruzen remarked. "And until your sensei says you are ready for those more difficult missions, you will either do these missions, or quit being a shinobi," he added with a strict tone.

"A-ah, S-sasuke-kun didn't mean it like that," Sakura quickly stuttered, trying to help out her crush. Naruto just looked away, bored by his team just as much he was by the missions. Right now, the morning trainings with Gai were more interesting than the actual missions. Not to mention more dangerous. Especially when Tenten started with her 'target practice'.

Hiruzen smirked. "Well, _technically_ this is still a D-rank, but there have been some… let's call it unexpected troubles. Team eight encountered some unknown resistance while tracking down a creature that was harassing a nearby farm. Kurenai requested some backup to properly search the area, so team seven will head out and aid them. I'm sure Naruto's skill with the kage bunshin no jutsu will come in handy when they need more eyes."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Kakashi bowed after receiving the scroll with the mission's details, and left, followed by his students. But not before Naruto and Hiruzen exchanged thoughtful looks, whereby Hiruzen realized that Naruto was not taking his team very seriously.

* * *

Team seven had packed up so it could spend the night outside Konoha. Because of the unknown nature of the threat that team eight had encountered on their mission, Kakashi had decided that they would set out as soon as possible, and had stated that it would be unlikely that they would return on the same day. Luckily, team eight was not far from Konoha – thought it would have been a C-ranked mission if it had been outside of Konoha's protection.

Kakashi set the pace, quickly followed by the over-excited Sakura. Naruto wondered if her excitement was because she would spend night out near Sasuke, who didn't look too happy with the mission. Other than that, Naruto was walking behind his team mates, being rather bored by the whole thing. He had left a bunshin at the Hyuga estate with enough chakra to last two days, or so he estimated, so that he could still study some of his scrolls, warn Tenten that he couldn't join training tomorrow, and help Haruki and Ako whenever they needed him.

'_Maybe I should just have sent a clone, and stayed home myself. Too bad Kakashi-sensei can somehow tell the difference between the bunshin and me. I wonder how he figured that out,'_ Naruto pondered, thinking back at when he had just sent a clone to do the team missions, and Kakashi had responded quite annoyed that Naruto wasn't taking this seriously. Well, not like Naruto cared too much. So far, the jonin had done little to earn his loyalty. The man's blatant disinterest towards his students only caused the same response in Naruto.

They finally arrived at the camp set up by team eight, who did not seem very surprised by their arrival. Naruto imagined that Kiba's keen senses and Hinata's eyes would have spotted them long ago.

"Greeting Kakashi-sempai," Kurenai spoke. "We've prepared food for you and your team."

* * *

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata spoke up, when Naruto was standing on the edge of their camp, staring into the darkness of night. They were already at a dense forest, but at night time. Naruto thought it was a beautiful silence. Much better than in a town.

"Hinata-sama?" Naruto shook up from his thoughts.

"A-are you… Did you like dinner?" she asked shyly.

"Dinner? Yeah, dinner was great! Not like Ichiraku's heavenly ramen, but a damn lot better than I had expected from camping outdoors," Naruto smiled at the hesitant Hyuga heir, who was glad that it was dark, concealing her blush. After all, he complimented her cooking.

"T-Thank y-you," she tried not to stutter.

"So.. There is something out there that killed cattle, and it is somehow capable of evading you guys?"

"Y-Yes.." Hinata looked down. "There is no scent… Kiba-kun can't track it. Nor Shino-kun.. Whoever it is, it managed to evade all the kikai Shino-kun has sent out.. And I.. I…"

Naruto looked at the face of the sad girl, who seemed to be disappointed in herself. "So what information did you guys find?"

"Err.. The tracks looked like those made by cats.. Or one cat.. Only, it is too big. And a cat doesn't attack and eat an entire goat," Hinata frowned. "And bigger cat-like creatures like lions or tigers shouldn't be around here.."

"I see.." Naruto nodded. '_Perhaps someone left fake tracks.. No, these guys are far too good to fall for that. Perhaps someone who used the henge no jutsu? No… why would a shinobi eat goat meat? Raw?' _Naruto mused. _'Perhaps it really is some kind of monstrously big cat.. But that would mean that, with nothing else around, I should be able to track it down because of its intent to kill, whenever it sets out to hunt. Down here, without all the interference that I feel inside the village, it might work.'_

"Thank you, Hinata-sama. Let's go back to camp. It's been a long day," Naruto faked a yawn.

Hinata nodded, and for some reason Naruto could not fathom, she suddenly started blushing so furiously that she could see it, despite there being very little light to see. Had she been a little older, a little tickle of blood might have run down her nose, at the idea of sleeping in the woods together.

* * *

Hinata had bad luck, and drew the second shift of guard duty. The fact that absolutely nothing seemed to happen made it quite the boring task. Luckily, Sakura took over after two hours had passed. But before Hinata could fall asleep in her tent, she heard something.

"Byakugan," she whispered softly, after doing the required hand seals, not wanting to wake Kurenai, who she shared her tent with. '_Naruto-kun? What is he doing?'_ she thought when she spotted him leaving camp.

Following Naruto at some distance, Hinata wondered how the boy could see where he was going. Moreover, how it could be that he walked so purposefully towards his goal. Team eight had scouted the entire area several times now, during the last few days, but found nothing. '_And how could Naruto-kun sense something here?_'

* * *

'_It must be around here.. I can feel it,'_ Naruto thought. '_It's... left!'_

He turned towards his target. But whatever the creature was, despite the weak scent of malice Naruto could detect, it seemed to keep away from him. It watched him. Sensed his approach, but for some reason it did not run off.

"Kuchiose no jutsu," Naruto whispered.

In a puff of smoke a small toad appeared. "What the… what complete retard dares to summon me in the middle of night? Naruto? You crazy son of a rainworm!" Gamakichi exclaimed, while Naruto frowned seeing the bizarre nightcap that the tiny toad wore. Just as his little vest had been replaced by ugly PJs.

"Hush," Naruto whispered. "Something is near. And it seems unusual to me, not a regular animal at least.. Can you figure out what kind of creature it is?"

"Quite smart, for a human," something laughed sarcastically. "Tell me, how did you find me? Who or what are you?"

"Everyone has some evil," Naruto said towards the figure that spoke from the dark. It was a feminine voice… but it was clearly not human. "And the same question to you: what the heck are you?"

"So you can sense evil? Hmm.. Interesting.. Very interesting… and here I wanted to go out to hunt. I suppose that gave me away. But I never heard of any of you two-legs who could do that. And you can summon the toads from mount Myoboku too… indeed you are an intriguing little two-leg.."

"So who are you, and why did you attack the animals in this area?" Naruto asked, curious how the voice knew of Gamakichi.

"Sounds like one of the Bakeneko tribe," Kichi added. "Rather dangerous folk.. They like to play with their food…"

"That is a good guess," the voice replied. A large black and white cat stepped forward from behind a tree, and in the moonlight Naruto's sharp eyes saw how much larger it was then an ordinary cat. The creature was about five foot long, and had an unusually long tail. Its fur was pitch black, apart from a few while spots on its belly, and the right front leg which also was pure white.

"Bakaneko?" Naruto misheard, thinking that Gamakichi was talking about stupid cats (baka meaning stupid).

"Bakeneko, you deaf fool," Gamakichi scolded him. The toad had jumped on top of Naruto's head as soon as the cat revealed itself. "A tribe of large cats, they can grow old and possess a basic level of control over their chakra. Not the most renowned tribe of summoning species, but they have rather specific contracts between an individual of their clan and their summoner."

"Too specific," the cat sighed, barely able to suppress the bitterness from her voice. "The idiot who summoned me died on me, and in my inexperience I had not made a condition in the contract that the contract would end upon his death… so on top of it all I became an oath breaker, an outcast amongst my clan."

"An outcast? Seriously?" Naruto frowned. "So if I would die right now, 'Kichi would.."

"No," Gamakichi spoke up. "We toads have a different contract. But like I said, they make contracts on an individual basis, while we have the same contract for the few people who we allow to summon us. Those specific contracts they form also have downsides."

"So they are indeed baka," Naruto smirked. "Well fine, I understand your position, but why are you raiding this area? And how should I call you, anyway? I assume you have a name."

The cat tilted its head, as if it became curious because of what Naruto said. Obviously, she had expected him to behave differently. "Unexpected.. Very unexpected. Humans usually treat us summoned beings differently. Few see us as their equals."

"I am not really human anyway," Naruto shrugged. "But that's beside the point, and you did not answer my question."

"I see…" the cat said on a thoughtful tone. "When I sensed a great danger approach, I thought my time had come… though I guess saying that I felt admiration would be more fitting than fear. Alright, I will tell you."

The cat stepped forward, until it was barely a meter away from Naruto.

* * *

Hinata stopped her chase, and hid behind a nearby tree. Naruto was talking with... something. She saw three different patterns of chakra, one being Naruto, and the smaller one being identical to the toad she once saw him summon, which sat on top of Naruto's head. But the third pattern was strange. Cloaked, nearly completely concealed, even to her byakugan. And it was quite a large creature.

'_Naruto-kun_,' the shy girl thought, afraid he was in danger, but not sure if he needed her help. If he had raised his chakra, she would have jumped in without hesitation. But Naruto was too relaxed. It didn't look like he saw the creature as a threat.

* * *

"My name is Chie," the cat spoke. "Like the toad said, I am one of the bakeneko tribe. Or at least, I used to be… to answer your question, yes: I killed and ate several of those weak four-leg-horn-heads. Why? Because I was hungry. I needed to consume meat, to keep up this large form I need to survive out her, on my own."

"Chie," Naruto mused. '_Chie means wisdom... I wonder if it is a name she chose, or got from her clan. She sounds proud enough for the first..'_

"So, you were an outcast and killed those animals as your prey in order to survive," Naruto summarized. "And you have a smaller form?"

"Yes," Chie said softly. "I am only a few decades old, so I am still rather small."

"Seriously?" Naruto exclaimed. "You're twice my age?"

"Two-legs grow quicker," Chie said with an amused voice. "Perhaps that is why their brain is so underdeveloped? But what do you plan to do, abnormal-two-leg-boy?"

"The name's Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. My mission was to stop whatever killed that farmer's cattle. It did not specify how we were supposed to stop you… and as a fellow outcast, I do not intend to hurt you either." Naruto scratched his chin, frowning as he thought of a solution to this situation. "Kichi, if I remember correctly, I cannot sign more contracts, right? So I wouldn't be able to send her home?"

"You can only have the toad contract," Gamakichi admitted. "I believe signing another contract is a violation of your contract with us."

"Wait. You would be willing to sign a contract, with me? An oath breaker?" Chie asked, not managing to contain her surprise.

"I am sorry Chie, but I cannot break my contract with the toads. I gave them my word," Naruto admitted. "And I do not take back my word… but I can do something else. How big are you normally?"

"That's a very rude question to ask a woman," Chie chuckled. "About the same size as those pathetic cats the two-legs keep around their houses. A bit bigger, but not so much that it seems unnatural. Only my tail is much longer than those of my lesser cousins."

"So how would you like to live at my place?" Naruto suggested. "I know it is not your own home, but at least it should be better than living out here, right?"

Chie blinked and looked from Naruto's face up to Gamakichi.

"Hey, don't look at me. I am no dinner," the toad quickly croaked.

"Toads are not on my menu anyway, much too slimy," Chie joked. "But is this guy serious?"

"Naruto? He's an oddball, but he is dependable."

"I see… But why would he…"

"Listen," Naruto urged. "You already said you noticed something is odd about me, right? That is why the other humans treat me like I am scum. I know what it is to be discarded, and it is not a good feeling. So how could I abandon you here? But if you are not willing to-"

"No," Chie cut him off. "I will accept. I am not as foolish and short-sighted as you two-legs are. Well, the ordinary two-legs."

Chie seemed to shrink drastically. Not like a normal henge, which disappeared in a puff of smoke, but she really shrank down as if Naruto was watching years of natural growth being reversed. "This is my real form," she said. "If you are willing to accept me, I shall honour you as I did my master, despite the absence of contracts, Naruto-sama"

"Please, no honorifics," Naruto smiled at the now small cat. Chie had shrunk down to a cat only a little bigger than the cats Naruto had seen in Konoha, only her tail was nearly double the length of a normal cat. Not to mention, regular cats did not talk back. "If you truly want to honour me, you have to treat me like a friend."

"As you command, Naruto-sama."

"Chie…"

"Just joking," the cat laughed mischievously.

"So, eh… I can go now?" Gamakichi yawned. "Pops will go mad if I fall asleep during my lessons tomorrow."

"Sure, Kichi. Thanks for the help, I'll make sure I'll have some snacks next time I summon you. Sleep well," Naruto thanked the toad before he puffed into a cloud of smoke when he went back to mount Myoboku. "Shall we go back to camp as well, Chie-chan?"

"Calling a female twice your age 'chan'?" Chie started.

"Chie-baachan?"

"Oh right.. You are joking too. Cheeky-two-leg.. I always keep misunderstanding the expressions you two-legs have on your strange faces. Though I have to admit, your whiskers make it easier for me to understand you. I never knew two-legs had them."

"They don't," Naruto said as he turned around. "I told you; I am different."

Chie nodded and jumped on Naruto's shoulder, wrapping her long tail around his neck in order to hold onto him. "This will go faster.. Oh, and there is another two-leg nearby. A friend of yours? Well, she is sneaking up on us, actually. Quite rude.."

* * *

As Naruto stood there, Hinata was torn. He had slipped away from their camp, so he obviously wanted to do this on his own. One of the things the Hyuga hammered into their children at an early age was an immense respect for another's privacy. A necessary thing to teach people with eyes who see through pretty much everything. But right now the Hyuga-heiress was rather curious what Naruto and the creature were talking about.

'_But Naruto-kun has sharp senses.. He will notice me.. Eh? What just happened?'_ Hinata thought as saw the creature suddenly shrink down into a form which was hardly bigger than a regular cat.

Hinata tried to get closer as quiet as she possible could. It took her a moment of hesitation before her curiosity got the better of her shyness. A moment of pondering in which she closed her eyes.

"Hinata-sama?" Naruto suddenly spoke up from behind her.

The cat on Naruto's shoulder seemed to laugh when Hinata jumped nearly a meter up, with a loud 'eeek'. "Na-Naruto- k-kun? How.."

"Shunshin no jutsu," Naruto shrugged. "Why were you following me, weren't you on guard duty?"

"Err… Sa-Sakura-san relieved me. I-I saw y-you walk a-away, Naruto-kun."

"How much did you hear?"

"She was too far away to listen," the cat spoke. Hinata looked at the cat with an open mouth. "What? You two-legs have such big heads, yet your ears hear so little… And would you stop looking at me like that, white-eyed-two-leg?" the cat sighed.

"Ehm.. Hinata-sama, meet Chie-chan. Chie-chan, Hinata-sama," Naruto introduced them to each other. "Chie was the one who we were after, but it was all a bit of a misunderstanding."

"Either you stop with that 'chan' of your, or I _will_ put my claws in your face," Chie said with some annoyance.

"Proud little bastard," Naruto smirked.

"A t-talking… Cat?"

"No a bakaneko OW," Naruto said when Chie extended her claws for a moment. Not that Naruto minded much, as the small punctures healed nearly instantly. "Bakeneko," he chuckled. "She was in trouble when the guy who had summoned her died. She had to survive out here, so that's why she attacked the cattle. She was just hungry. So, I'm going to take her with us. Ako-san loves cats, so she won't mind!"

"Ako-san?" Chie asked curiously.

"You'll meet her soon enough," Naruto explained. "Though I should warn you not to be rude to her.. That would be rather painful," Naruto shivered a little at the memory. "Now, shall we go back to our camp? I really want to get some sleep now. I'm exhausted!"

* * *

"What do you mean, the mission is over?" Kakashi blinked with his visible eye, after Naruto woke everyone up in the morning. He had the last shift with keeping guard.

"Chie, everyone. Everyone, Chie," Naruto said dryly to the cat next to him. They all looked down at the cat that was staring back at them, and then they looked up at Naruto as if he was insane.

"Have completely lost it?" Sakura exclaimed. "What are you thinking, you moron?"

"I see pinky-two-leg has quite the big mouth. Might it be because she wants to overcompensate for her lack of skill?" Chie remarked sarcastically. "Weaklings usually shout the loudest."

"Sensei… what…" Kiba started.

"Chie is one of the Bakeneko tribe, summoned here and after the guy who summoned her died, she was trapped. She was the one who ate the cattle, because she was hungry and wanted to survive," Naruto monotonously repeated the story. "I convinced her to come along with us, and offered her to stay at my place. So that is why I said that our mission was done."

"I… see…," Kurenai frowned, trying to understand the situation. "But how did Chie kill those goats? How did she manage to avoid capture? And how did you find her?"

"I can shape shift, red-eyed-two-leg," Chie replied. "And in my larger form, killing those four-leg-horn-heads is simple." Chie demonstrated this by shortly changing into her 'adult' form, shocking most of the shinobi present. Only Naruto had seen it before, and Hinata knew to some degree what to expect. But especially Akamaru was badly shaken, to see a cat of his own size suddenly grow like that… it would be the inspiration for many nightmare for the poor young ninken.

"Chie-san indeed has chakra, and chakra control," Hinata confirmed, blushing when the other turned their attention to her. "I saw her, after Naruto found her, last night."

"What were you two doing out in the woods, in the middle of night?" Shino frowned.

"I heard something," Naruto shrugged, ignoring Hinata's stuttered protest. "So I went looking and found Chie."

Kakashi looked sharply at his genin. "I see... but you will not wander of on your own at night again, Naruto. Not without warning someone else. You got that?"

"Did one-eyed-two-leg think I would attack Naruto-sama?" Chie tilted her head, making her surprise obvious to the others.

"But neither Akamaru nor I can smell... it," Kiba frowned.

"Did you think I would allow mere flee-ridden dog to hunt me down?' Chie scoffed. "Or those insects cloaky-two-leg over there tried to use to locate me? Did you think I didn't smell your chakra on them? I am not as stupid as you two-legs are."

Chie jumped onto Naruto's shoulder, using her long tail in order to keep her balance again. "Why don't you listen to whisker-two-leg, and go home. I admit I am rather curious to see my new home. And the promise of food is rather alluring."

The others looked at each other. Kiba's annoyance was obvious, because of by the way Chie looked down on dogs. Shino frowned a bit because of the nickname 'cloaky'. "Ugh.. Let's go then," Sasuke broke the silence, walking to his tent.

"Grumpy-two-leg," Chie said sarcastically, laughing when she saw Sasuke freeze and twitch his face a little.

"Hmm let's go to that farmer, and tell him we completed the mission," Kakashi sighed. _'If Naruto trusts her.. The report Hokage-sama gave me mentioned that he could sense the evil in others. And it all fits perfectly with what Kurenai told yesterday. It must be how he managed to track her down.'_

"Agreed," Kurenai nodded. "And then go home," she rubbed her head, not completely understanding the situation. '_If Kakashi believes the boy_,' she thought, remembering the mistrustful nature of the jonin.

And so the teams returned home, with Naruto almost wearing the cat like some kind of furry scarf around his neck. '_Pinky-two-leg…,'_ the boy smirked to himself. _'Chie surely picks funny nicknames.'_

* * *

Kakashi was a bit more hopeful a few weeks later. Though D-rank missions could hardly be called a challenge, they did provide the opportunity to train teamwork. Sakura excelled because she knew each and every tactic or strategy which they had learned at the academy. Sasuke proved to be equally intelligent, though more silent. Still, his growth was remarkable.

Of course, it was no secret to Kakashi why Sasuke was so motivated. Naruto's strength and growth continued to surprise him. Though he imagined part of Naruto's growth was due to Gai's training regime, Kakashi also knew jinchuriki were supposed to be capable of wielding unimaginable amounts of chakra. And he had hidden most of his talent before now. '_But for a twelve year old boy to reach this level.. How strong is that seal?'_ Kakashi worried.

Kakashi realized that it would be difficult to keep control over such a power. Not for the first time, Kakashi wondered if the rivalry between Sasuke and Naruto would be healthy on the longer term, because it seemed it could only end up in frustration for one person. Though, Kakashi was happy Naruto left Chie at home during missions. The mischievous cat only created more tension in the team with her sarcastic remarks. It seemed to like to annoy and embarrass both Sasuke and Sakura. It especially enjoyed Sasuke's reactions, savoring the time it took before the Uchiha lost his patience.

* * *

"Congratulations, you caught the cat _again_," a huge voice remarked sarcastically.

"Stay out of my head," Naruto hissed back. "Why don't you ever shut up?" For a long time now, Naruto was troubled by sounds only he could hear. First, he thought he was going nuts, but recently the sounds had gotten clear enough to hear its voice. And at times, the Kyuubi no Kitsune seemed to enjoy dragging Naruto towards the sewers he was trapped in, inside Naruto's own mind.

"Let's see... you have all those great missions for you noble village, with those incredible teammates of your, who never trust you. And yes, how could I forget that sensei whose fear of you can easily be sensed. They only respect you because of strength. _My strength,"_ the monster added pointedly.

"I knew how people act before team 7. I knew how they were before they were team mate. So I did not expect anything else, so shut you damn mouth you darn fox!"

The Kyuubi smiled at Naruto's anger. '_Good! Only a little while more before he will start to crack. That blond idiot and his seal, too bad I already killed him. I should have let him suffer first. Too bad there wasn't any time for it back then..'_

* * *

Naruto sighed in relief, finally the fox had retreated. He saw Kakashi look at him. "Everything alright Naruto?" the jonin asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

"Yeah, just a bit tired," Naruto lied. Kakashi didn't seem to buy it, but didn't pry any further either.

"All right team, todays mission will be removing those boulders over there. They broke of the mountainside last week, and the villagers want to open this road again." Kakashi pointed at the tiny village which they could see in the distance. This mountain path had been the quickest way to reach Konoha. The rockslide made a long detour necessary.

"Seems like the villagers already removed the smaller rocks," Sakura said. "But how are we supposed to get rid of that huge one?

Kakashi shrugged, "not really my problem, you guys wanted a mission outside the village. The Hokage gave me this one." Of course, Sakura could not argue against this, as it was Sasuke who asked for it, being completely fed up with the endless stream of D-rank missions.

As she had predicted, team 7 was able to remove all the rocks, except the largest one. Sasuke's katon was pointless, and so were Naruto's jutsus. Sakura tried frantically to calculate whether a leverage effect could be a solution, but there was not enough space. Nor any trees or anything else they could use as tools.

Naruto sighed. Kakashi didn't seem willing to step up, and Naruto only knew one way to remove the boulder. And he had gotten frustrated enough with this mission. He had hoped the mission would at least have turned out to be a little more exciting than this. Question was, which one was strong enough to do the trick, but also willing to do the job?

Naruto sighed again. Stupid missions. "Could you guys step back please?"

"Why?" Sasuke asked with an annoyed tone.

"Well, just stay there if you want to get hit, mister grumpy-two-leg," Naruto made his impatience clear to all. Sasuke had come to hate that nickname more than anything.

Just before he finished his hand seals, his teammates managed to bail. "Kuchiyose no jutsu," he exclaimed, to the great shock of Kakashi.

A humongous toad appeared where Naruto was just a moment ago. His magenta-coloured skin was covered with black markings. His black kimono was big enough to cover most buildings in Konoha. Wielding an enormous spear fork covered with spikes, the sasumata, and equally large shield, the toad was a terrifying creature to see.

"What on earth…" Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration. '_How? No matter what I do, why does he always stay so damn far away? Why is that idiot so strong? _I _am the genius, not he! He was just a loner with average scores, a _nobody_.'_

For once, Sakura look at Sasuke in order to notice his expression. The shock was too great for her to see anything other than the massive toad. "H-how.."

"Hiya Gamaken," Naruto spoke completely carefree, revealing to the others that he was standing on top of the toad's head. "Sorry to disturb you, but we had a little obstacle on our road. And since you spoke of more training.."

The massive toad's voice rumbled. "I am still too clumsy and weak. Why didn't you call Gamabunta?"

"Hmm. Gamakichi told me you liked target practice. But if you don't wanna.."

"Fine, fine. Tsk. That little tadpole and his big mouth," the toad grumbled. Naruto chuckled, knowing that despite his size, Ken was very shy. Always doubting his own strength, and hesitant to train near others. Strangely, Ken's behavior reminded Naruto of Hinata's shyness, and like how she recently tried to talk to him more and more. Something which Chie found rather amusing, though she would never tell Naruto why.

The boy paled at the idea of the enormous toad fainting while he stood on top of head. Quickly jumping down, Naruto wished Gamaken fun, and returned to his shocked teammates.

"How did you.." Kakashi started, before being interrupted by the explosive sound of the toad's weapon bashing into the rock. "How did you summon him, Naruto?"

"What do you mean? I signed the contract, so why shouldn't I be able to?" the teen replied in light surprise.

"As far as I recall, only Jiraiya-sama is capable of.." Kakashi this time cut himself off, as he realized something. "So it was Jiraiya-sama who taught you fuinjutsu?"

"He gave the means to learn it, yes. And he let me sign the contract. And promise me to keep silent about it as well, unless it would endanger the success of a mission. And I guess we would've failed the mission if I hadn't summoned Ken," Naruto added, while noticing Gamaken's third strike had left a crack in the boulder. The fourth hit would probably split it. "Or least it would've been boringly long. I could've blown up the area, but that would only have made things worse. I mean, if I destroyed the entire path we would also fail our mission.."

Sakura and Sasuke were baffled. The history books they had to study at the academy spoke highly of the three 'sannin,' as the team in which Jiraiya had belonged to became known. The Hokage's students, each as strong as a kage, all became legends both in and outside Konohagakure.

The fact that such a legendary person had trained Naruto, only enraged Sasuke more. No wonder he was stronger. If _he_ had such a trainer, he would easily surpass the runt.

Noticing the looks of the others, Naruto felt a spike of anger. "Hey, could you guys please stop looking at me like that?"

Not that the others could reply. The bounder had by split apart in a thunderous sound, and Gamaken cheerfully continued to smash the remains so the humans could handle them. "Well, I'll leave these pebbles to you," he croaked, "Thanks for the fun, Naruto."

"No probs, say hi to Kichi and Fukasaku-sama!"

Sakura was a bit confused at how friendly Naruto was to the toad, she always thought he was too silent and too much of a loner. Always keeping his distance to other, only talking when he needed to. She wondered how he really was. _'Between Sasuke and Naruto, I really am useless_,' she thought bitterly, while sighing deeply. '_They always do everything while I just stand here.. Watching at their backs, looking at them from a distance as they complete our missions.'_

Kakashi knew he had a _lot_ to discuss with his employer. "Well then... let's clear the road, and collect our pay." At this rate, he knew Hiruzen would give them a real C-rank mission soon.

* * *

With Kakashi reporting to the Hokage, the members of team seven were walking back through the main street. Sakura had asked Sasuke out on a date, but to Naruto's amusement he had bluntly refused. Not that it even rattled the girl's determination. Naruto had come to feel some admiration for her stubborn resolve, even though he found her affects itself rather childish. At least, she had never given Naruto the impression to really know anything about Sasuke. Other than the ideal image, the default knight in shining armor, she had of him. Naruto knew very well that Sasuke hid most of his real emotions, and that he wore a mask similar to like Naruto did.. But by the looks of it, Sakura was not aware of that. Naruto sometimes wondered if he should tell her about this, but then again, she never really listened to him either. '_She'll figure it out soon enough… if nothing else, she _is_ smart.'_

Not that Naruto could blame the girl for not yet seeing though Sasuke's façade, as she never really had much trouble in her life. Her parents were good to her, and she had most of her family alive. It was a benefit that her clan was not very famous, and the majority of them were merchants and shop owners, rather than shinobi. It was not to be expected of someone of their age to understand a trauma which Sasuke had experienced. In fact, Naruto was not even sure if he really understood it himself. Unlike Sasuke, Naruto never had any family, so he did not really know the feeling of loss that Sasuke had experienced.

"Naruto-san!" an enthusiastic voice rang through the street. Naruto looked back and saw Rock Lee charging towards them. With a more composed Tenten following him. "Where have you been, you missed a most youthful training this morning! Sensei even tested us if we could open the-"

Tenten bashed him on the head, and as usual she was not holding back anything. Sakura looked a bit worried at the dazed and confused green-clad genin . "Lee, do you even remember what Gai-sensei made us promise before we starting with that training?" Tenten sighed. "Use that brain of yours for once."

"Well, with you knocking him out all of the time, it wouldn't surprise me if his brains have gotten damaged by now," Naruto smirked. "Sorry for not showing up today guys, we had a mission," he gestured at Sasuke and Sakura.

"Ah, you must be Naruto's teammates," Tenten smiled, keeping her eye on Sasuke for a moment. "I'm Tenten, and this idiot is Rock Lee. Naruto often trains with us during the morning. Even though we.. Oh no.. Not again.. Lee! Don't!" she facepalmed.

Lee's eyes were fixed on Sakura, who seemed uncomfortable under his gaze. Lee walked up to her, and Sakura tried not to back away. "Hi.. My name is Rock Lee. So yours is Sakura.. Let's go out together! I'll protect you 'til I die!"

This seemed to be the last thing Sakura ever expected. "No.. Way… You're lame…"

Sasuke chuckled. Naruto suspected that the Uchiha saw the irony of her response, rejecting Lee in the same manner as Sasuke himself often did when she asked him out. And just like Sakura, Lee's disappointment was also short-lived, and the fire in his eyes indicated he was determined and would not give up. Ever.

"Lee isn't lame, Sakura," Naruto tried not to smirk too much. "He's probably on his way to become the leaf's taijutsu master, just like Gai-sensei. Though, I admit he has funny brows," he couldn't contain his laughter any longer. "No offence, bushy brow.."

"None taken," Lee frowned a bit. "But I'm far from being as good as Gai-sensei is!"

"You won't say.. Seems like that freakish stamina of yours is getting close of that of Gai-sensei," Naruto frowned. "Seriously, those two are monsters.." he added, looking at Sasuke and Sakura. Lee looked quite uncomfortable, not being used to receive compliments.

Tenten bent over to pet a cat that walked up to her. "Two-legs, Ako-sama asked you to help her with the groceries," it suddenly spoke up. "You're back, so I take it your mission is over?" she continued, ignoring the now screaming Tenten, and Sasuke who scowled upon seeing the cat again. For some reason, Sakura saw the boy tightening his fist around a kunai.

"No, mission is done," Naruto replied on a casual tone, as if talking cats were completely normal. "I'll be right there, want a lift?"

"No thanks, I think I'll wander around for a bit. If I don't move around enough I have to get on a diet just like pinky-two-leg," Chie added with a mocking tone. "Not that Grumpy would ever notice," she added before running off.

"That.. Damned creature," Sasuke gritted his teeth, turned around, and stomped away. "See you guys tomorrow," he grunted, not looking back.

Of course, with Sasuke walking away, it was easy to predict that Sakura would quickly follow. And she did. "Nice team, right?" Naruto remarked, the sarcasm being understood by Tenten, but not by Lee, who nodded while looking at Sakura. "Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow, at least, if I don't have any mission that takes me outside Konoha again," Naruto sighed. "Kakashi-sensei muttered something about C-rank missions.. Well, anything beats these boring D-ranks.. A freaking waste of time, if you ask me."

"Traveling is fun," Tenten smiled. "You'll see all kinds of strange places they never teach you about on the academy!"

Naruto shrugged. "Perhaps.. Still don't want to trade Neji for me?"

Tenten blushed a bit, while Lee looked torn. "Sorry, but Gai-sensei told me that transfers between team are very unusual," Lee spoke up.

* * *

"I see.." Hiruzen pondered, after hearing Kakashi's story. "Jiraiya mentioned teaching Naruto, but apparently he forgot to mention the contract. I honestly believed that the Bakeneko had become Naruto's summon, but it seems things are not that simple."

"Hokage-sama, is this contract this.."

"Along with the slugs and snakes, the toads belong to the three most powerful summonable species. It is said that these three species hold secrets handed down to them from the time of the Sage of the Six Paths himself. Jiraiya's power is a testament to that. That, in turn, also means that they do not allow many people to sign the contract.."

Kakashi was impressed, especially because he noticed the look of relief on the old man's face.

"It seems like your students grow quickly, Kakashi. I have heard some good stories about Sasuke's development. I guess I should not give you any more D-ranks now. Let's see," Hiruzen said, as he rummaged through the box with files.

"Ah, here it is. This one is an escort mission to the land of waves. A bridge builder need to get back home, but is scared of bandits. Should not be too difficult, I think. But be careful with Naruto, even though I think it is unlikely, it might be a possibility that the other nations want to capture him, considering his status as Konoha's jinchuriki. Though I doubt most would want to risk upsetting the balance between the villages, Kumo already has two fully trained jinchuriki, they might want to exploit that.."

* * *

"Impressive, Sakura," Ino said happily when Sakura told her the news. "You really are lucky with such a strong team, aren't you?"

"Well.. Maybe," Sakura wasn't sure what she had to say to her friend. They hadn't spoken for a while, and both decided not to bring up Sasuke when they were just with the two of them. Especially now that she had been lucky with him on her team, while Ino had gotten a different team. "Kakashi-sensei is definitely strong, but doesn't seem very interested in us at all… Well, we both know Sasuke-kun is great. He definitely is the strongest and most talented of our class. But Naruto.. Something is odd about him."

"Naruto?" Ino frowned. "That loner? He never ever speaks to other if he doesn't have to, and distances himself from all the other whenever he can. In all those years, I never really figured him out. That was quite frustrating, actually. Even Hinata wouldn't tell me anything about him!"

"I know," Sakura admitted. "Things aren't any different during missions. He just… he doesn't care, and everything just seems to annoying to him."

"I know that.. You should hear Shikamaru talk.."

"Not like Shikamaru," Sakura smiled softly thinking of their lazy classmate. "Naruto is absolutely not lazy. He just seems to be bothered to be around other people. So he never really takes the initiative during our missions, only if we cannot figure out how to do it. I mean… "

"I heard rumors that he hid his abilities during the academy," Ino revealed. "I thought they were nonsense. I mean, we're talking about Naruto! How could he defeat someone like the famous Kakashi?"

"Those rumors are very real," Sakura sighed. "If I have to be honest, I suspect that Naruto is even stronger than Sasuke-kun is right now."

"What? How can you.."

"You talked about how lucky we were with Kakashi-sensei," the pink haired girl cut off her friend. "Well, Naruto just caught him off guard while Kakashi-sensei wanted to test us on our first day. And I think he was not even serious either.. Well Kakashi-sensei also said he was hold back, but still.."

Ino whistled. "But eh… How is it, to be around Sasuke-kun every day?" she decided to switch to the very subject that she was so curious about. "Did you learn anything new about him? And don't you dare to keep him all to yourself, you forehead!"

* * *

**A/N:** and then Chie came into our little story. Don't worry, I'm not a big fan of people adding new character into a story, and giving them big roles. Though, she will get a function in the story. But irony now demanded that Sasuke, who was from a cat-loving clan if I have to believe the anime (filler, but still), had to get pestered by a little kitty. I was actually inspired to write her when I saw my neighbour's cat, which is extremely lazy but still has an incredible talent to annoy people.

And darn.. This morning I had said to myself: I publish the next part once I reach a 1.000 views, I thought that would be tomorrow or something.. Never imagined things to go this fast, approaching 1.100 views already.. ^^

But this is all for today. I'll post a shorter chapter tomorrow, but that one won't be very seriously. A little intermission, before we set off with our friendly bridge builder. For those worrying: I will start with the canon situation but things _will_ be changing for team seven...

-Z-

PS: before you think Naruto acts too much out of character, his hatred is aimed at humans, not animals. So his behaviour towards frogs, for instance, is somewhat different.

PPS: I did not change the fact that Naruto joined team 7 in this fanfic, but his reasons are different. He may not be the deadlast, like in the manga, but right now the Kyuubi poses more of a threat than it did in the manga. That is why Kakashi is needed.

**Edit**: made some corrections, added some minor things. 14/01/15


	7. A busy kitten

**Omake**

**A busy kitten…**

* * *

_A few side stories. So please don't be disappointed that this isn't a real chapter!_

* * *

**_Feathers _**

* * *

Sasuke crossed the street with an even greater scowl than he usually had. He looked behind him.. Yes.. '_She doesn't stop when I simply ignore her, does she?_' he sighed. '_Damn this.. Why can't they just leave me alone? Or is it a national hunt-the-Uchiha-day?'_

He walked into a back alley, next to the shop where he wanted to buy some fresh vegetables. "Why don't you show yourself?"

* * *

'_Darn.. Is he already tired of it? Pity, I would have enjoyed to continue the hunt a bit longer,_' she thought, looking down from her hiding place.

Graciously, she jumped down. She smirked when she was his look. "Don't be so mad, Sasuke-kun.."

"Quit that," he growled, not in the mood to be fooled around with any longer. "Why are you chasing me, you feline?"

"But Sasuke-kun.." she said with her most innocent voice. "How could I not chase you?"

"Quit your games!" he demanded. "Did he put you up to this?"

"Of course not, silly," she purred. "But you should have known.."

"Known what?"

"It's that time of the year," she said nonchalantly.

"Spill it, or I swear to Kami, I will kill you," he said with a threatening voice.

"Oh dear… That intent of your makes this game even more fun," she chuckled. "Have you ever seen you own hair from behind, though?"

"What do you have against my hair?"

She chuckled. The boy fell right into her trap. Just as planned… "It resembles something, if you look at it from a certain angle.. And in this time, it is simply irresistible!"

"What?!" he growled.

"Duck hunting season opened recently," Chie laughed, quickly jumping away.

Before he had the time to summon his rage, all he could see was the tip of her long tail.

"Damned cat," he mumbled. "Figures that the dobe has such an annoying pet."

* * *

Sasuke slouched as he walked back home. D-rank missions were boring. The only thing that was more boring than a D-rank mission was a D-rank mission with his team. Sakura never gave up trying to ask him for dates, which annoyed Sasuke more than just a bit. Obviously, the girl was smart. Very smart even, he admitted. And yet, she remained so very dense whenever she saw him. The blond dobe was not much better. Silent and distant as always, Naruto had hardly exerted himself during the mission. As if he tried to beat Kakashi in a duel concerning who showed the least interest in team 7..

'_At least it's over now.. Just get some dinner and then I can return to my real training. Teamwork nonsense..'_ Sasuke thought as he walked up to the door of his apartment. '_What's that noise?'_ he wondered.

It seemed like there was someone inside. Multiple people, by the sounds of it. Sasuke drew a kunai, wondering who had the guts to bother him. Perhaps one of his fanclub? Or did his brother.. No, it couldn't be..

Sasuke opened the door, and was overrun.

By ducks.

Baffled, he looked around. Not believing what he just experienced, he saw his room. Every day, he left his room in a perfect state. A true genius always paid attention to every detail. And now it was a chaos.

But all Sasuke saw was a single card, standing on the table. "Welcome home, Grumpy," it said.

That cat.

That cat had done this.

"I'll kill that cat!" resounded throughout the Uchiha compound, after a few seconds of silence.

* * *

**_Too fluffy_**

* * *

"Ahhh that was fun," Chie purred, stretching out on the grass. "Now only a nice little sleep, and this day would be perfect…"

* * *

With their clan's strict laws, Hanabi had lived a life where the word 'fun' usually did not exist. Well, her mother allowed it. Encouraged it, even. But in front of her mother, Hanabi would always live in the shadow of her elder sister. It baffled her, but somehow her mother spent more time with that failure than with her. While Hanabi did everything that the clan demanded from her. Even at her young age, Hanabi knew very well she was better than her sister.

_She_ was the perfect heir, and it would only be a matter of time before the entire clan accepted that truth. But right now, the 'perfect heir' stood before a big dilemma.

A dilemma she had not expected to face today.

Sure, she had been watching, keeping an eye on it. But she never had an opportunity like this before. Hanabi knew there was still time enough, her father would not expect her to be in the dojo for another fifteen minutes. And there was no one around either. But still.. The risk…

It would not be appropriate. Not of the 'perfect heir'.

Yet.. It was just too cute!

* * *

Half asleep, Chie felt someone scratching her belly. '_Ahhh nice…'_ the cat thought while she turned on her back. And purred like a little kitten.

Hanabi could not resist the black and white cat, with its unusually long and fluffy tail curled around it. Hanabi could never pull her eyes away from cute animals like this. But she would rather die than let anyone see such a weakness in her!

* * *

Hinata smiled, as she stood behind a pillar. She had not seen this side from her little sister in a long time. '_Such a sweet creature.. I wonder why Kiba even suspected Chie in the first place. How could he even think she would throw a bucket of blue paint on top of Akamaru?'_

* * *

**_Theft_**

* * *

"I know we had our differences.. But we must set them aside now. You know as well as I do what is on stake here. If this job succeeds, we will be rich!" Pacing around, the speech continued. "But it will not be easy. I cannot do this alone… I can break in, and take the goods with me, but I will need a distraction, or they will catch me red-handed.."

He whined in response.

"Don't be stupid, if we involved the two-legs in this, we would only have to split the loot over more people!"

A short bark.

"Yes, we split it, fifty fifty. And the longer you distract them, the more I can snatch."

That got a happy bark as response.

"Yes yes, I promise I will never throw paint at you again.. I am sorry, I was just a little bored.. Really, those white-eyed-two-legs are too darn boring. One would get crazy in there."

Some barking, which sounded rather questioning.

"Just visit you there? Are you out of your mind? With those three lunatics around? They would kill me! No, it against my principles to work with dogs, but this is a special case. This two-leg dared to insult Ako-sama! He sold her bad meat, and had the audacity to compensate for it when she found out! Accusing her it was her fault instead! As if Ako-sama would even let food go bad.." Chie growled. "No one insults Ako-sama and gets away with it. Not while she provides me food!"

Akamaru remained silent, looking a bit confused by the sudden passionate outburst from the feline. He reconsidered: she was not just cynical, but also very loyal. Despite being a cat, she was not all that bad. He would almost forgive her the prank with the blue paint. If it had not taken Kiba days to get it all off..

* * *

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, when Ako stopped. As always, he helped her doing the groceries and stuff. She could not carry everything, while he had no idea about food. Except if it was ramen. But Ako's puzzled look confused him a bit.

"Look it this.. Isn't that Chie?" she frowned.

"It.. That tail.. Seems like it is her.. Why would they put up a painting of her in here?" Naruto wondered, reading the text below. "A reward? They are searching her for theft?! What?"

"It seems like I have to get a long talk with that naughty kitten," Ako said on the icy tone which Naruto recognized immediately. Chie was screwed. Ako was gentle and quiet, but once people crossed a certain line..

They were all doomed.

Doomed!

* * *

**_Gifts_**

* * *

"Welcome home sweetie!" her mother shouted, as Sakura closed the door.

"I'll be right there mom!" she shouted back to the kitchen. "Change clothes first! Sweaty!"

Quickly getting back downstairs, she helped her mother preparing dinner. Father would be home soon, after a long day working at the shop. Sakura often felt the disadvantages of hailing from a minor clan in Konoha, but at least she had her family intact. Merchants and shop owners usually lived longer than shinobi who served at the front lines. And Sakura loved her family, annoying as they might be at times, far too much to ever want to lose them.

'_Strange, I work hard to become a shinobi while I am glad that my parent do not have to risk their lives.._' Sakura realized.

"'evening, Mebuki," Haruno Kizashi hugged his wife. "Had a good day?"

"Sure," she smiled, before she kissed him. "Get cleaned up, dinner is ready in five minutes."

"Right, on my way honey," the man laughed, knowing very well that he should not ignore such an order. Besides, it smelled far too good to be late.

"Sakura, I'd nearly forget, but there was a package delivered today, but it was addressed to your teammate."

"Eh?" Sakura was focussed on cutting a few fresh chives for over the salad. "Package? To whom?"

"The Uchiha boy," Mebuki smiled, knowing that this would get the undivided attention of her daughter. "Perhaps you should bring it to him? _After _dinner, of course."

* * *

Whatever had been in the package, it was quite heavy. Sakura was very curious, and her inner voice urged her to open it. But the package was sealed, and opening it would only make the wrong impression on Sasuke-kun.

No, this was much better. Now Sasuke-kun would see how dependable Sakura was!

"Sakura?" Sasuke opened the door of his apartment, after Sakura had knocked.

"Sasuke-kun? What happened to you?" Sakura frowned. The boy was dirty, covered with feathers, and carried a bag which he now threw in the garbage can outside.

"Goddamned cat," Sasuke grumbled. "Keep finding feathers.. They're everywhere. Why are you here, Sakura?"

"Ehm.. A package.. It was delivered at my home."

"A package?" Sasuke frowned.

"It was for you. The mailman must've made a mistake somehow."

"I did not order anything.."

"There's a note attached to it," Sakura pointed at the envelope that was stuck on the package.

"A token of my sincere apologies," Sasuke read. "Apologies?" he frowned. He ripped open the package and saw a single, very large and broad, book inside it.

"Ninjutsu for dummies…" he read, looking at Sakura. "You.. Wanted me to give me this book?"

"I.. Eh… What?" Sakura did not know how to react.

"Why would you…" Sasuke started, not believing that Sakura wanted to insult him like this..

And then he saw a single feather sticking out of the book.

The kind of feather he had come to know so well in these last few days.

A duck feather.

Sasuke felt a vein pop on his forehead.

"I.. I WILL KILL THAT CAT!"

* * *

**A/N:** I know, these little side stories don't really fit in, but let's just say they happened between the mission where Naruto found Chie, and the boulder-breaking mission. The idea's on pranking Sasuke were a bit older, and I was still wondering how I could fit in Hanabi into the story. Even though the girl has only a minor role in part 1, I thought it would be interesting to show her dilemma between being herself and being the one her clan wants her to be.. And I wanted to give some more background to Sasuke and Sakura, while also letting Chie having her way with 'grumpy-two-leg'. Besides, I wanted to make fun of the ridiculous nickname Sasuke got on many forums!

For the record: Chie cannot write, but Ako did not know she were involved in her schemes initially. The second time, she believed that Chie wanted to apologize for real. Luckily, she did not find out what really happened, or Chie would still have to sleep without her soft little blanket… One does not simply trick Hyuga Ako and gets away with it without punishment!

-Z-

**Edit:** corrected a few things. 14/01/15


	8. Land of waves

**Genin arc**

**Land of waves**

* * *

The bridge builder appeared to be a man named Tazuna, a grey-haired man who did not seem to possess much patience. "Great, so I get stuck with a team of kids," he said harshly, earning him a glare from both Naruto and Sasuke.

"Enough for a C-rank mission," Kakashi replied dryly. "And these 'kids' are properly trained shinobi who have earned the right to take this level of missions. If you wanted four jonin you should pay for a higher ranking mission." Unfortunately for her, Kakashi noticed Sakura's look of doubt. '_Guess she will need some encouragement. Should be difficult, being in a team with a genius like Sasuke, and someone as extraordinary as Naruto,_' he noted to himself.

Tazuna grunted something none of the shinobi could understand. "All right then, let's go then."

The bridge builder was headed towards the land of waves, an island near the country of fire, the country where Konohagakura was located in. Kakashi knew it would take them, with Tazuna moving slower than them, a couple of days to hike towards the border. Enough to spend a little time on training each day. After all, what would exhaust a civilian like Tazuna should be little more than a warming up exercise for a shinobi.

As such, Kakashi halted them after a couple of hours of traveling. "Ok team, Tazuna-san is no shinobi, so we take a rest now," which earned Kakashi a grateful look from the self-proclaimed bridge-building genius. "But for the three of you I have some exercises."

After explaining the theory behind it, he made them do the more advanced chakra control exercise of tree-climbing. Just by putting the right amounts of chakra into their feet, a shinobi could climb any surface. Kakashi wasn't very surprised when Naruto shrugged. "Haruki-san and Hizashi-sama made me do that, and water walking, because my chakra control sucked so much." He demonstrated by effortlessly walking up the nearest tree.

Kakashi did not, however, expect Sakura to do the same. "I knew you had good chakra control, but to pick this up so quickly is quite impressive," Kakashi said, making her blush. Though to her surprise, Sasuke did not react. Not outwardly at least. But they knew enough about him to see his frustration after two failed attempts. It often seemed as if the Uchiha grew more and more impatient.

"You guys stay with Tazuna-san, I'll take Sasuke and help him. We'll be back in an hour, some dinner would be nice," the lazy ninja added.

Between Sakura's preparedness and the multitude of kage bunshin that Naruto could produce, setting up camp and preparing dinner was easy. Bored, Tazuna pulled a deck of cards out of one of the pockets of his backpack. "Anyone want to play?"

"Fine, though we're with three," Sakura remarked, smiling at Naruto. She had decided to be a little nicer towards the silent blond. "Why don't you add one of your bunshin?"

"Nothing is worse than losing to yourself," Naruto replied. Some quick hand seals later, Gamakichi appeared.

"Woah, where did you get the frog?" Tanuza said, not realizing his mistake.

"Hey! Don't take this amphibian for a fool! I am _not_ a damned frog, I am a toad, you blind dunce," the small toad responded angrily.

Sakura giggled. "But can you play cards?"

"Sure thing. Pops doesn't want me, saying I'm too young, but Naruto taught us."

"Well, teach.." Naruto shrugged, "It's not like I'm that good, you partly figured it out yourself. I don't think Tatsu picked it up though."

"If only my idiot brother had as much talent as he has an appetite," the toad sighed.

* * *

Kakashi sure did not expect the four of them playing cards when he returned with Sasuke. Several kage bunshin were busy preparing the food, while his other genin, joined by a small toad, made fun of their client whose luck had apparently abandoned him.

Sasuke did not share the happiness. Kakashi noticed that the boy's mood recently only got worse and worse. It wasn't hard to see that the boy was frustrated with something, but with what? He learned the tree climbing exercise faster than expected of genin, but nothing seemed to satisfy the brooding boy. "Ok let's have something to eat," the jonin said. "After a few hours of sleep we should pick up the pace a little."

* * *

The days after went on without incident. Kakashi taught Sasuke several chakra control tricks, while letting Sakura work on increasing her meager chakra reserves. Naruto kept watch over Tazuna, though the boy also spent a lot of time on studying, as he brought a few scrolls on fuinjutsu with him.

The third day of travel Naruto cursed when he noticed that the kage bunshin he left at the Hyuga estate had dissolved. Kakashi told him that there was a limited time at which clones could operate, as they would eventually run out of chakra. Not that the jonin told the boy how crazy it was that the clones had lasted this long..

"What were you having them do, anyway?" he asked his student.

"Oh, one was reading some of the scrolls on fuinjutsu which I inherited," the boy answered, still rubbing his head as it ached from the feedback he got from the dissolved clones. Three days' worth of experience tends to hurt a little if smashed into your brain in an instant. "And another was helping Haruki-san and Ako-san by doing chores." The complete indifference at which the genin used the A-ranked jutsu still staggered Kakashi. Not to mention that it had been not just one, but two bunshin.. The amount of chakra that Naruto would have put in them to last this long would have been staggering. And Naruto used them for _chores_…

"I gave them a little more chakra, so they would last longer," Naruto added dryly, confirming Kakashi's expectations. "Just an experiment. Never tested how long they could last. Shouldn't have tried it while on a mission though, damn my head…"

* * *

Of course, things did not stay this peaceful. Only a few hours away from the border, the team passed a puddle of water.

Suddenly, two shinobi appeared. Before the genin could process the unexpected appearance, the two threw a long chain around Kakashi, tearing the jonin into pieces.

Sakura screamed at the sight. Sasuke's hidden anger showed on the surface. Naruto's eye colour changed from blue to purple-ish. The two attackers continued their assault before the genin acted, charging at Tazuna.

Unable to respond, let alone process what just happened in front of him, Tazuna froze. The long metal claws both shinobi had on their arms moved as one. Yet before they could strike Tazuna, Sasuke jumped up, tying down the chain which was attached to their claws, only by using a shuriken and a kunai.

Before either of the attackers could respond, Sasuke kicked them both away, after appearing between the two. Sadly, the athletic feat had little effect. If anything, it managed to enrage the two adult shinobi. Dropping the chain, the two split and charged forward, ignoring the Uchiha.

Sakura jumped in front of Tazuna, rather risking wounds or death, then disappointing her team any further. Not that she felt like she could do much against these two attackers, but she would at least try. Not that Kakashi allowed them to take any of his genins lives, as he reappeared and caught the taller of the two assailants.

The shorter backed away just in time to avoid the jonin's counterattack. Not that Naruto allowed him to escape. "Thanks," he whispered in the man's ear, "I've been waiting to try this one". A glowing red seal became visible on the shinobi's back. "Fuunjutsu, infernal seal. Release," Naruto whispered.

* * *

Looking at the charred remains of the man who had been unlucky enough to dodge him, Kakashi turned towards the man he had caught. He noted to himself that he had to teach Naruto about the importance of taking prisoners, rather than killing them so (disturbingly) easily. "So, why do did you attack Tazuna-san?" he asked with a deceivingly calm voice. "Two chunin of the hidden mist, by the looks of your clumsy trap. Seriously, don't hide in a puddle when there hasn't been rain for days.."

The chunin just grinned, before his eyes rolled back.

"Dammit," Kakashi uttered. "Poison? Willing to throw away their lives for a mission revolving around a bridge builder.." He turned to Tazuna, with a penetrating gaze. "Tell me why they wanted you death. If you are not honest, we _will_ abandon you to your fate. If the hidden mist is willing to invade our country to kill you, there must be quite the bounty on your head."

Tazuna's shoulders slumped. "I am sorry Kakashi-san. Our village could not afford an A-rank mission.. And if I told anything about Gato's involvement, it would not be a B-rank anymore."

Tazuna looked at Kakashi, now clearly desperate, "Our village suffers at the hand of that bastard. He owns every ship in the vicinity, and charges ridiculous prices. When we started building a bridge to remove our dependency of his company, he hired mercenaries and killed a few of our people. He tortured my son in law, cut of his arms, and let him bleed to death. And several of the younger women.. T-they…" Tazuna's eyes were filled by tears of anger, "I risked my life to get help, abandoning my honour with lies and deception, but I beg of you.. Please save my village. By leaving I already have thrown away my own life, by I do not want my daughter or grandson be reduced by to little more than his slaves!"

Kakashi pondered what to do. '_That Gato is loaded. He has more than enough money to afford jonins, so why did he send out those two? Unless he hired a band of missing nin's.. Which would not care about borders.. That would also make this an A-rank mission, not something these kids could deal with. But abandoning him would equal killing him, and a lot more people by sound of it._'

He sighed.

"I guess we have no choice. We will protect you at least until you get back to your country. Despite the deception, abandoning you now would be honourless," Kakashi said on an even tone. "And I don't want to be like the scum that abandons innocent people."

"Ugh.." Naruto groaned. '_Why do we even bother with this lying idiot.. __First acting all high and mighty, and now this…'_

* * *

After sneaking into the land of waves, team 7 saw the poverty Gato caused. People looked like they were starving, and everyone they saw seemed to lack any sort of hope. Their faces, especially their eyes, looking disturbingly hollow to them. Kakashi saw this and realized he had made the right decision. '_Though next opponent surely won't be chunin, but jonin,'_ Kakashi sighed, not looking forward to exert himself.

Leaving the village, the group walked towards Tazuna's house. Apparently, he lived there with his daughter Tsunami, and grandson Inari. Suddenly Sasuke threw a couple of shuriken towards the bushes.

"A snow rabbit?" Sakura asked, as Sasuke held up the poor animal.

Naruto did not mind. "At least we have some dinner now," he smirked, earning him a shocked glare from Sakura. None of the genin noticed Kakashi's sudden alertness.

"EVERYONE DOWN, NOW," he shouted, causing the huge blade which was thrown at them to miss.

The blade ended up being stuck in the tree behind the bushes where the rabbit was hiding. On top of the hilt, a tall man appeared. The man had a bare, muscular chest, and wore the hidden mist sign, albeit it had a large scratch through it, indicating he had abandoned his own village.

"Momochi Zabuza," Kakashi groaned. Not an enemy he would like to face. "Guess there is no need to hold myself back any more," he added while he slid up the strap which covered his other eye. "You three stay out of this, this guy is beyond your abilities. Guard Tazuna."

Shocking Sasuke, Zabuza chuckled: "Well well, no wonder the brothers did not return. Sharingan Kakashi.. I am honoured you immediately uncover your strongest asset. Not that your copying skill will help you much.. _Ninpou. Hidden mist no jutsu_," he exclaimed after jumping towards the water.

As Zabuza vanished in a cloud of mist, Kakashi jumped forward, leaving Tazuna to his genin.

Sakura nearly fainted, and Sasuke looked shocked. The amount of chakra the jonin released was a lot more than they had expected. Naruto stayed fairly calm, though annoyed he could not follow the fight. They moved far too fast for that. Sending out kage bunshin, he prepared a barrier to protect his teammates and Tazuna.

Also, he smelled someone else. Another shinobi was hiding, nearby. But before Naruto could act on that, he saw Zabuza had trapped Kakashi in a large ball of water. "Damn," he grumbled, running toward his sensei. Rather focus on the known threat, than the unknown. "Keep Tazuna-san safe," he shouted towards his teammates.

"Water. Would make sense to summon a toad, I guess," Naruto mumbled, while gathering the chakra to summon Gamabunta. Though before he had the chance to finish the required hand seals, Zabuza appeared and kicked him back. '_Damn it, a water clone too?_'

As Zabuza's clone closed in on Naruto, the latter grinned '_So I don't get the time for hand seals, so let's try this one…'_ "Futon," he exclaimed, pressing both hands to each other, "explosion". Both hands threw out large amounts of wind chakra, creating a large bubble of air around Naruto.

Naruto had worked on his taijutsu, and had tried to replicate the way the Hyuga focussed their chakra on their hands in their juken-style. But when Naruto tried to focus wind chakra to his hands, he found that could create weak shockwaves. And with both hands pressed to each other, he amplified both waves into one large explosive shockwave. If enough chakra was used.

Zabuza's water clone was torn apart by that shockwave when the bubble of chakra, which had surrounded Naruto for a moment, exploded. Tazuna and the others were protected by Naruto's barrier, but the real Zabuza was taken by surprise.

As the shockwave disrupted the water prison, Kakashi lunged at Zabuza. Now at an advantage, Kakashi made quick work of Zabuza. But before the jonin could land a decisive hit, Zabuza was felled by several senbon.

A young masked ninja appeared. "Thank you. I have been looking to retrieve the corpse of this traitor for quite a while," the shinobi said with a gentle voice. Not that anyone thought he was gentle, not after witnessing how Zabuza's throat was just pierced by several senbon.

"That mask.. A hidden mist hunter-nin," Kakashi said, surprised that someone of such an age would hold such a rank. The hunter seemed to be of his own genin's age.

"Correct," the youngster replied, "your battle is over, I must dispose of this body, and return his blade to the hidden mist. Farewell".

* * *

Finally at the end of their journey, team 7 found themselves unable to return to Konoha. Kakashi had exhausted himself by using the sharingan too much, and had to take some rest before they could travel again.

At the same time, Kakashi was uneasy. He was missing something. "Naruto," the jonin called his student. "What did you notice about the hunter-nin?" Naruto closing the door, suspecting what was implied.

"I presume you ask me what I _sensed_, Kakashi sensei?" Naruto asked, aware that Kakashi knew about his different sense. "I cannot say there was any malice in him. Or her. With those clothes I'm not sure about the gender," Naruto added, scratching his chin. "I noticed someone getting close, but I felt nothing wrong, so I focussed on the mizu bunshin and getting you out of that water prison."

Kakashi nodded, following his reasoning. "I felt no pulse after Zabuza was hit. Still, it feels like I missed something important."

"You think he might still be alive?" Naruto frowned. Kakashi shrugged, not sure.

"I do not know, Naruto.. I had hoped you could explain.." Kakashi sighed.

"My ability, or whatever you want to call it, isn't flawless, sensei," Naruto frowned. "For instance, if people truly believe that what they do is right, no matter how evil it is I will not be able to sense them. And it isn't like I can separate each individual around me and figure out whether he or she is good or bad.. Virtually everyone is a mixture of both. You read in books about people who have a 'pure heart,' but I would almost say that this is a big lie.. If I concentrate enough on someone, I can always find something. Morality isn't that simple."

"Must be.. Strange," Kakashi admitted. "To feel such things.. How precise is this ability?"

"I can sense hatred. And if it is strong enough, I can sense fear. Fear seems to be the foundation of hatred, or so I once read in a book.. But it's not like I can detect lies," Naruto chuckled softly. "I wish I could do that.. No, the byakugan probably easily surpasses me in that contrast.."

"But is also easier to counter, or deceive," Kakashi remarked.

"I guess.. Unlike outward appearances, people can't hide their own nature. It's not like people can change their own emotion with will alone, unless they are truly crazy.. But sensei, do you think that this masked kid works together with that Zabuza?"

"It.. It would be the most logical thing.."

"Guys," Naruto shouted.

The others entered the room, looking curiously. Or in Sasuke's case: annoyed.

"Sasuke, Sakura, you two should take turns and practice your exercises here. The other of you will join Naruto in protecting Tazuna-san," Kakashi ordered.

Sasuke looked darkly. Sakura was puzzled. "Didn't we kill Zabuza?"

"The hunter-nin did. At least, we presume he did," Kakashi added, leaving it the genin's interpretation. "But beyond that, we still have Gato out there, and I doubt he will give up this easily."

"So you expect another attack." Sasuke concluded. It would make sense. Though irritating, Naruto clearly had the strongest defensive abilities, using his barriers. As long as Kakashi was out of commission, either he or Sakura would have to stay close. Training was the best way to pass the time.

* * *

Gato stood over a seemingly asleep Zabuza. "Preposterous. All the money I spent on you and still you fail?"

The knife in his hand never reached Zabuza, as a masked shinobi threw Gato backwards. The two mercenaries jumped at him, but died before reaching the ground, not knowing what had happened to them.

"You will not touch Zabuza-sama," the boy (or girl) hissed.

Gato scrambled back, and fled. If those idiots failed, he would just take his private army and do the job himself. Hiring shinobi only finalized the death sentence the village already faced..

"Wait a few days," Zabuza spoke with a weak voice, halting Gato for a moment.

* * *

Kakashi was resting in a bed, the third day after they had arrived. As it was morning, Sasuke trained outside the house, while Sakura and Naruto kept watch over the construction site. At least, that's what Kakashi thought, till Naruto popped up in his room.

"Don't worry sensei, I'm just a bunshin," the blond boy started. "I have to ask something. What is the sharingan?"

"I see.." Kakashi answered thoughtfully, "The sharingan was the source of what made the Uchiha so famous. Once awakened, they give the user a large degree of insight in how chakra is used. This enables them to reproduce a jutsu, without learning it the regular way. Or, to counter a jutsu, before it is executed."

"And these supereyes make people call you the 'copy ninja'?"

"Yes. Though I am not an Uchiha, I did receive my left eye as a… parting gift.. From my best friend."

"But what else does it do?" Naruto said, surprising Kakashi. "My… guest seems to hate the sharingan quite a lot. My theory would be that the sharingan has some other power, which affects _him_. He won't confirm it though, the bastard is too proud. But his annoyed silence means enough. And the fact that I was put in _your_ team, alongside the last remaining Uchiha.."

"I.. am no Uchiha, so I do not know every secret the sharingan has," Kakashi replied hesitantly. But even without the byakugan, Naruto had learned enough from the Hyuga. Knowing his sensei would, or could, not give an answer, Naruto nodded and popped. '_He could probably not confirm it because he was probably ordered not to do that, but he chose not to deny it either_,' the real Naruto thought after the bunshin had dissolved.

* * *

Sakura wondered why Naruto was so silent again. During the journey, he had seemingly opened up a little, but this morning he once again was as silent and distant as he was during the times at the academy. She had never really noticed him, if it was not for the obvious disapproval most adults had to him. She had always supposed that they would have reason to do such, so she followed by example. As was expected of her. But after what she had seen of him made her wonder if the majority was right.

Naruto was not a very social person, but once he opened up a bit, he turned out to be a very kind person. He did not have the looks or charisma Sasuke had, but he did seem to be a good and reliable person. If not overly serious at times.. It seemed to her like he could give Shino a run for his money in that aspect. But contrary to Shino, Naruto almost made the impression as if he hid some darkness inside him. Perhaps he knew about the reason that the village hated him? Sakura couldn't help but wonder what could have triggered such a reaction from the adults.

"So, what are you reading about," she decided to ask him, looking over his shoulder at the nearly unreadable scroll."

Naruto looked up at her, doubting if he should tell her. He shrugged, not that she could do much harm. "I inherited a load of books and scrolls on fuinjutsu, left behind by the Uzumaki clan."

"You got that from your clan? Never heard of any other Uzumaki though."

"Seems reasonable.. My clan was mostly wiped out before I was born. I was told that I am the last survivor of my clan."

'_Two people in one team who are both the last of their respective clans? What could be the odds of that?'_ Sakura thought. "So how do those seals work? I've read some basic theory on them, but it seemed kinda hard to do."

"I guess so," Naruto mused, absently scratching the back of his head. "Even with the help of the kage bunshin it still took me two years to work through the basics, and towards the more advanced seals." Knowing her interest in the theoretical stuff, he decided to expand his explanation a little.

"In principle, people have different kinds of chakra, and for jutsu the combine those types of chakra with the various hand seals, right?" he saw her nodding, so continued. "Seals have the same kind of basics. The issue is that instead of hand seal, there are a _lot_ more written signs. And as there are more signs, there are also much more possible combinations. In addition, properly drawing out seals also means the user has to put the right types of chakra in it, in the exact amounts specified. There are workarounds, but the direct methods so far always seem to have superior results."

Sakura looked pensive, "So chakra control has to be advanced, but there are quite some people around with very high degrees of control, and I hardly see anyone using fuinjutsu."

"Because the stronger seals require loads of chakra, which in turn means that it is impossible to create such a seal on your own. And the more people are involved in creating a seal, the harder it becomes."

"I see.. Too many types of chakra, the timing, and levels of understanding and so on.."

"That's where the Uzumaki seem to get their advantage. From what I've learned from the history books, my clan was known for having large amounts of chakra, as well as great endurance."

Naruto realized that this probably also why he was the only one capable of containing the kyuubi.

"Anyway, I usually study these kinds of scrolls to decipher them, and learn to reproduce the jutsu. Which is quite a frustrating job considering that there is no one who can teach me, other than Jiraiya-sensei. And even he doesn't understand most of the scribbles my ancestors left me.."

Sakura gained an unexpected amount of respect for her teammate. No wonder he continued to surprise everyone, as none had realized how skilled he was. Such mastery was no mere matter of lineage; it was the result of a lot of hard work. '_If he is capable of doing this in a few years, how much will he still grow?'_ Sakura asked herself.

As she walked back to her post, she felt weaker than she had ever done before. Though the promise that hard work could give such results also gave her some hope at the same time.

* * *

After Sakura had walked back, Naruto was left with a little curiosity. '_Odd, she acts so different.. I know she doesn't like me, and ignores me whenever she has the chance, but why start a conversation now?'_

"She's impressed," the Kyuubi answered inside him. "Impressed by _my_ power," the monster chuckled.

Before he could counter the monster's words, a large explosion sounded from the other side of the village. "Stay here," Naruto hissed at the workers, and the two dozen of clones he created for their protection. "Let's go," he woke Sakura up from her shock.

* * *

The wealthy Gato smiled at the sight of his little army breaking apart the village. Those idiots tried to resist _him_. He had to make an example of them. Those stupid civilians should know better than to resist him. And after getting a firm grip on this backwater country, he could expand his business in the Land of Water

After waiting a few days to make sure that the shinobi those fools had hired had left, he ordered his mercenaries to strike. Well, even if they had stayed, what chance would they have against his army? Still, he had heard enough, and they would have assumed that Zabuza died, and left while thinking the threat had been removed. How wrong they would be..

Killing all, except the women that were 'interesting' enough, his men would make sure the village was broken down, and any resistance in the region would be broken by the sight of his power. Gato smiled, today was a good day. He had heard that the bridge builder's daughter was not bad looking either, so he had ordered a few of his men to capture her, so he also had some.. Private entertainment. It would be a good night too, he chuckled. His men could do whatever they wanted with the other women.

* * *

Seeing the destruction and death the mercenaries had brought in only the short while, Sakura paled. There were at least a hundred, heavily armed men.. How could they save the village from such numbers? Something else caught her eye: her teammate stood next to her, frozen. But his eyes were no longer blue.

His face was torn apart by a feral rage unlike any she had seen before.

* * *

"Filthy human scum!" the Kyuubi's deep voice growled within Naruto.

"You humans look down at animals or us bijuu. Yet the only ones capable of such horror are you people. You call me a demon, yet the actions of me and my brethren pale in comparison to human brutality!"

Naruto barely noticed the fox's anger, as if it was barely an echo of his own rage. Vaguely aware of Sakura's terrified look, he growled. "Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

* * *

Gato blinked in surprise, when all of a sudden his own army was outnumbered. Clothed in black pants and white shirts, an army of blond genin appeared.

And in what seemed an instant, most of his army was wiped out. All the resources he had put into gathering the best mercenaries of the region vaporized in an instant. Arms were ripped from the torsos they were attached to. Heads were severed. Organs torn out. It all happened in seconds, in a wave of blood. Gato paled when he realized what he witnessed.

It was his own impending death.

"You must be Gato," an angry voice spoke. Gato turned to look behind him, right into the furious crimson eyes of the original Naruto. There was no shred of mercy in the savage eyes that looked down upon him. Not a fraction of hesitation. Gato knew he could only do one thing.

Attempting to flee, he did not even notice how soggy his pants had gotten. All Gato could think of was running away. Run away from the boy with the demon's eyes.

A flame-clad claw pierced his ribs, tearing out the shipping magnate's heart. The scorched heart fell on the ground before the man even realized he died.

* * *

Sakura watched in horror, terrified how her teammate had changed. Not even shocked by his ability to create what had to be at least two hundred clones, it was his behaviour which stunned her.

The clones _butchered_ the mercenaries.

Though Sakura knew those men got what they deserved, Sakura was shocked that her teammate turned out to be such a ruthless killer. _'He's a… a monster..'_ she thought while trembling. Her eyes wide in shock, she only saw the red that flowed through the streets.

With the village purged of its attackers, the clones vanished, revealing their master, who was now sprinting towards Tazuna's house.

* * *

Kakashi was happy he was recovering faster than he initially expected, but let Sasuke handle the assailants to avoid the risk of straining himself. Besides, the boy needed someone to vent his anger, and these mercenaries deserved nothing less. Their intentions had been obvious, knocking out Inari and attempting to drag away Tsunami.

These men were the worst kind of trash.

Sasuke's improvement showed when he finished off both of them at once. Hard work pays of, even to those recognized as geniuses.

The explosion further up in the town shook him up. "So there is a full assault.." Kakashi remarked. "Sasuke, let's.."

The jonin never got to finish his sentence, as he had to dodge a large blade which had swung up from his blind spot. Barely dodging, Kakashi noticed that Sasuke was under attack as well. His fear had come true, as the masked boy turned out to be a traitor as well.

"So we meet again," Zabuza smirked from under the bandages that covered most of his face.

'_Damn, this is not going to be easy. I hope Naruto and Sakura can handle whoever is attacking the village.. Sasuke should be fine against a single opponent, even if it is a chunin._'

* * *

Unfortunately, the masked boy was far stronger than Kakashi had expected. Though Sasuke had nearly killed him early in the fight, the masked boy revealed his kekkei genkai: hyoton. Even when using his one-tomoe sharingan, the ice release proved too much for the gifted Uchiha. The advantage in speed he had earlier had vanished as soon as the frozen mirrors rose.

The masked boy leaped between the giant mirrors of ice. Sasuke could not damage the mirrors, or avoid the senbon that seemed to be thrown from every direction at once. It was too fast. Too much.

When Naruto crashed in, he saw his teammate covered with needles, kneeling on the ground. "Sasuke?" he asked, disturbed. "Shit!" Naruto cursed, noticing the Uchiha was barely conscious.

"And who are you?" The voice came from all the remaining mirrors. "Quite impressive, taking down three mirrors at once"

Naruto growled. "Uzumaki Naruto. That will be the name of the one who kills you."

Sounding curious, the boy replied. "That would be even more impressive. My name is Haku, pleased to meet you."

As the senbon got pinned in him, Naruto wondered who this guy was. The masked one had a gentle voice, as if he or she regretted what had to be done. And still it was too hard to say whether it was a boy or a girl. And the strangest was: there was not a speck of malice to be noticed. Naruto felt nothing from his opponent, giving him the slightly blind feeling he hardly ever experienced.

"How much do I rely on you, you damned fox?" Naruto grumbled under his breath.

"Please yield," Haku said. "I do not wish to kill you. I only have orders to stop anyone from disrupting Zabuza-sama's duel."

Looking past Haku and the mirrors, Naruto spotted his sensei, who now struggled against the renegade. '_Seems like you still need me, weakling,'_ the fox smirked. It was happy to channel more of it chakra to Naruto, as the latter was still painfully unaware of the growing influence the Kyuubi got through it.

Haku tried to attack again, but this time Naruto was fast enough to dodge.

'_He dodged me without a sharingan?!'_ Haku thought, before stepping up his speed.

Lost in anger, Naruto released a scream. No, not just a scream, it was more like a shockwave. A burst of air. Pure force. The blond boy generated so much chakra that the already damaged mirrors now began to crack.

For the first in a long time, Haku felt fear. Fear because of an opponent whose strength even surpassed that of his master. "Forgive me, Zabuza-sama. I have failed," the ninja whispered before being hit by the full force of the blond boy's rage.

* * *

When Sakura arrived, she screamed. Sasuke was covered with wounds. Needles of melting ice still stuck in his limbs. A hard crash sounded, and a body flew past her, falling down only a few meters from their position.

Naruto jumped after his fallen opponent, seeing Sakura's tears as she held Sasuke in her arms. The grim determination he had vanished when he noticed some weak movements from his black haired teammate.

When he found the unconscious body of Haku, Naruto was torn. Killing a defenceless enemy was honourless, but he felt the Kyuubi calling for Haku's death. '_Does he deserve death?'_

* * *

Kakashi noticed Zabuza's distraction. For a while now, the Kyuubi's chakra could clearly be felt. Naruto had expended amount of chakra which would put even an experienced jonin to shame. Perhaps Jiraiya could be considered stronger, or otherwise his own 'eternal rival' after the latter opened up his celestial gates. But few would have access to such amounts of raw chakra. No wonder that Zabuza was disturbed. Even knowing where it came from, Kakashi had to admit he was feeling nervous himself as well.

"What do you say if we end this fight," Kakashi tried.

Zabuza glared at him. Was it a trick? He felt _something_. Something vile and dark, which was nearby, and whatever it was, it had started fighting against Haku. Zabuza rather helped out his young partner than continue the fight against the leaf jonin. Zabuza realized that even though Kakashi was weakened, the man could still match his own moves. _'Damn it! A draw against a weakened opponent is the same as losing a fight. I cannot lose twice against this bastard_.'

But his pondering was disrupted when he felt Haku had lost. Lost!

"All right," Zabuza gritted, as he swallowed his pride. "But you better make sure me and my partner get away from this place. Alive. Or I swear that I'll kill you and those brats of yours, even if it is the last thing I do."

"I promise," Kakashi replied. "Though I would suggest we hurry, I don't know what my genin will do to your partner at this moment."

'_Your genin?! Does he mean to say that this is one of those kids?'_ Zabuza thought, almost shocked enough for him to doubt his own hearing.

* * *

Aided by Sakura, Sasuke stood up. Humiliated and angry, he knew he was beaten. With his needles, Haku had effortlessly knocked Sasuke out. And Naruto had done what he could not. Staggering towards the body of his fallen opponent, Sasuke's eyes spurred open when he realized the now unmasked ninja was still alive. Naruto stood next to the boy as if he was lost in thought, as if he wasn't sure what to do with his fallen opponent. But Sasuke knew what to do..

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" the Uchiha shouted, surprising both teammates. Naruto was still standing in the path of the fireball, but Sasuke did not care. '_Killing the blond idiot would only be a bonus_,' he smirked to himself.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, noticing the Uchiha's intent. "What the hell are you doing!?"

With his hands still covered in flames from when he had attacked Haku, stopping the raging ball of flames that was aimed at him was nothing. As if it the attack was even too weak for him to acknowledge. But the attack itself was never something that bothered Naruto. '_He does not care if his opponent is down or not.. He seems indifferent whether or not he hits me… no, he does care..'_ Naruto thought with a sad look. The Kyuubi's influence removed from him by the sadness he now felt, Naruto realized how much malice Sasuke radiated now. How his own team mate was trying to hurt him.

"You idiot, kill that guy!" the Uchiha shouted at him, angered by the ease at which Naruto had stopped the attack. Angered by the look in Naruto's eyes when the blond looked at him, cold and dismissive, a frozen rage.

Naruto did not answer, he just extinguished the jutsu on his hand, and punched Sasuke.

Hard.

Sakura flinched when she heard the snapping sound of Sasuke's nose breaking. She saw the boy she loved flying backwards by the sheer force behind the punch. And all she wanted was to jump in before the fight could escalate, but she never got the chance. She was stopped by the sight of Kakashi. "Sensei!" she shouted in relief, as the jonin appeared between both boys, preventing things to get worse.

"Never attack your own teammates," he scolded them with an exhausted voice. "Zabuza-san, I trust our arrangement still stands? _Stop_ Naruto!" he added when he saw the blond genin move.

Zabuza looked at the genin who had beaten Haku. '_That chakra… Impossible for a child… How could he… He must be a… He is,'_ Zabuza realized. "Yes… it seems like there won't be any payment now.. Seeing how that kid has killed Gato. I can smell his blood on you, brat," he added when he saw the surprised look. "Until we meet again, Kakashi. But then I will fight you to the bitter end. Consequences be damned."

Carrying Haku, Zabuza quickly sprinted away. And team seven returned to Tazuna's house, so they could fix Sasuke's broken nose, and Kakashi could finally rest.

* * *

"Inari! Tsunami!" Tazuna shouted, heavily out of breath because he ran all the way back home.

Inari charged forward, into his grandfather's arms. "They saved us! They say Gato is dead, and our country is saved!"

Tazuna smiled back at the child, and muss his hair. "Yes, I saw what happened.. The village was attacked, but Naruto drove them all off."

* * *

"Zabuza is still alive?" Tazuna paled after Kakashi filled him in.

"Relax," the jonin sluggishly raised his hands. "His employer died, so Zabuza won't be after you any more, he is a professional. Besides, he knew we had the advantage.. But taking someone like Zabuza down without getting injured is rather difficult. And considering we had no reason to further reasons to risk our lives, we both backed off…"

"I see," Tazuna frowned. "I hope you are right.. What happened to the kids?"

"Your daughter is helping Sakura mending Sasuke's nose," Kakashi said dryly. "Naruto is outside, scanning the area if there are any more mercenaries out there."

"Kakashi-san.. I must ask you.. Naruto-san, what… What _is_ he?" Tazuna asked cautiously. He had seen the village. He had seen the horde of clones that had raged through Gato's ranks.

"I cannot share any details," Kakashi sighed. "But rest assured, Naruto only became angry due to what the mercenaries were doing. And we are shinobi… we are not supposed to have any issues with killing when the mission demands it."

"I see.." Tazuna frowned, somewhat stunned that the brutal behaviour of the boy should be considered 'normal'.

"That said, Naruto is quite extraordinary as a shinobi," Kakashi added. "Tell the townsfolk they have nothing to fear from us. We will take our leave soon enough. Sasuke's wounds will heal quickly, and my condition should improve soon as well… I was lucky that I did not have to overexert myself again, even though I was still recovering from the last match."

"Please stay for a few days," Tazuna said with a serious tone. "We plan to bury our dead tomorrow, but after that, we will celebrate the liberation of our country. And as our saviours, you four are our guests of honour."

"Alright," Kakashi sighed. "Then we will stay here for at least two days."

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto woke up the jonin early in the morning.

"Naruto?" the jonin groaned. "What are you.."

"My original body found Gato's camp. There was only a minimal guard, so I took them out. But I wonder what we have to do with the money and other stuff which is there. There are also several corpses and some surviving women out there. Though the survivors are in a pretty bad shape," the boy added darkly.

"You were out all night?" Kakashi sighed.

"After what happened yesterday, how was I supposed to sleep?" Naruto replied on a cold and emotionless tone.

"Hmm… Can you take the survivors back to town? I don't know how far it is.."

"About half an hour distance from here," Naruto replied. "At our pace at least. I'll deploy some clones, and transport them back. There are six who are fairly mobile, and five who are unconscious. But what about Gato's treasury?"

"Well.. I'd say the money should be given to the village… they need it the hardest right now. Not to mention that it probably is their money anyway, before Gato stole it from them. With those funds, completing the bridge won't be an issue any more. Though I'll demand the full payment for an A-rank mission before I hand over the money," Kakashi said thoughtfully. "Or the Sandaime will gut me."

"I also found a lot of information.. Many on finance and business in this region, but there were also a lot of scrolls that contain information on the Land of Water, and apparently Gato had some dealings with Kirigakure itself as well. Also… one scroll was rather strange, sensei," Naruto frowned. "It was about the Land of Whirlpools and also contained the symbol of Uzushiogakure. I know that's where my clan hails from. It seems to be some kind of report, but it is encrypted and there are several seals placed upon the scrolls, so I don't know anything about the content of the scroll. I didn't want to risk any seal getting triggered."

Kakashi blinked a few times, and what little had remained of his sleepiness also vanished. _'Inside-information on Kirigakure… Hokage-sama will be most grateful for that one, even though the current relations with Kiri seem to be better than they have been in a long while, it could still be vital for future missions…'_

"We will give this information to the Hokage when we get back," Kakashi ordered. "I trust you can keep them with you. But keep this knowledge a secret for now."

"Affirmative," Naruto said dryly. "Though I would like to know more about that scroll about Uzushiogakure. I don't know much about my home country, after all," he added, before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

'_His mastery with the kage bunshin no jutsu has also improved drastically.. It figures, with the amounts of chakra he possesses, along with his creativity, that jutsu is perfect for him.'_

* * *

Sitting on top of the roof of a building on the edge of the village, Naruto looked as the village celebrated their newfound freedom. With the use of fuinjutsu, it had been fairly easy to transport the valuables and other resources back to the village, along with the women he had found. Upon his return, Naruto had seen many emotions on the faces of the villagers. Anger, defeat, and sorrow, upon seeing their kidnapped women return to them, wounded or deceased. Or broken. But there was also cheerfulness, gratitude, and relief, for the wealth, and even more because of the survivors he had brought along. Despite the horrors the women had endured, they lived and were reunited with their loved ones.

But what hurt Naruto was the deep fear he saw in the faces of the villagers. Fear of him. Terrified, because of how he had saved them. He was used to see it in his own village, but here, where people had treated him well at first, it pained him.

'_Those idiots.. I saved the town, and all they do is fear me?'_ Naruto pondered. '_And not just them.. Sakura, Sasuke, and even Kakashi-sensei… they all fear me. Despise me.. While I saved them. They should be thankful. Not glare at me from a distance, as if I am some kind of freak!'_

"Relax, brat.." Naruto heard the Kyuubi speak, before it pulled him 'in'.

* * *

"What?" Naruto did not bother to hide his annoyance.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" the fox said calmly.

"What do you.."

"Don't play stupid on me. I see everything you do. I got nothing else to do in this godforsaken place anyway," the demon growled. "Those humans, their response hurts you."

"Well yes.. Of course it does," Naruto admitted. "I saved their damned lives, and they look at me as if they think I am a monster."

"Humans… Humans are very short-sighted. They only care about themselves, and keep themselves blind to everything else. And every time they meet something that is above them, they respond with hate. All because they are weak. Those humans will never look at you without seeing me."

Naruto grimaced.

"And yet, what did I do to deserve their hatred," the Kyuubi surprised the boy. "Those humans.. They think themselves superior to everything else, and because of that they mistreat everything that is different from them. They call my kind demons. Those humans hate us, they attack us, and they imprison us!"

"They just fear you."

"Humans fear everything superior to themselves. Deep down they must realize their arrogance, but are too cowardly to admit their inferiority," the fox growled. "What makes a human so different from an animal? Or from anything that lives, even the trees and plants? "

Naruto blinked in surprise. Never had the fox been so serious to him. Most of the time, it seemed to curse at him, or mock him. But this time it felt like he lectured Naruto. In an instant, Naruto realized that he himself was just like those humans the fox just described.

"You.." Naruto sighed. "The humans in this town do not hate me because of you.. They don't know… no, but they fear me because of the exact same reasons. Ironic. I behave just like them, even though I am not like them."

"Jinchuriki," the fox spoke as if they word was a curse or horrible insult. "So now do you understand, you foolish brat? You always condemned me, while I simply hate a world which hates me."

"I… how could I say I understand when I am not you?" Naruto mused, now surprising the fox, even though the latter refused to show it. "But you hate me because I am your prison, and I hate you because you were imprisoned inside me.." Naruto sighed. "All this hatred… where does it ever end?"

"Their ignorant desire for power led them to your creation," the fox said darkly. "Sealing me and my kind with the desire to 'tame' us.. To use us," the creature scoffed.

"So tell me… you talk about your kind, so what are you?" Naruto said after a few minutes of silence. The fox's head jerked up, his eyes widened a bit, revealing his surprise.

"Why would you want to know?"

"If they keep looking like that at me, because of you, I might as well try to figure out what you are," Naruto shrugged.

"… we are what humans call the bijuu," the fox said. "The tailed beasts. Though, the nine of us are more than that, but that doesn't matter right now. We each have a number of tails, from one to nine. We all are unique, in contrast to you humans who share the same kind of physical traits."

The fox moved his nine enormous tails, and strange enough, Naruto thought the fox was proud of them.

"As I have nine," the fox continued, confirming Naruto's suspicion. "I am the strongest of my kind. But even the strength of the one-tail vastly overpowers that of any human. Well, nearly all," the Kyuubi admitted. "There have been a few humans around who managed to gather enough power to impress even us, like your first Hokage for example."

"So.. They are your brothers and sisters?" Naruto frowned. "What, no children or anything?"

"Why would we reproduce like you lower life forms do? Time does not affect us, I was already alive before you shinobi came to be. But because of our power, our massive chakra, humans have always feared us. They wanted to turn us into weapons! One by one, my brothers and sisters fell into the hands of humans, and were trapped into their prisons.. Even I was captured… Damn that Uchiha Madara.."

"So I… What am I?" Naruto frowned, impressed by the enormity of what the Kyuubi had just told him.

"You? You were once a human, just like all the others of you miserable kind," the fox laughed darkly. "You were human until my chakra entered your body, and began to change you. Evolve you."

"So I am neither bijuu nor human," Naruto sighed. "No wonder they all see me as a monster."

The fox chuckled, while it withdrew into the darkness of its cage. "Monster… that word only shows they are too stupid to understand. Too inferior to even try to understand it."

* * *

Naruto's mind felt like it was flooded with thoughts and emotions. '_Who am I? What am I?_' he thought, as he left his inner world. '_Jinchuriki… well fine then, if those humans don't want me to belong to their kind, I might just as well stop pretending!'_

'_Teams, teachers, family.. Friends.. I am not their equal. I have never been, so how could I belong to their kind? Geh.. Just look at these citizens, or Sakura… Even the few that are friendly to me will fear me once they see what I am. What I can become. It is merely a matter of time until they betray me too…'_

Naruto sighed deeply, as he turned his face away, not wanting to look at the celebration in front him any longer. Feeling betrayed, Naruto wondered why he had even cared enough to begin with.

* * *

Once again alone in his silent world, the Kyuubi wondered why he felt conflicted.

The boy had been pushed enough to finally begin to seriously despise humanity, but for some reason the fox could not feel much happiness about. It had annoyed him that it had taken so long before the boy gave up on his futile dreams of acceptance, but now he seemed to have done it… it felt empty.

His former jailors had never cared about him, or his kind. They would never have asked. Never even thought about his opinion. But this boy… the fox knew he had to corrupt the boy's soul in order to weaken the seal, but the mental strength the boy possessed impressed him. The boy merely turned away from humanity, while he had every reason to strike back at it. As if the boy's core was made up out of kindness.

The Kyuubi sighed. _'I should just wait and see what will happen… He will probably fall, just like any other human before him. I just have to make sure the brat doesn't die before the seal has weakened enough for me to reclaim my freedom. So why don't I just amuse myself as much as I can while I am stuck here? He may struggle all he want to prevent my inevitable escape. So prove your worth to me, brat. Let's see you try and stop me.'_

* * *

With the bodies Naruto had brought from Gato's camp, the death toll was set on twenty three. With an additional thirty five wounded, of which four critically. Kakashi wondered how this could be called a success, or even be celebrated. But after years of struggling, he could also somewhat understand the people. He remembered how Konoha cheered when the last war had ended. Well, how most of Konoha had cheered.. There were enough who rather had seen the war continue, too consumed by their hatred. There still are those who think like that.

But Kakashi had collected the money for an A-rank mission, and from what he saw in the scrolls Naruto had found, also some very useful intel. At least for Konoha, this mission had been a bigger success than anyone would have expected at the start. Though Kakashi hoped that next C-rank mission would turn out to be a bit less complex.

No, this country and Konoha could celebrate, but team seven could not. Kakashi had seen how Sakura looked at Naruto. And he had seen and heard what Sasuke had done… '_Whatever chance this team had ever had died during this mission_,' Kakashi sighed. '_Naruto's expression… even if he understands their reaction, it hurts him a lot. No, with his burden, it won't just hurt him. It'll only grow worse. The hatred Naruto feels will strengthen the Kyuubi's hold over him, causing the others to fear and hate him even more… This spiral will not stop, not while Naruto stays in this environment. With Sasuke hating him, and Sakura being terrified, Naruto is bound to respond.. But how? And when?_'

Kakashi massaged his head. "I really am not fit.. I told him I would be a bad choice," Kakashi whispered to himself, thinking back at when he protested against the Hokage's decision on the formation of team seven.

* * *

The way back to Konoha was a lot faster now that Tazuna was not around. Still, to Sakura it seemed like it took twice the time. Naruto and Sasuke did not speak to each other again, with the first barely even looking at the others. And though Naruto ignored Sasuke, the killing intent of the latter had been obvious, even to her. The atmosphere was too uncomfortable. What would this mean for her team? When she and Ino had a fight, they could talk about it afterwards. But neither of her team mates seemed to be even remotely interested in talking.. This went much deeper than a petty argument. Something had been broken during this mission, irreparably broken.

When Kakashi had tried to discuss it, the Uchiha had refused to apologize to Naruto, something which even Sakura seemed to resent. Kakashi sighed, '_Hokage-sama was wrong, there will not be any friendship between these boys. They have to be taken apart, or they will end up killing each other during a next mission.. He must see that now as well.. This _must_ be solved!'_

* * *

**A/N:** I had some problems in writing this chapter because, compared to the manga, I added a plot-line, while also slightly changing two others. But it turned out that I could finish this chapter quicker than I had originally expected. Even though it is the longest chapter up to date, with a lot of things happening, of which many very important. Perhaps even controversial things, to some. I hope you don't hate me for it.

But poor Naruto, finally thinking people might treat him a little better, and then they are scared off… Even the Kyuubi seems to feel a little pity for the boy. Well, _seems_. And Sasuke.. Well, I've depicted Naruto a few shades darker, so it will be no surprise that Sasuke will become a bit darker as well..

And now.. Conflict management!

-Z-

**Edit**: fixed some grammar issues, and made some minor changes. 14/01/15


	9. Outcast

**Genin arc**

**Outcast**

* * *

"Thank you, Kakashi, team 7," the Hokage said after hearing the report of the mission. Though Kakashi had not spoken of the Kyuubi, Hiruzen had heard enough to deduce what Naruto had done. But what saddened him even more was when Kakashi had told him of what Sasuke had done. How he had tried to attack his own team mate. Sasuke looked a bit uncomfortable when Kakashi told about his transgression, but the boy's anger was still obvious. In the eyes of Sarutobi Hiruzen, it was obvious the Uchiha did not feel regret for what he did. Something that made the situation even more complicated. After all, his position as the last Uchiha made it hard for him to issue any serious punishment for this crime.

"Sakura, you are relieved. Sasuke, meet me here at eight in the morning, tomorrow," the old man sighed. He had to find a proper way to deal with the Uchiha, and since he was the last of his bloodline, he could also not do too much. The council would never accept something like imprisonment, or him being demoted as genin.

"Naruto, Kakashi, you two stay put," he added.

Hiruzen wrote a short note, and sent out a guard to deliver it. He knew she had yet to collect today's assignment, so she should arrive shortly. After that, he quickly prepared his pipe. He needed a smoke. Meanwhile, Naruto just remained silent, not showing much emotion. Kakashi, on the other hand, seemed unusually agitated. "I suppose you want to tell me I was wrong about the team, Kakashi?"

"Umm… No, at this point, I don't care about right or wrong, Hokage-sama, but this situation.. Something needs to be done."

The old man sighed. He had hoped that both boys would grow a bit closer, just like how he and Danzo had eventually come to understand each other all those years ago. But he was wrong. These boys were different, and perhaps Kakashi was not as capable as their sensei had been. Teaching the next generation was a test that each jonin had to go through, but not every shinobi had the qualities needed for it. "Yes, this situation needs to change," Hiruzen looked at Naruto. "You did not say anything about how Sasuke attacked you, Naruto."

"There was little to say," Naruto said. "Sasuke did not attack me because of the fox, he attacked me because he hates _me_. He tried to incinerate me, so I broke his nose. Nothing else."

Hiruzen frowned, worried by the indifference in Naruto's voice. "Do you mind being in the same team as him?"

"Why would I care," Naruto shrugged. "It's not like other people will treat me much better. Though the usual cold glares are less annoying than fireballs. Besides, Sakura saw me, and fears and hates me because of what I did. At least Sasuke's attempt to hurt me was not because of the fox. And it's not like that level of attack would have done anything to me."

"Would you not like teammates which would respect you?" Hiruzen replied.

Naruto's hollow laughter shocked both Hiruzen and Kakashi. "_Respect_ me?" Naruto smirked. "I doubt any of you humans do.."

"Naruto, you shouldn't.." Kakashi started.

"Your fear is obvious, _sensei_," Naruto said on a cold tone. "Hatred and fear are quite similar, but I know enough to feel the difference. Your little act of indifference doesn't help you much.."

Someone knocked at the door.

"Come in," Hiruzen said. "Naruto, this is Yuhi Kurenai, jonin-sensei of team eight."

"Hokage-sama, Kakashi-senpai, Naruto-san," the black haired woman greeted them, a bit surprised to see the latter. And even more surprised by the odd atmosphere in the room. "Might I ask why I was summoned? I.. Ehh… hope I don't have to go away from Konoha today."

Hiruzen chuckled, "Don't worry, I've notified Asuma, as you will probably be a bit late for your dinner today." Kakashi frowned at the news, while Kurenai blushed slightly. "I recall your complaint about the lack of balance in your team, so I thought we could solve two separate problems at once."

Both jonin looked at each other and opened their mouths to start to speak (well, as far as it was visible with Kakashi's mask). Kakashi gestured her to start. "My team is overly focussed on tracking and scouting, but lacks the muscle to defeat more serious opponents," Kurenai explained. "My team exists of Aburame Shino, Hyuga Hinata, and Inuzuka Kiba along with his ninken Akamaru."

"Hmm.." Kakashi started thoughtfully. "My team consists of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto," tapping the boy on his shoulder. "Though you could say that there is no problem with regard to their combat skills, two of my team members have had a… conflict."

Naruto remained silent, and was looking the other way, not caring about the conversation that was going on. It was merely the blabbering of a few humans. It hardly concerned him what team he would end up with, they would reject him anyway.

"Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto had a conflict which turned rather violent. That is why I would propose to transfer Naruto to your team, Kurenai. It would be the best solution for both of them, as well as it would balance out both teams," Hiruzen spoke up. "And considering that Kakashi is the only other with the sharingan, I can't take Sasuke away from him. Sasuke will need guidance."

Kurenai frowned. "In exchange for one of my genin I suppose… I would prefer to keep Hinata in my team, so I would propose either Kiba or Shino to transfer. Though, Kiba might not be the best choice, as he may be a very loyal person, but he is also rather hot headed. From what I've seen, he did not have a very good connection with the Uchiha boy at the academy either."

"While the logic of the Aburame might even out the emotional instability of my team," Kakashi agreed.

Hiruzen nodded, then looking at Naruto. "Naruto, this is a rather unusual event. We don't often change genin team this soon, so I have to ask both you and Shino, if you can agree with this transfer."

Naruto just shrugged. "Can't be much worse than it is right now, can it?" he replied. "Though you should tell her who I am.. She might want to learn the truth before she will regret this… well she will anyway, so who cares," he shrugged, as he nodded his goodbye towards the Hokage and left.

Hiruzen frowned. '_It's sad that team seven did not work out like I had hoped. Kakashi was my first choice to look after Naruto, while Jiraiya is not available.. But Kurenai is capable enough with regard to genjutsu as well, in the unlikely Naruto would lose control of the Kyuubi. Even though she does not possess the sharingan, it isn't like Kakashi knows how to restrain the creature either.. I should tell her about the fox's only known weakness.'_

* * *

Kurenai's mind was still in turmoil from the meeting. After sharing a few S-ranked secrets, the Hokage had agreed that it would be best that he personally informed the Aburame, to avoid political repercussions. After all, Aburame Shibi, Shino's father, had a rather prominent position in their clan. After they had left the Hokage's office, she had discussed Naruto with Kakashi. Kurenai smiled somewhat when she imagined how Hinata would react. The shy girl opened up a little to her, and Kurenai quickly found out about her feelings concerning Naruto. '_It might be a good change for Hinata as well'_. Now on her way to meet her team, she wondered how Shino would react.

"Kurenai-sensei," the three genin greeted, as she joined them. Kurenai had picked a small training ground, consisting of grassland and a large pond.

"Good afternoon," she greeted her students. "I apologize for being late like this. The Hokage called me away."

Shino nodded, "Hokage-sama has discussed the issue with me and my father as well."

"Issue?" Kiba frowned. "What's going on Shino?"

"I see," Kurenai sighed. Why was it never clear what the Aburame was thinking? "In that case, I will explain what occurred."

* * *

Hinata was unsure what she had to feel. On one hand, she was overjoyed that Naruto would join her team. On the other hand, she was sad Shino had to leave. He may have been silent, but she did consider him to be her friend.

The Aburame had stoically remarked that the transfer was merely the most logical conclusion that the Hokage could reach under the circumstances, thus he had no reason to object. Hinata wondered if Shino was really that emotionless. Surely he would feel sad, she knew she would. Unless Shino did not like them? She could never really figure out what the silent boy was thinking. And with his clothing concealing most of him, reading his expression or body language was rather difficult as well.

Kiba was far easier to read. Even for the untrained eye it would be blatantly obvious that the Inuzuka was not happy at all. He never really had any bond with Naruto, similar to most at the academy, but Hinata knew it was logical that he would prefer Shino, who he knew, over Naruto. Logical, because Kiba was fiercely loyal toward his team mates. Kurenai, on the other hand, seemed to think that Naruto would be an improvement to the team, even though she stated that she regretted that Shino left.

'_Maybe Naruto-kun is at home, and I can ask him why he had to transfer_,' Hinata thought. It was a bit annoying that Kurenai-sensei refused to explain what the 'incident' was which Shino had mentioned as the cause for this unusual transfer. Shino himself also refused, even though he did mention that the Hokage had somewhat explained what caused it. But he had promised to his father to not tell anyone about what he heard. Adults were always so secretive when it came to Naruto. Breaking up genin teams which only operated for a few months, with only weeks before the Chunin Exams would begin, was rather unusual. Whatever had happened, it must have been big.

Hinata moved as quickly as she could without losing composure. The composure expect of someone of her standing. But she wanted to know. Naruto would tell her, if she could muster the courage to ask him.

* * *

"That was quite the mission," Haruki said, very impressed after hearing Naruto's story. "Zabuza, the demon of the hidden mist.. That man was already around when I was a shinobi.. And I would have rather avoided someone like him, even when I was healthy. He had quite the unsavory reputation."

Ako shuddered, knowing Haruki had been a jonin before he was forced to end his career. "I'm glad you made it back alive, Naruto-kun".

Naruto scratched the back of his head, earning him the glare from Haruki he had expected. The one gesture Haruki couldn't get out of the boy, no matter how hard he had tried. And Naruto knew it, and often used it to tease him. Naruto shrugged. "Well, I'm just happy that the country of waves got rid of that Gato."

"Taking someone's life should not be an easy thing, Naruto," Haruki said softly, recognizing that Naruto hid his real emotions behind his fake smile, as usual. The man believed that Naruto was burdened because he had killed. Killed so many.

"It seemed quite easy when I saw the things those scumbags did.. Though, I presume it would be somewhat different for someone like me."

"How could you say that!" Ako snapped. "You _saved_ those people, if you had not acted, how many others would have died?" Seeing Naruto was not convinced, she added "You should not think about the number of lives you took, but the number of lives you have saved. How many men and women now survived because of you? How many children?"

"Maybe.. But in the end, what did I achieve, just by eradicating a few.."

Chie raised her head lazily. "Those two-legs were worse than scum. Think of it as if you removed the weed, in order to keep the crops healthy. You did good, Whisker-two-leg."

"But.."

"NO!" Ako half shouted. "Trash like them decided to kill others for something as stupid as money. Those greedy bastards got what they deserved! Those people were no different from.. You know.."

Taken aback by the outburst from the usually quiet and reserved Ako, Naruto realized how surprised he looked. "Perhaps," he admitted. "Ok, ok, you win, you win," he added when the girl glared at him and wanted to continue to talk.

Ako hmmpf-ed, causing Haruki to speak up, knowing the girl would not be easily stopped once being on a roll. As if she thought the same, Chie distracted Ako by jumping into her arms. Though the cat-like creature usually avoided all humans except for Naruto, she made an exception for Ako. She had an absolute loyalty to the one that fed her. "What your teammate did was another thing though. I can't blame you for hitting him, personally, I would rather have stuck a kunai in his throat," Haruki said dryly.

"Well.. To be honest, I thought Sasuke hated me because of the Kyuubi, just like everyone else does," Naruto chuckled darkly. "Seems like I never experienced people hating me because of me. I guess that acting as the prison for the demon that nearly destroyed Konoha makes me expect such behaviour," he added sarcastically.

Hinata froze as she walked by the window when she heard Naruto talk. She had hurried there to speak with him, but now she was unwillingly eavesdropping in a conversation she should not have heard. Her earlier happiness changed into horror. Had this been the truth that no one would talk about?

"Being thrown out again does annoy me a little though," Naruto continued. "I just felt like things were going a little smoother. I mean, Sasuke is Sasuke, but Sakura seemed to change a little and even acted nice at times. Not after the attack though, guess that little show of bloodshed terrified her a bit.. And seeing who I am… what I'm capable of.. Geh, I guess the most surprising thing is that they even bother to transfer me. It not like the others would behave differently if they saw me for what I am."

"Weren't you the one who told me that all you two-legs were different," Chie pointed out. "You should listen to yourself. And you stated that the white-eyed-two-leg-hime was different. Though the dog will obviously be an exception, it is merely logical to expect a dog to act stupid."

'_Naruto-kun talked about me?'_ Hinata realized with a shock, when she 'translated' Chie's words.

"Chie is right, Naruto," Haruki sighed. "Never give up the hope for a better future. Look at me, I already had accepted my death, and I hardly cared about what little life was left for me. Until they dropped the responsibility of looking after you on me. I was just waiting for my end, and you suddenly made things enjoyable again. Except the part where I had to teach you proper etiquette.."

"Even if a few idiots act like that, doesn't mean everyone does. Hell, you know how scared I was when we first met, but that did not mean I turned out to hate you, right?" Ako added. "Not everyone is stupid enough to hate everything the once feared! And you said it yourself: Hinata-sama isn't as short-sighted as normal people are."

"You're right," Naruto sighed. "But still it.. Ah.. I think I'll just go for a little walk. Some fresh air should clear my head. I need to think.. Calm down."

"I understand Naruto, but don't take these things the wrong way. The Hokage did this for your sake as well," Haruki argued.

"I know. But this mission.. Sometimes it is just like I'm slowly slipping away," Naruto admitted. "I once believed that you humans would start accepting me if I protected them.. But after this… it's just hard not to be angry.."

"You're not slipping away," Ako said sharply. "Remember the good things you did. I certainly remember them. Don't give in to despair, not because some prick judges you without knowing who you truly are. I know you are good, and I know every other person would have fallen if they had only a small part of your burden."

"Thank you, Ako-san. But I'm going for a walk now, I see you guys at dinner, all right? Don't worry, I'm fine," Naruto walked out. '_But how would you react, Ako, if you had seen me that day, slaughtering those mercenaries?' _Naruto asked himself. _'Run away, like all you humans, or would you have done something else?'_

Silence remained for a little while, and Hinata stood there like she was frozen solid. These were not the kind of things she was meant to hear. And certainly not what she wanted to hear. It terrified her. Was this the true Naruto?

"I'm not buying it," Haruki said. "No way that he is fine after going through all that.."

"He has enough skill when it comes to lies," Chie added dryly. "He was raised with all you white-eyes after all.."

"I know that, but.." Ako said with more than a little desperation in her voice. "But what can we do? If I were his teammate, when I was there when he… changes.. He needs someone to help him!"

"Do you know for sure that you could accept what you would see?" Haruki asked softly. "Especially if you had not known about his secret?"

"I've seen enough of Naruto to know that he can be trusted. More than most in this clan," Ako added sharply. She sighed and remained silent.

Haruki's eyes suddenly widened in shock when Chie spoke up. "Hinata-sama, would you care to join us?"

"What?" Ako said, and closed the window when Haruki pointed at it. They waited for the genin to enter the cottage. "I guess you heard most of it?" Ako said with a grimace.

Hinata nodded, her face white as chalk due to the shock, so for once in her life she could not blush while being embarrassed. "I- I- I apologize Ako-san. I d-did not mean to… to hear… to listen to… I heard N-Naruto-kun talk about.. about.." Tears filled her eyes. "Why him?" she exclaimed, as tears began to flow. "Why? Why did they do that to him!?"

"I see.." Haruki sighed. "Though unfortunate, this might be for the best as well. At least now you know about some of the things Naruto did for the sake of the village. Or should I say: was forced to do. Now Naruto told you, even though indirectly, the Hokage's law no longer forbids me from telling you. Though I am sure that Hiashi-sama will not like this, either.. But you must know the truth. But I beg of you: please keep this knowledge to yourself for now. This is a secret, punishable by death, if you tell it. That is the law the Hokage made to protect Naruto."

Haruki rubbed his head, punishing his mind how to say this in the best way possible.

"The day when Naruto was born, the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. We all know that the Yondaime Hokage defeated the creature, but fewer know that he could not kill it. A demon like that is far beyond a human's ability to destroy, so all he could do was to seal the creature away. Don't ask me how, I do not know this. But he did it at the cost of his own life. But with his sacrifice, the Yondaime ensured that it could not hurt people again. For some reason, the Yondaime picked Naruto. Though the Hokage tries to keep this knowledge as restricted as possible, there are enough people out there who know. And the opinions of the people who either know or suspect the truth about Naruto, affect the others. That is why everyone hates Naruto. That is why he was so isolated, why he was thrown from one orphanage to the other when he was a child. Not that people openly acted against him, but there were some 'accidents', and Naruto is smart enough to see through another's façade. He is well aware how people see him.."

"People are too stupid to see that it is Naruto who protects us all from that monster," Ako hissed. "And despite all they did to him, he still does his duty. He protects us all! And while we could see the hatred that attacked him from the outside, we know nothing about what the Kyuubi does." The young woman started to pace around, her anger obvious, despite the Hyuga's usual preference to keep up a neutral mask. She still held Chie in her arms, but had stopped petting her.

"Hinata-sama, I guess you came here because you know about Naruto's transfer?" Haruki guessed, waiting for the girl to nod.

"Then as a teammate, please help Naruto. He has been rejected for nearly all his life. It pains me to see that he feels rejected again, and yet again because of something which is not his fault…"

"What should I do?" Hinata asked, trying to wipe away her tears. Futile, as new tears flowed down just as fast as she wiped. "What can I do?" she sniffled. "I want to help.. The must be something I can-"

Ako looked torn. "Be strong, and be there for him, listen to him. Don't push him to tell you things he doesn't want to share though. He will probably tell you himself when he thinks the time is right. What he needs now is to feel some trust from others.."

"Now that you know, do you see the boy, or the monster?" Chie asked. "Do you see Naruto, or the Kyuubi?"

"W-Why would I… Naruto-kun can't help that the demon was sealed inside him! Why would I blame him?"

'_Good, perhaps this two-leg really does have the potential to save him..'_ Chie thought as the girl continued to mutter her answer to the cat's question. "If you truly feel like that, I will help you to find Naruto. That two-leg is the one who saved me. I owe him my life. But I cannot do the same for him. He does no longer listen to reason. Yes, sickly-two-leg, you should have heard the despair in his voice too," Chie added when she saw the man look. "When logic and reason fail, perhaps emotion can still convince him. The heart usually takes over when the brain can't handle things."

"Save him of what? What are you playing at?" Ako asked.

Chie sighed. "What happens when people continuously reject you, and refuse to accept that you are one of them? If it happens long enough, you will estrange yourself from your surroundings. Didn't you just hear him talking about 'you humans'? What would happen if Naruto saw himself as a demon? What if his will was broken, if he gave up his desire to be accepted, while that will of his is the most important thing to keep the demon at bay?"

"But he knows.." Ako protested.

"He _knows_," Chie said pointedly. "He knows that he is not the Kyuubi. But that does not mean he sees himself as a human being. Besides, knowing is not the same as feeling. It is not what he knows that worries me, it is what he feels."

"You mean.." Haruki sighed. "I.. You might be right, Chie."

"What do you mean?" Hinata voiced her confusion.

"Whenever Naruto wants to be alone, he goes to a certain training ground. Chie will guide you," Haruki replied. "Perhaps you can convince him that not all humans hate him. That he should still have hope. Maybe you succeed where we could not, Hinata-sama."

Hinata nodded, not trusting her voice despite her determination.

* * *

'_Maybe Ako-san is right. Maybe I should feel a little pride for what I did,'_ Naruto mused. He was sitting on a branch of a huge tree, just a bit past the border of training ground 44, one of his favourite places around Konoha. '_The forest of death, a fitting place for a demon to relax.._'

Because the area was closed off, and forbidden to enter, Naruto had been curious. That is why he entered it, roughly a year ago. He was not bothered by the creatures living there, as they usually fled when they noticed him. When they noticed the Kyuubi. So this area was a place of tranquility to him.

No humans around to disturb him.

No one who could bother him, or give him one of those cold hateful glares he got so accustomed to. Even though the Hyuga place had been his home for a long time now, it was also rather crowded. And people who could look through walls gave him the impression he had little privacy. Despite the general rule amongst the clan members to not misuse the byakugan indoors. The penalties on indecent behaviour were quite high.

'_I guess trusting people has never been my strongest point.. Not that there are a lot who gave me the chance to do so. Jiisan, Jiraiya, Haruki-san, and Ako-san,' _mentally listing the four people who he had opened up to during his life. '_And perhaps there are some others crazy enough..'_

Naruto laughed at his idea. '_Yeah right, why would I even dream of it.. This is not some bullshit story where friends magically appear out of nowhere. I accepted that I am not human, so why would I expect a humane treatment from a human? Since when would a human treat something as inhuman as me as its equal? When they cannot even treat their fellow humans equally?'_

Pondering over what he should do, now he got removed from team 7, Naruto wondered how his new team would react to these changes. They had worked together for a few months now, just like he had with Sasuke and Sakura, so they would probably treat him like an outsider. Worse yet, they could hold him responsible for taking Shino away from them. And that was even before they would discover who he really was..

'_I am an idiot. I should have run away a long time ago, leave this shitty place and start over somewhere far away._' Naruto sighed. '_But then what… it would only be a matter of time before they declared me to be a missing nin, and send anbu or hunter nins after me. And bounty hunters… I'm not strong enough to beat a jonin yet. It would definitely exclude the possibility to live a life as an ordinary civilian, as my chakra would give me away to anyone with a spec of talent with regard to sensory abilities. Seeking refuge in other hidden village is also not a real option. They would probably either imprison me because I'm from Konoha, even if they would not know about the Kyuubi. So I would be fucked no matter what.'_

No, his best option would probably to live in the wild, all alone. With no humans around to pester him. To judge him for something he couldn't help. Why was his existence a crime?

As Naruto thought on that, he heard the sounds of hunting tigers. '_If only I could live a carefree life as those tigers_,' Naruto started thinking. _'Just spend my time hunting and eating.. Just me against the world, without all the confusion of other people around me. That would be peaceful, I think…'_

Listening to the tigers, he suddenly noticed a female voice calling out for help.

* * *

Hinata looked around her and saw death. Giant, hungry tigers had surrounded her. Though she and Chie, who was now in her large form, had managed to disable a few of the tigers, she knew they were no match. They were too strong, too fast, too nimble. Jumping into the trees was no option either, they would attack her the moment she would have to let her defenses down to jump. Besides, even though Chie was now in her larger form, the injury the feline had sustained would prevent her from climbing. And Hinata was in no condition to both climb up the tree and carry the cat, while defending herself at the same time.

Chie growled at their opponents, annoyed that she had been caught off guard.

"Someone, help me," Hinata screamed in desperation.

_'Who am I kidding, why would someone risk his life to save a failure like me..'_ she thought bitterly as the closest tiger jumped-

-only to be smacked into a nearby tree.

Naruto had come.

"Naruto-kun," the terrified girl mumbled, before everything went dark.

* * *

The presence of the Kyuubi, a vastly superior predator compared to them, was enough to convince the tigers to abandon their hunt. Like all other creatures, they either ran away in fear, or submitted themselves to Naruto.

"One of the few advantages of carrying that damned fox in me," Naruto mumbled darkly, as he looked down at his unconscious teammate-to-be. "Why the hell was she here? Did she follow me?" he asked her companion.

"Looking for you," Chie panted, changing back to her smaller form. "She wanted to speak with you, seeing how she became your teammate.. Ugh, those damned tigers," she looked at the cut on her left thigh. Not even mentioning the exhaustion she felt because she had to transform and fight in her larger from. Despite being well-fed, her transformation still took too much of her chakra reserves.

Naruto carried them both to a nearby clearing, next to a little spring. Using the cold water to clear the few cuts she had, Naruto was relieved that none of the wounds Hinata had suffered were deep enough to cause trouble. Not that they would disappear in a few hours, like with him, but even for a normal human these wounds should only be a minor inconvenience. Well, she wouldn't die from it. Naruto did not really know what was considered as a serious injury for normal people. Chie just said that she needed sleep, while she focussed her chakra on speeding up her recovery.

While washing the blood out of his shirt, which had used to clean Hinata up with, Naruto noticed the mud that was still on Hinata's face. Unfortunately, she decided to wake up the moment he was cleaning her face. Perhaps the cold damp cloth had woken her, Naruto couldn't tell.

Seeing the boy hanging over her, with his bare chest, was enough for her to get her blood flowing again. All of it. Instantly.

"Na- Na- Naruto-kun," she stuttered. She backed away when she saw him frown.

"Why?" he asked, completely serious despite what had just happened.

"Why?" she asked confused.

He pointed at her. "Why are you here!? This place is dangerous!"

"I.. um.. I saw H-Haruki-san.. C-Chie-san…" she uttered. "I s-saw you w-walk away, I t-thought.. You l-looked so t-troubled..."

"Not really a reason to risk your life for, is it?" Naruto said, raising his brows. "There are warning signs all over the place. This area is off limits, and not without reason. It's dangerous!"

"Why not? You… you are my t- teammate now.. Right? K-Kurenai-sensei taught us we should look after our teammates." She hid her real reasoning.

"I am hardly your team member, and it has yet to become official. _If_ Shino even agrees, that is," Naruto grimaced. Naruto waited a bit, while she struggled to answer. "But I guess Kurenai-sensei told you guys. Hmm, though it would have made sense if you came after me to ask me to refuse this transfer thing, I guess that's not the point either. You could either just have waited for me to run away, or give me the final push, instead of risking your life."

Hinata blushed, "R-r-refuse? Run away? Why.. Why? I- I- don't… Don't want you to leave". Naruto's hollow laughter lit a fire in her, larger than she had ever anticipated. "I am serious," she said firmly while hitting his chest.

The combination of laughing and the exhaustion he felt due not sleeping properly from to all the frustration of the previous days caused the minor push to be enough for him to lose balance and fall into the spring behind him. Splashing in the shallow water, he regained his balance and got out. Only for him to burst out in laughter again, this time real laughter, because of the look Hinata had.

"If that is your order, Hinata-sama," he said, she frowned. "-san. Thank you." He grinned weakly, seeing her confusion. Apparently she couldn't decide which emotion she wanted to show on her face, so she just showed them all.

"I.. I didn't o-order you to.."

"So tell me, why don't you want me to abandon Konoha?" he asked, catching her off guard.

Hinata tried not to blush, even though she felt what little confidence she had just gained slip away again. "I.. W-why would I w-w-want you to leave?" she shyly riposted.

"Why?" Naruto frowned. "Why not? Pretty much everyone hates me, so why wouldn't you?"

"You… You saved me," Hinata mumbled. "And even if everyone hates you, doesn't mean that they are right.. I believe they are all wrong!"

Hinata almost shuddered when she looked into Naruto's eyes. He seemed to wonder if she was serious, but all she saw was the coldness in his eyes. Skepticism. The bright and gentle twinkle she sometimes saw in his eyes had vanished and was replaced by a pensive and distant look. She saw his chakra.. Grim and unrelenting as the scorching sun in midsummer. Where had the brightness and gentleness gone?

"And what would you do if they were right?" Naruto said softly. "Would you run away, and hate me too?"

"No! I.. I don't believe… You would never do something that could justify any hatred.. You… B-because you are not.. Y-you are too gentle," she decided.

Hinata's blush grew redder and redder while Naruto stared at her. "Hinata… I am not kind or gentle or anything. I'm a shinobi, I do whatever I.. Gentleness is the last thing.."

"You would never hurt someone who is innocent," Hinata cut him off. "You saved me, and Chie, and who knows who else! I m-may not be very talented, but I can see enough."

Naruto sighed. '_Maybe I should give team 8 a chance.. It's not like I have somewhere else to go anyway. Freedom… I will only be free if I get killed. No matter where I go, I can never escape what I am. And perhaps taking revenge on all those idiots would be more fun?'_ Naruto mused, imagining how the village would be if he removed all those who hated him. '_Besides, she more or less ordered me to..'_

One of the tigers had cut her leg, and Naruto did not want to waste time. So Naruto decided to carry Hinata, while a bunshin carried Chie, so they could travel fast. He had picked her up before she could protest. Carrying her in his arms, princess style, he jumped over the trees and the rooftops. She was surprised at the speed with which he moved. Still, the look in his eyes had not changed much. But at least he had not left, as he said he had been thinking of it. Hinata noticed the warmth he radiated.

Not that Hinata experienced their entire run towards the Hyuga compound, as she picked up her old habit of fainting again.

* * *

Seeing her student in bandages the day after certainly caused her to raise her brow. Kurenai had called together her reformed team in order to do a new round of introduction.

"Welcome, Naruto. I'd like us to do a little round of introductions, so you know a little more about us. We never really got to know each other during our previous mission together. I will start: my name is Yuhi Kurenai, I am 28 years old, and a jonin specialized in genjutsu. Though I also learned some fuinjutsu," she added, causing him some surprise.

"I am H-Hyuga Hinata, twelve, and a genin trained in my clan's ta-taijutsu-style, the gentle fist."

"Inuzuka Kiba," the boy said on a bored tone. "Akamaru," he pointed at the yipping dog on top of his head."

Naruto scratched the back of his head and looked around, not sure if the jonin was serious about this. It actually looked like she cared, which was already better than his previous sensei. "Uzumaki Naruto, twelve."

"Kakashi warned me that I should interrogate you thoroughly regarding your abilities, unless I wanted to be surprised all of the time," Kurenai smiled.

"If that is what you wish.. I have affinities with both fuiton and katon jutsu's.." Naruto sighed, not very interested in this. And not really willing to spill all his secrets.

"Two elements?" Kiba frowned, too surprised to keep up his indifferent act.

"Err.. Yes?, Naruto shrugged. "Wind and fire jutsus are the easiest for me. Tried the others as well, but that's much more difficult, especially suiton and doton. Anyway, I also know a numbers of seals and barriers, mostly based of the techniques I inherited from my clan, and.."

"Your clan?" Hinata asked in surprise, feeling a bit foolish that she had never taken the time to do some research on Naruto's heritage. Then again, Hinata had a strong dislike towards the whole bloodline-obsession that most shinobi had. She wanted to believe that people could be great because of whom _they_ were, not because of who they were born as.

"Yeah, seems like the Uzumaki clan was specialized in fuinjutsu. Not that it saved them from extinction," Naruto shrugged. "Were was I.. Hmm besides the regular jutsu from academy, I also have the kage bunshin no jutsu, as well as the taju variant of it. Oh yeah, I have a summoning contract with the toads."

Kurenai whistled. "That's quite a list, no wonder Kakashi-sempai was surprised.. How is your chakra control?" She knew she wouldn't have to ask about his chakra reserves, knowing it would be seemingly endless.

'_Kakashi was surprised? I thought that indifferent bastard never gave a damn about me,' _Naruto frowned. "I know the tree-climbing, water walking, and several other control exercises. Won't say I'm as good as Hinata-sama, but at least I don't suck as much as most."

Hinata felt embarrassed that Naruto saw her as being superior to him when it came to control. "Plus, you have enormous chakra reserves," she added.

"An advantage of the Uzumaki clan," Kurenai added quickly, not wanting to talk about the Kyuubi. "Could you explain a few of the seals you know, Naruto?"

Naruto sighed, accepting that he could not get away from this that easiliy.

"Well, the most useful is the stealth seal, which basically removes my presence to others. When its active, no one will hear me, see me, or smell me. I'm undetectable. A few offensive seals that I know relate to the fire element, such as the immolation seal which melts away the target it is attached to, or the infernal seal that blows things up. Another seal enables me to increase the weight of objects. A variation of that seal enables me to increase the gravitation in a small area for a few moments. Not really useful yet, but I'm working on it," Naruto rubbed his chin.

Naruto frowned, and continued almost monotonously. "The sentry seal is useful for noticing intruders, also tweaked it so it can function as the cornerstones for a barrier wall." Pausing for a moment, Naruto felt a litte embarrassed because of the amazed looks of the others. "I also know the basics of counterseals, which are seals that could trap other seals. Not very stable till now though, I almost blew up Ichiraku's once, when I tried to use it on my own infernal seal," he smiled weakly at the memory.

"I also study other things, such as the basics of a seal which should function as a marker for the shunshin jutsu. I still screw up with the accuracy though." He shuddered for a moment, "Takes a shitload of chakra, but in theory it should enable me to nearly instantly move to spots that I can't even see. Also explains the danger of missing the mark though. I only practice that one with bunshin and in the open field. I don't want to end up inside a wall or something.."

Hinata looked a bit greenish at the idea.

"I guess there is little I can teach you on fuinjutsu," Kurenai added thoughtfully. She doubted if Kakashi even asked him what he could do, or else he would have been even more impressed. "I could teach you the seals for storing weapons, food, and drinking water though. Can I ask how you learned all this?"

"Well, the old pervert, Jiraiya, taught me quite a bit, and he gave me a large collection of Uzumaki scrolls and books. With the use of some kage bunshin, it is pretty easy to speed up the rate at which I read and learn them. Well, it still took me a few years.." Naruto added with a pensive look.

"And your taijutsu?" Kurenai asked. Kakashi had already warned her that the sannin had involved himself with Naruto's training, but he had refused to tell her why. "And weapons training?"

"My taijutsu is average at best, though the morning trainings I followed with the team of the jonin Maito Gai improved my skills a bit. I still think I have to work on my speed though. As for weapons.. I never really trained much with them.."

'_Gai? Maito Gai would never take in a student unless he saw a large potential in him..'_ Kurenai considered. "Well.. I suggest we use today to train, so that we can learn to know each other's abilities a bit better, alright?"

"How did you learn all that shit anyway?" Kiba demanded.

"I told you, kage bunshin," Naruto shrugged, not understanding why Kiba asked.

"What about bunshin?" Kiba frowned. "Why would those things help?"

Naruto sighed. "_Kage_ bunshin no jutsu is different from the regular bunshin no jutsu. Or even the elemental bunshin types. Whatever a kage bunshin experiences will be transmitted back to its user when the jutsu is ended."

As Kiba tried to figure this out, never having been very talented when it came to studying the theory behind jutsus, Kurenai took the word. "Why don't you create a few clones so you can spar with Hinata and Kiba?" Kurenai suggested.

"A few?" Naruto raised one brow. "What, ten? Twenty?"

"Idiot, if you create that many, they would be too weak to fight us," Kiba scoffed, trying to save his pride after not understanding the kage bunshin previously. He at least knew that the kage bunshin was a jutsu only few used due to the chakra costs.

"Really? Why?" Naruto seemed truly surprised.

'_He probably doesn't even feel the strain it creates on his chakra reserves.. But still, to talk so casual about such a technique… That ability of him would be useful if I want to train them to fight against superior numbers,'_ Kurenai mused. "Two should do for now, Naruto. These are just one on one duels, only light hits, so no injuries. You duel me," she added. "You out of curiousity though... how many can you create?"

"I don't know," Naruto shrugged.

* * *

"Ah just stop it," Inuzuka Tsume scolded her son.

"Why? He _is_ hiding something," Kiba replied with an annoyed tone.

"So you have repeated now, for the last fifteen minutes," his sister added. "But everyone hides _something_. Like in that drawer.."

"Shut it Hana!" he growled before being hit.

"Quiet, both of you," Tsume barked. "Hana is right, we all have secrets. Obviously, I can't tell you all I know about the boy, but will tell you the Hyuga took him in a couple of years ago. They may be idiots but they see danger just as well as we can smell it."

"He _does_ smell dangerous," Kiba replied darkly.

* * *

"Problems?" Kakashi asked upon seeing Kurenai's frown.

"Not really… but.. Changing teams so shortly before the exams is a bit troublesome," she admitted.

"You've gained an excellent genin," Gai boasted. "It is too bad he can't join my youthful morning exercises anymore though. Both Lee and Tenten cooperated very well with him, despite his… well, his reputation."

"Training teamwork should be the focus now," Kakashi sighed, supporting Kurenai's judgement. "Sadly, that also means another load of D-ranked missions. Especially due to Sasuke's behaviour. At least Shino fits better in the group, and manages to keep things calm."

"I bet," Kurenai smiled. "Shino may be very silent, but he is quite talented. Speaking of which, do you two have any idea what Naruto's potential is?"

Kakashi frowned, but Gai was the first to speak. "Naruto-kun… he has his burdens, and is rather secretive, never really trusting anyone, so I cannot speak for what he will become… But if he develops well enough, I believe he could easily attain power of a level that would befit a Hokage."

"At the very least," Kakashi agreed. "He is quite unusual for a genin. True, the Kyuubi increases his innate strength by quite a margin, but still… the rate at which he progresses is astounding. But I worry what the influence of the Kyuubi will be."

"He seems rather distant," Gai mused. "As if he does not care about the people around him… Rather unyouthful. He is polite, but never really opens up. Though, Tenten said he started to talk a little more recently.. But that was before.. You know.."

"We've done a couple of missions now," Kurenai said. "Most of the time he just seems uninterested, but when he acts… I doubt that most of our chunin could handle him. Even many of the jonin would have trouble when dealing with his mastery of fuinjutsu."

"He still is weak when it comes to teamwork," Kakashi said on a serious tone. "I wouldn't say that he is arrogant, but like you said… he is not really interested in others, not in his allies, but also no in his enemies. It would almost make you wonder if he even cares about his own survival."

Kurenai grimaced. "Containing that demon forced his development to speed up at greater rate than I have ever seen.."

"There have been some with such exceptional talents in Konoha in the past," Kakashi countered. "But I admit that they are very rare.. Perhaps Itachi, or my old sensei.."

"But if Naruto can keep his mental stability, he surely will be an incredible asset to Konoha," Gai blinded his fellow jonin with his smile. Somehow, the green-clad jonin always managed to reflect sunlight with his teeth, even when standing inside a building. As if his enthusiasm was enough to bend the laws of nature.

* * *

Naruto scowled. "What is wrong, Naruto? You do understand we need some D-rank missions first to get adjusted to the new team, do you?" Kurenai asked.

"Yeah, I know," Naruto sighed, "But they should make that accursed cat A or B rank mission, not D." When the others looked at him, he scowled again. "Had to capture the damn thing several times now, it always keeps running away from me."

Kiba smirked. "Cats are dumb animals, unlike dogs." Akamaru yipped happily. "But this one is easy to catch, just put Hinata down there and the cat jumps in her arms."

'_Never let Chie hear you, Kiba..'_ Naruto frowned. '_She would claw your eyes out.. If she's in a good mood..'_

In the end, both were right. Naruto had to keep himself at a distance, so that the cat could jump into Hinata's arms. Once there, even though unhappy about Naruto's presence, the creature refused to move. This in turn caused some irritation for the cat's owner. Tora the cat was not willing to leave the safety of Hinata's arms, even if it was to return to the Daimyo's wife, who owned the cat.

After the whole Zabuza thing, Naruto had almost forgotten how boring normal D-rank missions were.

* * *

'_Finally the day is over_,' Naruto grumbled as he walked back home.

"E-Ehm…N-Naruto-kun?"

"What's wrong, Hinata-sama?"

Hinata blushed. "Please.. N-No honorifics… we're t-teammates now, right?" she asked shyly.

"That may be, but your social standing is still above my own," Naruto countered. "But what bothers you?"

"I.. Ehm… D-do you… I mean…"

Naruto raised one brow, which only made her stutter worse, though she eventually managed to ask whether he liked his new team or not.

"Kurenai-sensei has a vastly different approach to training her genin, compared to Kakashi-sensei," Naruto remarked. "Almost seems like she genuinely cares about us. Though she seems to be a little afraid of making us train too hard… maybe because she cares too much? I don't know. But that could just be me, because I am used to Gai-sensei and his crazy morning exercises…"

"B-but… y-you seemed troubled at first, Naruto-kun."

Naruto shrugged. "It's no big deal, whatever happened, happened. I've already passed that." Hinata knew that Naruto usually hid his emotions very well, but she could pretty easily see through this lie.

"But why… what happened between Sasuke-kun and.."

"Sasuke-teme believed he needed to kill an enemy that was already out cold. I stood in-between, but he didn't care," Naruto sighed. "Though, it is safe to say that we did not like each other anyway. A fireball more or less didn't change that."

"I know," Hinata said downcast, remembering the incidental conflicts both boys had during their academy years. "B-but why did it… Why did it affect you so much? Did the mission.. Was that the…"

'_What is she after?'_ Naruto wondered. '_Normally, she hardly seems to have the will to talk to me, and now she is interrogating me?'_

"The mission turned badly, yes," Naruto decided what he wanted to tell. "We presumed it was a C-rank mission, but it turned out to be an A-rank mission."

"D-did you have to.. Kill.. Kill people?"

Naruto was somewhat surprised at the question. "Sure, but we had to. It was either us killing them, or the other way around," Naruto shrugged. "Not that it was fun," he added upon seeing Hinata's distraught expression. '_Killing people is never fun.. But it is unavoidable..'_

"I.. Uhm.."

"Hinata-sama, we are shinobi.. We have to endure whatever the mission throws at us. And because of human nature, we have to do terrible things to protect those who deserve protection. If I hadn't stopped those mercenaries in the Land of Waves, they would have pillaged, raped, and murdered. They would have left a village of ruins and corpses. If those are my alternatives, I prefer spilling blood, rather than turning away. I could only make a choice for the least evil way to solve the problem." Naruto frowned. _'Besides, they were merely humans..'_

"Tsk.. Don't be so harsh on her, stupid two-leg," a voice sounded. Chie graciously jumped down a nearby building. "White-eyed-two-leg-hime was merely curious because she's worried about you."

"C-Chie.." Hinata tried to protest, her head red with embarrassment. "I didn't.. Wouldn't.."

"Well, we're teammates, Chie," Naruto said, oblivious to the fact that Hinata was fidgeting with her index-fingers, something which she always did when she was _very _embarrassed.

"Sure," Chie said mischievously. "Though, the princess is at least a bit more subtle than Pinky."

"Subtle?" Naruto asked, confused. "What?"

"Ehmm.. I hope you… please don't mind Kiba.. He is a bit confused because of the change," Hinata desperately tried to change the subject, having an idea about which direction Chie was pointing at. And with success, as she knew Chie absolutely disliked their teammate and his dog, Akamaru.

"Ugh, rudeness is normal for dogs. And clearly the two-leg is infected with the dog-brain-sickness."

Naruto smirked. "Don't be so vicious, cat."

"Do you want my nails in your shoulder again?"

"No, Chie-sama," the boy mocked her by imitating her voice. "But I more or less expected Kiba's reaction, knowing him," he continued before Chie made her threat reality.

"B-but.." Hinata seemed rather down.

"Stop your worrying!" Naruto faked a smile. "As long as Kiba doesn't try to kill me, things have improved compared to team seven, right?"

* * *

"Mother.." Hinata started. "I.."

"What's wrong, Hinata?" Hitomi smiled gently.

"I.. I heard Naruto-kun talk the other day… and.. I know now."

"Know what?" Hitomi frowned, hoping that she interpreted her daughter's body language wrong.

"T-That Naruto-kun has something sealed inside him… the demon," Hinata almost whispered. "Why didn't you tell me, mother? Why did father not tell me?"

"Hinata…" Hitomi was glad that Hiashi was not around when their daughter seemed to have a nervous breakdown. "Naruto carries a great burden. It is a secret, and if I had told you I would have committed a crime punishable by death."

Hinata paled a little. "I.. I didn't know.. I.."

"But now that you know, do you fear Naruto-kun?" Hitomi asked, curious what the effect would be. She knew very well how her daughter felt about the boy, and doubted that even the Kyuubi could change much about that.

"No!" Hinata protested. "Naruto-kun can't help.. He is not the demon!"

"Precisely," her mother replied with some pride noticeable. "But many do not know the distinction."

"You.. Does father know about it as well?"

"Of course he does. We knew before we accepted Naruto as our clan's honoured guest. Listen, Hinata, I will not lie to you and say that Naruto-kun is not dangerous. He has a terrible burden, and is hated by both the people outside and the demon inside… I doubt many people would have remained as sane as Naruto-kun still is."

"But Naruto-kun…"

"Do not be mistaken, Hinata," her mother corrected her gently. "Naruto-kun might seem strong, but if you pay close attention, you too will see that he is merely hiding his suffering. Has he ever shown you his real emotions?"

"What.. How.." Hinata blushed.

"Hinata, remember your lessons. People will always hide part of who they truly are." Hinata nodded, and Hitomi continued. "And Naruto has never learned to trust others. He was truly alone, before he started living here. And even with us, he barely opened up. Even to my cousin."

Hinata nodded again, remembering how he always acted during the academy. "Naruto-kun smiles sometimes when he talks to others. But when he thinks nobody is looking at him… it feels like the distance has only grown."

"Naruto-kun probably feels rejected by his old team, and is probably hesitant to trust his new team," Hitomi smiled sadly. "But now that you know… I trust that you know you can't tell Kiba-kun about this, but you could support Naruto-kun whenever he needs it, right?"

"Yes!" Hinata said with a glimmer of confidence that even Hitomi rarely saw in her daughter. Not for the first time Hitomi felt disappointed she could not protect her own daughter against all the rumors within their clan. On the other hand, protection would only make her weaker. Hitomi knew like no other that the world becomes a harsh place when you are trained to look through deception.

The woman smiled at her daughter, deciding that Hinata could only grow because of this, if only she was pointed in the right direction. "But remember… this subject is painful for Naruto-kun. Don't try forcing him to talk about it. Just listen to him when he wants to talk."

Hinata nodded with a serious face. "I will try my best, mother."

'_That good natured-two-leg..'_ Chie thought, sitting on the other side of the door, unnoticed by mother and daughter. '_Perhaps she can indeed save Naruto-sama… her big, gentle heart might figure out a way to help him close the wounds of his soul.'_

* * *

After she ordered Kiba to spar with an oddly subdued Hinata, Kurenai focussed her attention on her new student. "Naruto," she started. "Before we start, I would like to ask you something."

"Sensei?"

"Your dream.. How do you intend to become Hokage?"

"The Hokage is the strongest of Konoha," the boy frowned. "The champion of the village. That's how: I will become the strongest, so that people can't help but acknowledge me."

"Becoming Hokage concerns more than just brute strength, Naruto."

"Yeah, but politics won't be in my favour anyway. I know what I am. What people see me as. If I want to become the Hokage, I will have to fight an uphill battle. That's why I train. One day, my strength will become great enough to render all that political crap useless… words do not defeat any opponent."

"Politics also prevents conflict," Kurenai frowned. "Do you think you can use your strength to rule?"

Naruto laughed hollowly. "You mean if I plan to dominate the village by force, to become a dictator?" the smile vanished and his blue eyes became cold and hard like ice. "I know what it is to be afraid of others, sensei. To be powerless, the victim of those who stand above you. I will change this world. But do not expect me to be evil because of that fox. I want to end this system which creates outcasts. A system which encourages isolation and loneliness, merely because not everyone is equal. Where clans can create their own private worlds, isolated from their surroundings in their own pride and arrogance… Degrading those who not belong to their group to second-rate shinobi.."

"You want revenge?"

"No why would I want that?" Naruto asked with a completely surprised tone. "Sure, it would be amusing," he chuckled. "But it would not change the fact that these things have already happened. I'd rather make sure that it will never happen again. That is what I will fight for. Even if I stand on my own, someone has to make those stupid humans see what they are doing."

'_He always talks about humans as if he is not human himself..'_ Kurenai realized. '_But at least his intensions are better than I had expected. Not that they will give him many supporters within the current government.'_

"Right. Then my next question is: why do you ignore teamwork?" Kurenai shifted the boys attention from his individual effort to his team. "During the last week, you mostly worked on your own whenever you got the chance. I know Kiba's attitude is not exactly… constructive. But at least listen to Hinata."

Naruto grimaced for a second, but regained his neutral face so quickly that Kurenai questioned her own eyesight. "I've always worked alone," he said on an even tone. "And people seem to prefer it that way, so that they can avoid me."

Kurenai frowned, somewhat distraught by his answer. Surely his former team did not treat him that badly, did they? '_Then again.. Kakashi-sempai has seen too much. Seen too much of the darkness in this world. Asuma mentioned that that was the reason why he had chosen to quit anbu.'_

"Well, in team eight you will have to work together with your teammates. And if any of them complain about you, I'll make them change their opinions about you. Like I said against the Hokage that day, team eight lacked power, and I am convinced that you can compensate for that, Naruto. After all, you are a ninjutsu specialist."

"Power shouldn't be a problem," Naruto said darkly. "Or perhaps it will be, when they see the chakra which that fox gives me," he nodded to his teammates.

"Things will be differently this time," Kurenai promised him. "Shall we start?"

Naruto dropped into his fighting stance. Naruto's taijutsu, which was decent but not great, had elements of both the Hyuga's juken, and the goken-style he learned from Gai. _'Typical for Naruto to show his creativity even in taijutsu_,' Kurenai smiled. '_And his creativity and planning make up for his lack in speed as well.'_

* * *

**A/N: **To be honest, I originally planned Naruto to be in team 8. But, over time, his interactions with Sasuke became vital to the storyline I created. So I asked myself: should I let him be in team 7 or in team 8? In the end I chose to improvise and create something entirely different from the regular flow that most stories seem to follow. I don't know if this choice was the best option, but I liked it. I hope you all do too!

Writing about the transition to another team, Hinata's shock and her thoughts, and also Naruto's struggle with the question whether he is human or demon at the same time was a bit taxing though. But for now… let's wait and see if kind Kurenai, blunt but loyal Kiba, and gentle Hinata can pull Naruto out of his depression!

-Z-

**Edited**. 15/1/15


	10. Bandit

**Genin arc**

**Bandit**

* * *

"A bandit was reported to have harassed several travellers. I want team 8 to deal with this bandit," the Hokage briefed them. "Though armed, there is little reason to believe that the man responsible is a threat, hence the C classification."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Kurenai said, accepting the scroll with the mission details. "Gather your equipment, we meet at the gates in one hour," she ordered her genin.

* * *

Having travelled to the northwest for several hours, team 8 halted for the day. Next to a mountain, they had found a clearing amidst the forest, with a small river running next to it. It was a nice place to set up a camp, almost deceptively peaceful, even though they could have travelled for another hour.

Kurenai watched as Naruto deployed several clones, which he ordered to gather wood, food, and water for his teammates. Not that the original was doing much, as he was playing with a water balloon. "What's with the balloon," she eventually decided to ask him. Hinata also popped up, revealing her curiosity.

"Mehh, some strange exercise given to me by Jiraiya-sensei," Naruto shrugged. In these cases he always referred to the pervert as his sensei.

"A balloon?"

"Yes. The old man may be strange, but I can't deny his skill."

"He _is_ one of the legendary three," Kurenai smiled, already having heard from Kakashi that the sannin had taken an interest in the genin's development. "But what does he want you to do?"

Naruto bit his thumb, and placed his hand on the ground. A small orange toad appeared. "Yo, what's up?" it croacked.

"What was the point of the whole water balloon thing again?" Naruto asked him, barely even interrupting his focus on the balloon.

The frog sighed. "Something about rotation, you had to make the water spin so that the balloon popped, and after that you had to try the rubber balls, and then empty rubber balloons without popping 'em".

"You see?" Naruto put down his balloon and turned towards his new sensei and teammate. "That's what ero sennin told Gamakichi. He did not explain what the point is, only that, so we don't know either." Turning back to Kichi again, Naruto asked "Care to practice today?"

"No thanks, pops just called me and Tatsu over for training. Tomorrow?" The toad vanished after Naruto had nodded.

"So you communicate with Jiraiya-sama through toads?" Kuranai remarked with an impressed tone.

"Yeah there is that as well, though Gamakichi and I also play card games and train our jutsu's. I can also summon the larger toads during fights. A toad with the size of an apartment block really packs a punch."

Hinata smiled at the casual way Naruto spoke of such techniques. "Does that jutsu require a lot of chakra to use?"

"Hmm depends, initially I had trouble summoning a tadpole, but when I finally understood the technique, most of the frogs were pretty easy to summon. If they agreed, at least. The big ones, like Kichi's dad, took a whole lot more. Summoning Gamabunta almost killed me the first time," Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Though part of that was because he tried to eat me".

"Eat you?" Kurenai exclaimed.

"Yup. Bunta is the boss of the toads, so he is pretty proud. He thought Jiraiya was pulling a prank on him, and didn't like having a kid like me on the top of his head," Naruto shrugged. "It took Jiraiya quite some effort to calm him down. So, does anyone else have summoning contracts?"

"No, Naruto, that is not something which is very common," Kurenai smiled. "Though I believe the Hyuga have a contract, Hinata?"

"Our clan has, but I am not yet worthy to earn the contract," the white-eyed girl responded with a sad voice.

"Stop underestimating yourself like that," Kiba growled, jumping down near them. "It's not your fault your clan is filled with idiots."

Naruto looked at him. "Haven't heard about that contract before, a main family thing?"

"The contract is rarely invoked," Hinata said softly, "I believe that the party usually refuses to be summoned, so we rarely talk about it.."

Naruto frowned, knowing that summoning contracts were rather complicated. The Hyuga must either have violated the terms of the contract, or the creatures which had to be summoned were untrustworthy. Naruto stored it away, so he could ask Chie about it when they came back home. "Anyway, should I place some sentry seals now that we are all gathered here?"

He stalked off after Kurenai gave him a nod. _'Even though he separated himself from others like this.. It is remarkable that he stayed this good, considering what everyone did to him_,' she thought. She noticed Hinata's eyes, which followed the boy. Perhaps she would have Hinata and Naruto spar more regularly, as it could form a good exercise for her to increase her chakra reserves. And a good way for the two of them to get closer. But first something to eat.

* * *

"So the bandit is around here, sensei?" Kiba asked.

"Based on the information we have, yes. A black haired man wielding a katana, average body size, robs travellers in this area," Kurenai explained.

"So what will we do?" Hinata asked.

"You and Naruto set up camp over there, next to that hill. Kiba, Akamaru, and I will scout out the area. We should be able to pick up his scent."

As the three ran off, Hinata turned towards Naruto. She quickly followed him, as he was already moving, while sending out a dozen of clones to gather supplies, and ordering another dozen to set up traps near their campsite. "D-do you think the bandit will try to attack us here, Naruto-kun?"

"Doubtful, but just in case. If the guy has any brains he'll figure out we are not easy targets, so we will have to track him down, while he will try to avoid us."

"I suppose you are right," she stumbled.

Naruto looked at her. "What do you mean? If I do something wrong, just say so," he said. "I mean, it's not like I care if that guy is stupid enough to attack us. The guy would be fodder compared to sensei. Kiba and Akamaru wouldn't be defeated either. And you would just zap him before he knows what happened to him."

"Zap?"

"I saw your juken a few times," Naruto shrugged. "You are probably as fast as Neji-san is, though I think he has the advantage in reach and power. But he's a year older, so.."

"Neji-niisan is a genius in juken," Hinata said downcast. "He was probably holding back when you-"

"Nope, Hizashi-sama doesn't give him the opportunity to hold back," Naruto frowned, "Kiba is right, you should have a little more confidence in your skills. You did better than me during academy."

Hinata blushed when he put his hand on her shoulder. He smiled, but his blue eyes still seemed distant to her. But now that she knew what he was hiding, she understood that this was not because of her.

"Here," he said, throwing her a water balloon. He created another set of clones to put up the two tents. "According to what Kichi explained to me, I had to make the water spin around at high speed, only using my chakra, and make the balloon pop."

Hinata activated her byakugan as he demonstrated what he thought had to be done. "Emm.. Naruto-kun, the water is only spinning one direction, while the balloon is too elastic to pop from it."

He frowned and looked at her. "You think that a continuous flow would fail, so if I disrupted it, I could succeed?"

"W-Well, if the assignment is 'spinning', it would not mean disrupting the spinning.." Hinata said doubtfully, too hesitant to speak her mind.

"Come on, spit it out," Naruto frowned. "Or do you want me to call you Hinata-sensei first?" he wondered, semi-serious.

"No!" she squeaked quickly. "N-No.. You don't have to.. It's just.. P-Perhaps you should create multiple flows, instead of a single one? If the water spins in different directions at once.."

Naruto frowned, thinking deeply. '_I thought that the speed of the rotation would be the most important aspect.. And with a single flow, the balloon just stretches along… But if…'_

"That's genius!" Naruto realized. "Why didn't I think of that, I saw it becoming flat while I knew from the drawings that it had to be shaped like an orb," he said as he smacked his head. "Thank you, Hinata," he smiled, creating yet another set of kage bunshin to speed up the training. "Come on, we'll practice it together!"

* * *

Kurenai wondered what had happened, when she returned to camp. Naruto was smiling, for once seemingly genuinely happy, with his clothes soaked. Hinata blushed furiously, as the boy had removed his shirt to let it dry, he walked around in an undershirt made of mesh armour. The latter he had bought after the Zabuza mission. Seeing Haku's needles had been reason enough for Naruto.

"It worked!" he exclaimed. "Hinata is a genius!"

"Wait.. What the hell happened," Kiba asked, frowning.

Naruto summoned another water balloon from the storage scroll, held it up in his right hand, and made it explode. Akamaru barked at him when he was hit by the water. "Sorry Akamaru," Naruto grinned. "This damned exercise frustrated me for months!"

"Why you.." Kiba grumbled. "Idiot.."

* * *

Hinata still felt weak. After a few hours, Naruto had figured out how to pop the balloon. Or at least, one of his bunshin did. She helped him whenever she could, using the byakugan, she tried to replicate his actions at the same time. When Naruto figured out, it had been a matter of minutes before the combined knowledge of all the clones enabled him to pop the balloon within mere seconds.

Hinata felt somewhat disappointed in herself, because she was unable to do what he did with such ease. Never before had she realized how much more skilled her new teammate was. Even though she had seen much of his struggle when he trained to improve his chakra control. It had become a great endeavour for his teachers to train his flawed ability. And now she suspected that she knew why he had so much trouble: it had to be the Kyuubi who tried to twart Naruto's development. Controlling two chakras at the same time would be extremely difficulty, not even taking the sheer mass of the chakra into account, or the likely resistance which the demon would put up.

Despite feeling exhausted by her attempts to replicate Naruto's training method, she felt pride for him. His efforts began to pay off, and soon all Konoha would see the mistake they made by misjudging Naruto like this!

* * *

After dinner, Kurenai decided to make her students practice some more taijutsu, by letting them spar. Kiba had the advantages of speed, and strength, while Hinata was as elusive as always. Her flexibility was rather amazing. Naruto felt like he performed badly, especially now that Kiba was darting around him.

Kurenai frowned. Kiba was more than happy to take out his dislike of Naruto out on him. But why was Naruto slower than usual?

"Ehm.. N-Naruto-kun," Hinata interrupted her two teammates. "How.. What are those on your arms and legs?"

"Eh? Oh, these are gifts from Gai-sensei," Naruto responded. "For training. Though I must admit they're a little heavy."

"Training weights?" Kurenai asked. "You spar with those weights on?"

"Sure, Gai-sensei said that I would improve most if I kept them on at all times."

"Did he… did Gai tell you how much chakra you should put into those weights?" Kurenai grimaced, recognizing the problem of the adjustable weights. Depending on how much chakra the user put into them, the weights would grow heavier. And Kurenai did not need a doujutsu to recognize that Naruto put way too much into them.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Ehm.. He told me how to do it.. And I.. I just put enough into them so I could move freely. But also, that I had to increase the weight over time.."

"How heavy are they?" Kurenai sighed.

Naruto shrugged, and threw the piece he had on his right arm towards her. He had merely put a tiny amount of chakra in it. But because of the weight he miscalculated, making it land in front of her. Where it landed with a crash.

"Naruto… These must be at least 30 kilos each," Kurenai massaged her forehead, after lifting the weight. She made a mental note to scold the loud jonin next time she would see him.

"Gai-sensei told me.. I would improve quickly if put a lot of effort into it," Naruto shrugged. With chakra reinforcing his body, he didn't think that the weights meant too much. Though, they did slow him down a bit.

"And did he warn you not to overexert yourself?"

"He might have," Naruto admitted sheepishly. "But I was a little distracted after he told me how much bushy brows trained with. Compared to that, these things are freaking light…"

Kurenai sighed. "Set them lower for now. You can increase the weight after our mission, but be a little more reasonable. Ten kilos each would be better for now," she added upon returning the weight to him. "And Hinata? Keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't pull anything like this again."

Hinata blushed when Naruto looked at her. "Yes, sensei," she squeaked.

While Kiba had the obvious advantage before, but now Naruto had reduced his weights to a third, he could keep up easily.

"Quite the training method," Kiba admitted reluctantly. "I wonder if I could get some of those weights as well.. Sensei?

"You can, Kiba, but watch out not to overexert yourself. Naruto has the advantage in stamina, so you should probably be more careful not to get exhausted. Though I admit it would be a good way to increase your stamina and chakra reserves, even if this method is somewhat.. Old fashioned."

'_Damn..'_ Kiba thought. _'I'd almost start to understand why Hinata is so impressed by this guy… __Seems nothing like the Naruto from the academy.'_

* * *

During the night, Naruto woke up. "_What the.."_ he thought. Suddenly realizing what was going on, he woke up Kiba, whom he shared his tent with. "Someone triggered the sentry seal," Naruto hissed.

"Wha?" the sleepy Inuzuka responded, cursing when Naruto darted away. "Damned bandit," he growled. Kiba was already annoyed that they hadn't been able to pick up a useful scent the day before.

Naruto did not get the chance to wake up his other teammate and his sensei, as an explosion blew him off the moment he stepped out of his tent.

"Great," Naruto growled, slightly disoriented. His shirt scorched, though his pants were undamaged. He noticed that the intruder was running away. "Hit and run? What a coward.."

Kurenai and Hinata woke up due to the explosion, and the moment they got out of their tent, they saw Naruto sprint away into the dark. And a somewhat scorched Kiba was sitting in the remains of his tent, Akamaru's head popping up from under the blanket he had been sleeping on.

'_If not for the circumstances, Kiba's look would be priceless_,' Kurenai thought. "Kiba, you and Hinata stay here, I'll go after Naruto," she ordered. Luckily, she had ordered her genin to sleep in their regular outfits, in case of nightly attacks.

* * *

Naruto was jumping from tree to tree. '_Odd, the bandit was supposed to be an amateur, but he moves at the speed of a proper least genin, perhaps even chunin. And that attack was no bomb or paper tag, it was a katon ninjutsu..'_ he frowned. Not that Naruto cared much. This new team was nicer to him than he had expected, but that did not change a thing about the pent up rage he still felt inside him. And now it was time to unleash it. Finally.

Dropping the weights, and using a little of the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto sped up and easily caught up, only to be surprised.

* * *

Mizuki cursed. For some reason, a group of shinobi was near the rendezvous point, and he had failed to notice their camp until it was too late. And one of them was already running out of a tent. A desperate attack, and running away, was the only thing Mizuki could come up with.

"Damn it, first that crazy order, and now this. What is wrong with me today!?"

* * *

"I just found out my minions lured the Kyuubi boy into my trap," a deformed man said, to the shadowy figure of the man he called 'leader'. "Do you want me to capture him?"

"No," the silhouette answered pensively after a moment of silence. "It is still too early for us to oppose Konoha. Besides, we have already set out plans for Konoha in motion, I do not want these plans to be disturbed just yet. We will deal with the Kyuubi when the time is right."

As the shadowy figure dissolved, the deformed one grumbled. "Guess that means my minions have to die.." He wanted to capture a few shinobi, so he would have some new sleeper agents in Konoha. What initially seemed to be a stroke of luck had turned into the opposite.

"Kill Mizuki. Do not get caught," he ordered his tall, sword wielding subordinate, who had waited outside the small cave.

* * *

When Kurenai arrived, she saw Mizuki. The teacher struggle against his former student, trying to burn him with (badly aimed) fire jutsu's.

"Die! You monster!" the man screamed.

Naruto laughed, amused by the man's fear, and allowed Mizuki to hit him with a fireball.

"If you know who I am, why bother with those little flames? I carry an incarnation of fire and destruction. I _cannot_ be burned by your pathetic attacks." Finally he could get revenge on the teacher he hated most, and drag him back to Konoha.

Whatever he had done, he just attacked Konoha shinobi, and that made him a traitor.

The taunting caused Mizuki to lose all caution. Another wave of flames charged at Naruto. Who was merely surprised by the stupidity of his former teacher. Naruto shrugged, and charged at the man, not even bothering to dodge the flames.

"What an idiot," Naruto said, as he threw his former teacher's unconscious body to the ground. "All those big words about not losing yourself to your emotions during battle, and then you do this.."

Kurenai jumped down as a dark haired man ran towards two others. She caught him in a genjutsu, but was too late to stop him from throwing the blade he carried.

Naruto dodged, just in time. But realized that had been the swordsman's intention, as he looked back at the now dead body of Mizuki. "Crap!" Naruto grimaced. Kurenai wondered if the boy regretted that the man had died, or that he regretted that someone else had stolen his prey. She had seen his expression just now, and it was more feral than human.

* * *

The misshapen man looked on from a distance. "Damn.." The woman had knocked out his subordinate, seemingly by using a genjutsu. The other two shinobi were at their camp, but he could not attack them now, not without having the other two notice it. And the element of surprise was also not his, as he had noticed one of them was a Hyuga. "At least they caught the idiot," he grumbled, "and not the spy. Let them have their fun with interrogations, they won't find much."

Still, he somewhat regretted that Mizuki had to die. Though he had outlived his usefulness as a spy with his failure attempt to steal scrolls from the hokage's office, the man had some talent, but more importantly he had a lot of useful intel on Konoha's next generation of shinobi.

He sighed. "What a waste.. Mission failed. Though at least leader can't blame me, he was the one who caused it."

* * *

Stashing both fallen opponents in a scroll, Kurenai took Naruto back to the camp. "Don't ever walk away on you own again," she scolded him. "It could've been a trap!"

Naruto shrugged. "I'm already trapped, so who cares. Those two wouldn't have been able to stop me anyway."

"Mizuki was a chunin, and even though he had taken the job of teaching at the academy, he got his rank for good reasons."

"Yeah, I know. But I trust Kakashi-sensei and Jiisan told you who I am," Naruto answered dryly. "Who cares how strong he was?" He was merely a human, anyway.

"Having access to the demon's chakra maybe makes you more powerful than any other genin, but you are not invulnerable. You can't just jump in, like you seek death."

Naruto's indifferent look silenced her. "Sensei, I am not stupid enough to not notice its influence. Death is not the worst thing that could happen to me. At least with my death I would take the Kyuubi down with me."

"And you told me you wanted to become Hokage?" Kurenai retorted sharply.

Naruto blinked. "Yeah."

"Never mind becoming Hokage, with that attitude you are hardly fit to lead a team of genin! What if you died, how do you think your team would do? If you carelessly risk your life, you can also take your teammates down with you."

Naruto frowned, not expecting such an answer. "But you.."

"No, Naruto. I may have been here right now, but you will not always have a jonin with you while on a mission. Do you care about your teammates?"

"Yes, I guess," Naruto frowned, not expecting Kurenai to be this agitated.

"Then value your own life!" Kurenai exclaimed. "Do it for them, if you cannot find another reason. And think about this: do you believe that the Hokage would carelessly throw away his life? He represents all of Konoha. I've seen what happened to the village after the fourth died, it was a complete chaos. The Hokage is the strong symbol under which the clans of Konoha unite, Naruto. Without the Hokage the village would fall apart again."

"So I should not take risks?"

"I didn't say that," Kurenai sighed. "But you should not be careless either. You are a part of team 8, if you would be hurt we would not function as well as we should. You cannot operate on your own, Naruto. Not while being in a team. And if you truly want to become Hokage, you should understand that a Hokage is someone who works together with all the shinobi of Konoha. Can you promise me to take your role in the team more seriously?"

'_What?'_ Naruto blinked. "You.. You actually want me to be part of this team? Despite my.. Despite being what I am?"

"Of course!" Kurenai said decidedly. "I meant what I said earlier. Your own strength is a great asset to our team. I truly believe you could become Hokage if you have the right mentality. Despite all the resistance it will cause, there will soon be a time when no one can deny your strength." She saw that Naruto remained silent, with an oddly grim expression on his face. "But no one can do it all on their own," she said kindly. "No human can live entirely alone."

"Sensei," Naruto started pensively. He remained silent for a bit, and Kurenai wondered what the strange expression on his face mean. It wasn't confusion. Nor anger. Disbelief?

"Do you think… Would you say that I am a human?" he finally continued.

"I.. Of course you are human Naruto! Why would you ever-"

"I know the Kyuubi's influence changes me," Naruto admitted his doubts. "But.. If the demon changes me, could I still be a human if I chose to be?" Naruto looked up into the dark sky. "Though, perhaps it doesn't even really matter what I am.. Human, animal, monster, or demon.."

"Naruto.. I cannot say what influence the demon's chakra on you is, but I see a normal human being, burdened with a terrible seal. If anything I'd say you are exceptionally skilled for someone of your age," Kurenai decided some praise would be at place right now. "Maybe the Kyuubi could have a positive effect as well.. Besides, you are in control, right?" Kurenai smiled gently.

"I am," Naruto admitted hesitantly. "But what if.."

"Any person is capable of both good and evil. No one is born evil," Kurenai lectured him. "It are your choices that define what you want to be. But I believe that the Naruto that I have seen up till now would never give in, no matter what people would throw at him."

"I.. I suppose," Naruto replied absently. '_It doesn't matter what I am. Nothing is inherently evil… It's almost like what the Kyuubi himself said. Perhaps it didn't try to trick me that time.. Perhaps one day.. I could deal with the hatred of the Kyuubi,'_ Naruto sighed. '_And if Kurenai-sensei is willing to believe in me… Maybe I should give that teamwork stuff a chance.'_

Kurenai looked at the boy next to her. Though he was absorbed by his thoughts, he seemed to look less bitter than he usually did. She decided he would need time, in which she hoped he would start to focus on teamwork. First she needed to figure out what just happened. A rogue teacher who just died, and the mysterious swordsmen they had captured.. What was the connection?

* * *

Kiba and Hinata had their guard up when their sensei and teammate reappeared. His grim look almost scared Hinata, but she saw her sensei followed closely. The pale look on her teacher's face surprised the girl.

"Kurenai-sensei, Naruto-kun, is everything all right?"

"Yes Hinata, we just caught the bandit, and have the body of our attacker as well." She paused for a moment. "Let's break up camp and head back, we need to report this."

Kiba shrugged, looking behind him. "Fine with me, not like I'll sleep comfortably anyway."

With Hinata and Naruto packing things together, Kurenai healed the minor burns Kiba had suffered from the explosion. "So what happened exactly, sensei?"

"I don't really know, Kiba," she sighed. "Things don't really add up."

* * *

"I'll have the torture and interrogation unit take a look at these two," the Hokage said to team 8, after hearing their Jonin's report. "Mizuki fled Konoha because he tried to steal something from my office. It sounds like me he planned to take whatever he wanted to steal to the bandit, though I wonder why the latter would attack villagers and attract attention like this.. It would seem that there was someone else pulling the strings."

Hiruzen stood up from his chair, and wanted to continue talking but was interrupted when a man with dark glasses charged in. "I see you lost my grandson again, Ebisu?" the old man sighed.

The other man looked embarrassed. "Yes, Hokage-sama.. Errr, he was charging this way, so I had assumed.."

"I see you lost the ability to knock on the door as well.." Hiruzen remarked sharply. "Team 8, I think I have a mission for you tomorrow. You will look after my grandson for a day, which will give Ebisu the time he needs to get a lecture in etiquette and proper behaviour."

Ebisu paled, bowed, and then left. Kurenai frowned. "I apologize, Hokage-same, but.."

"Your team has done well, Kurenai. I had planned to give you a few days off, but I guess tomorrow's mission will be important as well. If I left my grandson alone, he will probably manage to somehow destroy my office.. Again.."

"Look after Konohamaru? An entire day?" Naruto paled a little.

"Yes, you'll report at nine at the Sarutobi-compound."

* * *

Outside the building, Kurenai left her genin, stating she had other business. The three walked together in silence for a little while.

"I guess I need to thank you, Naruto." Kiba suddenly spoke up.

"Wha.. Why? What for?"

"That explosion. I saw you block it, while you could've dodged." Naruto looked a little embarrassed as Kiba spoke. "You risked yourself to save me.. And I haven't been exactly nice either. So.. I guess I need to say thanks. And.." The young Inuzuka coughed a bit. "And I apologize.. For my behaviour."

Naruto shrugged. "We're a team right?" he said a little awkwardly. He did not want to admit that it had just been that he had not cared enough about the attack to dodge it. It wasn't like a little bit of fire could hurt him, after all.

"You didn't exactly act like a 'team person,'" Kiba frowned. "Guess I was wrong," he added, upon noticing Hinata's sudden glare.

"You were," Hinata added pointedly.

"No, not really Hinata-sama," Naruto laughed. "But not many people treated me as a team member either, I guess I still needed some time to get used to it. Next time I'll dodge it," he smirked, taunting Kiba.

"So.. What's the deal with this Konohamaru kid?" Kiba asked.

"Oh.. He's the Hokage's grandson, but he's a bit of a pain in the ass if you ask me," Naruto shrugged. "Seen him several times, when he tried to ambush the old man. Not that he ever had much success.."

"Why would he do such a thing?" Hinata dared to ask.

Naruto frowned. "Don't know.. I thought it was some kind of game at first, but Konohamaru seems to take it quite seriously. Though I reckon it would be a great way of training as well.. But I guess you two can track him down easy enough if he tries to slip away tomorrow."

"Anyway, I saved your ass, Kiba, next time it's your turn to rescue mine," Naruto smirked, before jumping off.

"You shouldn't be too hard on Naruto-kun," Hinata said as she watched him jump away. "He lives at the Hyuga estate, but does not have many friends, neither in- nor outside the estate."

"He was always a silent oddball at the academy," Kiba agreed. "I thought he didn't want any contact with others, a bit like how I thought Shino was. No, worse, people disliked Shino because of his bugs, but Naruto… people just hated him and no one told us why."

"Do you believe he deserves to be hated, Kiba-kun?" Hinata asked, somewhat afraid of the answer.

"No. He just saved me and Akamaru, and he always acted friendly even though I wasn't." Kiba frowned. "Whatever he hides, I doubt he intends to hurt us. Kurenai-sensei seems to trust him, so I don't know why I shouldn't. Hell, I could almost understand why you like him so much!"

Akamaru barked. "Yeah, despite his smell," Kiba frowned.

"Smell?" Hinata asked, trying not to blush too much after Kiba's previous remark.

"Yes.. His chakra… At times, it smells strange. Wild… and extremely dangerous. Perhaps it is some odd kind of kekkei genkai, I'll ask mum, maybe she knows. See you tomorrow Hinata!" he added, taking the turn towards his own house.

* * *

**A/N:** Slow acceptance or continued rejection? I sometimes wonder which option is better...

-Z-

**Edit**: 19/01/15


	11. Konohamaru

**Genin arc**

**Konohamaru**

* * *

Hinata planned to quickly grab some breakfast next morning, but was halted by her father. "Hinata, I heard your team completed a C-rank mission?"

"Ah… Y-Yes, father," Hinata stuttered, not comfortable under her father's dismissive gaze.

"How much did you contribute to the success of the mission?"

"Ehm.. Na-Naruto-kun captured… Captured the criminals."

"I heard one of your former teachers was involved," Hiashi nodded. "So you did not contribute to the success of this mission?"

"No, father," Hinata looked down and wished she could disappear from this place.

"I don't need to remind you that there are certain expectations when the heir of the Hyuga clan goes out on a mission?" Hiashi kept his face impassive, but his voice went slightly colder.

"No, father," Hinata shrunk down. "I promise to do better next mission."

"If you wish to maintain your position as heir, you will have to prove your ability," Hiashi concluded, before turning to leave the room.

* * *

The encounter with her father left Hinata in a somber mood. _'Perhaps Naruto-kun has not left yet.. We could walk to the Sarutobi estate together,'_ she tried to tear herself away from her own depressed state.

Standing in front of the door of Naruto's cottage, Hinata began to doubt herself. Again. '_Maybe I should not.. Naruto prefers to be alone.. I.. No, I promised Haruki-san, and mother,'_ she thought.

"I'm already gone!" Naruto's voice sounded up from behind her, before Hinata could knock.

As if being stung, Hinata twisted around, and saw a frowning Naruto with his hands covered in mud. "Ah.. Na-Naruto-kun, w-what do you mean?"

"Eh? I said I already went out, my original body that is. I'm just a clone I left behind to do the garden," the clone smirked. "Which is more fun than chasing after some brat!"

"Would you shut up and work?" an annoyed voice sounded. "Oh, hey Hinata-sama," the other Naruto added after loudly opening a window. "I'm trying to focus here," he continued scolding the other clone.

"Two.. T-Two Naruto-kuns?"

"You'll get used to it soon enough," Chie added smugly. "Naruto, Ako-sama asked me if you could help her with the shopping this morning."

"Fine," the garden-Naruto grumbled after the window-Naruto pointed at him. "But that means you do the laundry!"

"Rather some dirty clothes than the hell they call shopping," the window-Naruto grumbled. The window-Naruto nodded goodbye to Hinata before he closed the said window and continued with whatever he had been doing.

"Naruto usually leaves clones behind," Chie explained, seeing the puzzled look on Hinata's face. "To help Ako-sama and the sickly-two-leg, or to speed up his studies."

"So the real Naruto-kun.."

"Already left, a few hours ago. He wanted to train. Or he simply wanted some time alone.. He was rather distant yesterday," the cat said with a pensive tone. "He'll probably drop by at the Ichiraku stand where you two-legs seem to eat."

Chie looked around, as if she was thinking what to do. "Know what, I'll join you for today. Ako-sama is busy shopping anyway, and I'm rather bored with those two clones right here. Especially when they start to run out of chakra.. Then they start to act annoying."

"Spoiled creature," the garden-Naruto grumbled. "I'll probably be there, but you two should hurry if you don't want to be late."

"O-Ok, N-Naruto-kun," Hinata bowed slightly before she left.

Chie looked at her pensively. "I thought the two-legs from the main family weren't supposed to bow to others?" she remarked as they speeded towards Ichiraku's.

"I.. Eh.." Hinata didn't know what to say. "Sorry, I-"

"Don't be. I'm glad you're not an overly proud airhead like the rest of your family," Chie chuckled. "Though Queen-two-leg is an exception. You resemble her quite a lot, and not just in appearance."

* * *

Naruto said his goodbye to the best ramen-chef of Konoha, and walked out toward the Sarutobi complex. _'And now an entire day trying to look after that brat,'_ Naruto sighed. _'Should've sent out a clone, and focussed on my scrolls instead.. Those new notes on the infernal seal I found yesterday looked quite promising.'_

"Chie? Hinata?" the boy frowned as they ran towards him

"You're too early, two-leg," the cat remarked as she jumped up on his shoulder. Her long tail draped around his shoulder and neck so she maintained her balance. "Princess-white-eye-two-leg wanted to see you, so I thought I'd join you for now. Should be more amusing that seeing that clone of yours enjoying himself in the garden."

"Hinata? What's going on?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Ah.. Eh.. N-Nothing," Hinata stuttered. "Just w-wanted to ask if you would mind if I walked to the Sarutobi complex with you.."

Naruto was glad his hearing was better than that of most others, or he would not have heard those last few words that Hinata had nearly whispered. "Of course I wouldn't mind," Naruto smiled. "Though, we're almost there already."

Hinata looked downcast. "But we're still early. I was a bit too early at Ichiraku's," Naruto admitted. "I got hungry from all the training."

"Y-you always go out training.. That early?"

"Not always… But I woke up early so I thought I could just as well spend my time wisely, right?"

"Because of Mizuki-sensei?" Hinata guessed.

"Nehh.. I can't say I ever liked that guy. Not that I wanted him to die.. But he was a traitor to Konoha, so I can't say I'm bothered by his death either," Naruto shrugged.

"So why did you sleep that bad?" Chie asked almost innocently. But her acting was not good enough to fool Naruto, who had gotten used to her pranking.

"Bad milk," he replied, looking at the cat. "I keep asking you not to mess up the fridge. Just ask if you want something to drink, rather than leaving a mess each time.."

"I can't help it that it has such a poorly designed closing mechanism," the cat defended herself.

Naruto smirked. Despite the mischievous nature of the cat, she was rather easy to fool because she was equally touchy. "Well, I told you yesterday, we have to look after Konohamaru today," he aimed at the cat. "So nothing exciting. Unless he gets another of his fits and tries to assault Jiisan again.."

"I-It seemed like you thought Konohamaru-chan was rather.. Difficult to handle," Hinata remarked.

"He is," Naruto sighed. "You'll see soon enough."

* * *

When they all arrived at the entrance of the estate of the Sarutobi clan, Kurenai announced herself and her team, and stated their mission. A robust looking older woman came to them and led them to the waiting room, stating that she would get the 'honourable grandson' to them as soon as possible.

Not that she seemed to have much success, as she quickly returned with a panicked look on her face.

"Konohamaru-chan has run off," she said, while out of breath.

"Do you have any idea where he might have gone?" Kurenai asked.

What little colour she had left, also vanished as the old woman paled. "He will probably be at the Hokage's office, sneaking towards his grandfather again.."

"Can you lead Kiba to his room?" Kurenai asked. "Kiba, Akamaru, you two follow her and get Konohamaru-chan's scent. We will wait at the entrance," she ordered.

Kiba sighed. "This will be a long day…"

"From what Asuma-san told me, Konohamaru-kun is a bit like Naruto when he was younger. Too much energy for his own good, too little time to consider the consequences of whatever he does. I've read the reports," she smiled at the mildly annoyed blond.

Hinata giggled, remembering the trouble Haruki had gone through when the unruly Naruto first lived at the estate. Teaching him proper etiquette had proven to be a nigh-impossible task.

"Did you meet Asuma again, sensei?" Naruto smirked.

Kurenai chose not to answer, though Hinata noticed the faint smile that betrayed her.

* * *

"He must be around here," Kiba said after they had gone to the edge of the village.

"Right," Naruto said, performing the hand seals needed for "Kage bunshin no jutsu," and sending out two dozen clones to scout the area.

"There are too many people around," Hinata apologizing to her sensei.

"Yeah, this place stinks," Kiba groaned. "Getting a good scent at this place is though.."

The old market square was not the wealthiest place in Konoha, so most of the merchants sold second-rate goods. Goods which attracted a clientele who had less money to spend. Naruto vaguely remembered the place from before he started living with the Hyuga, but the other two genin had probably never seen the place, as they were members of prominent clans.

And those who enjoyed the protection of their clan would not have to go to places like this, which was more or less reserved for the clanless.

Though Konoha had a reputation that it did not have as much discrimination against the clanless, this was a place which showed otherwise. After all, in the ninja world, bloodlines were everything. Those born into clans with such bloodlines usually saw the others as inferior. Naruto knew that people like Lee or Sakura were more or less considered as second-rate ninja, because they were born in clans which hardly had any importance at all. On the other hand, they still faced less prejudice than someone like Tenten, who was clanless. Naruto, though from a formerly prominent clan, was little more than clanless simply because he was the last of his clan. Not that people looked at Sasuke in the same way..

It should not be about birth rights, but about the people themselves. Tenten, for instance, was one of the best kunoichi Naruto knew, so why should she be considered less than someone like Ino or Hinata, just because they were born into prominent clans? Why did someone like Tenten always have to work so much harder to get similar recognition? Inequality.. Naruto hated that trait in humans.

* * *

"So what's a brat like you doing here?" the second largest of the kids asked the little boy.

"I was just looking around.."

"One of those spoiled boys from the high and mighty clans looking at the poor folk?" the largest boy mocked.

"No, and give me my scarf back!" the smallest boy shouted.

"Or what," the only girl in the group smirked. "You're gonna tell daddy, and he'll send the anbu to punish us?"

"Maybe we should just dispose of him," the most anxious looking boy added. "That way he can't rat on us either.. And I bet he has some valuables on him as well, even though he's a brat."

"Good thinking, Buckteeth," the largest boy replied to the anxious 'Buckteeth'. "A clan won't save you from this, will it?" he smirked, pulling out a large knife.

"What the hell do you guys think you're doing?" a calm voice shook them up.

"Who the hell are you?" the large boy frowned. "Wanna die too?"

"I know him.." Buckteeth said. "But that's years ago.. The orphanage's mother called him a monster."

"And a shinobi," the girl exclaimed, seeing his headband, immediately deciding to run away. The other followed her cowardly example, except for the largest boy.

"Who cares, it's not like you're.." the boy started, before knocked into the nearby wall.

"Idiot," Naruto whispered, wiping the boy's blood of his fist. "Now, Konohamaru… dammit!" Naruto cursed after he noticed the brat had slipped away in the middle of the confusion.

* * *

"He went that way," Naruto spoke up, startling his teammates. "Some of the local kids threatened him, my clone interfered but he ran anyway.. My other clones are tracking him down right now. This way," Naruto jumped away.

* * *

In the end, one clone found the boy, who was sitting on top of a fallen tree, near the edge of the village.

"Who are you?" the boy demanded. They had seen each other a few times, but Konohamaru had no idea who he was.

"A clone," the clone answered.

"What?"

"He is a clone," the original Naruto said, jumping down. "And I am Uzumaki Naruto. And you are a brat who is pretty hard to find."

"Why are you here? Go bother someone else.."

Noticing the downcast look on the boy's face, Naruto decided to sit next to him. "Because you're not supposed to wander around alone."

Konohamaru looked at him defiantly. "I'll do what I want!"

"I saw that," Naruto replied dryly. "Those kids surely let you do whatever you wanted… fool."

"You.. Why.." the boy was too frustrated to speak properly.

"Konohamaru, you shouldn't run away like this. There are too many people who care about you," he explained.

"Pfff. They don't care about me. All they care about is grandpa. I'm just the _honourable grandson_. I wouldn't be anybody if I wasn't born in the right family."

Naruto smacked him on the head. "Stupid! It makes you a target as well! That old woman at the estate had tears in her eyes because of worry. She cared. And I heard the way your grandpa talks about you. I grew up in orphanages, surrounded by people who wouldn't care whether you lived or died, so don't complain to me you brat."

Konohamaru looked a little ashamed now. "Still, I wanted that people to see me as me, not as the Hokage's grandson," he said shyly.

"So you hate living in his shadow?" Naruto said, waiting for Konohamaru to nod. "Then why waste your time on running away, or on those pranks you pull on the old man? Start training. If you want to be recognized as you, become so strong that people can't get around it."

"I know. I want to be Hokage, that's why I try to beat grandpa! If I beat him, becoming Hokage will be easy! OW!" Konohamaru exclaimed, after Naruto smacked him again. "Why did you do that?!"

"Becoming strong, becoming Hokage.. Do you think it is that easy to reach such goals? Do you think anyone would follow you as you are now? Ordinary people who risk nothing will never reach as high as a Hokage. It will take a lot of effort and suffering. How many obstacles did your grandfather face before people recognized _him_?"

Naruto smiled. "Besides, if you want to become Hokage, you'll need to beat me first."

Konohamaru looked up and suddenly recognized the other boy as his rival, and grinned. "I'll beat you in an instant!" he yelled.

* * *

Kurenai was a little surprised at Naruto's use of the shunshin no jutsu, which he had used to get to Konohamaru. Though a relatively simple skill, and taught at the academy, genin usually were not able to cross much distance with it. When she and the other students caught up, they saw the two boys duel. Well.. Duel..

"This is more fun than with Ebisu," Konohamaru cheered. Despite being outmatched with every move he made, he grinned at his rival. Taking an exaggerated jump, Konohamaru tried to hit Naruto again. His clothes only became dirtier, after Naruto had dodged and Konohamaru was left in the dirt.

"What are you two doing?" Kurenai asked sharply. Hinata smiled at the sight, but Kiba was somewhat conflicted: scowl or laugh? Chie just looked at the situation and thought that humans were idiotic creatures. Very idiotic.

"Konohamaru here wants to be Hokage, but he can't unless he beats me," Naruto smirked, blocking a strike while his rival presumed he was not paying attention.

Kiba decided: he laughed. "Man, this will be a damn long day! If the kid wants to be Hokage, then he'll need to beat me as well."

"Two rivals?" Naruto sighed. Five clones jumped down on Kiba, leaving the Inuzuka in the dust. "Konohamaru did better, Kiba!" he taunted the Inuzuka.

Kurenai looked on, her brows raised, as the three boys, the additional clones, and one dog, continued to fool around. Standing next to her, Hinata smiled happily. '_Some rest and relaxation will also improve teamwork, I guess,_' Kurenai thought, pitching the bridge of her nose. '_Now I understand Asuma's stories about this kid..'_

Another Naruto jumped down next to her. "I informed the old lady we found Konahamaru," the clone said, before jumping into the fray with a big smile. Something which was 'no fair' according to the youngest boy.

She sighed in defeat. All that work to finally become a jonin-sensei, and then she gets a mission like this. Then she saw another Naruto sitting high in a tree, keeping a watchful eye on the environment.

"You're a clone as well?" Kurenai asked, impressed.

"Yup, why?"

"You.. Normally clones aren't very intelligent, unless…" Kurenai's eyes widened. Completely autonomous kage bunshins required jonin-level chakra levels, and Naruto spawned them seemingly effortlessly. Up till now she had just assumed that he just put less chakra in them, which reduced their intelligence and skill, yet allowing him to create more clones. But each of these clones seemed to be a perfect copy of the original Naruto. '_Dear Kami… and he can create them by the dozens… I doubt even Hokage-sama could do something like this.'_

* * *

It took another hour for them to get Konohamaru exhausted. Naruto send out a few clones to gather food, Ichiraku's ramen, Hinata presumed.

She could see it today, normally Naruto's chakra seemed a bit dimmed, but when he was truly happy, it was like he radiated. With his enormous chakra, he seemed like the sun. Glowing with a light and warmth, unlike any other shinobi. How could he have been if he didn't have his burden?

"You all right, Hinata?" he asked her, seeing her pensive look.

"Yeah, I am just enjoying this day," the girl smiled, but Naruto saw that something was bothering her.

"Good. You always worry about others, now you finally have to relax."

Kiba was first to return, bringing along all he though was necessary for a picnic. Eating outdoors like this was another new experience for the scion of the main family. Hinata had been right, as the Naruto's brought along a variation of ramen. With Chie sleeping on his lap, Konohamaru was entertained by Kurenai's telling stories of when she was genin. Something which the others enjoyed just as much.

Turned out, young Azuma had been quite the rebel himself as well, something which enjoyed Konohamaru more than anything. "Thanks," he smiled widely. "Now I can finally take a little revenge on uncle smoky!"

* * *

"Eh.. Boss?" Konohamaru asked Naruto when the two of them were at some distance from the others. "Why did you help me? With those bullies, I mean."

"Boss?" Naruto blinked. The little boy nodded, and waited for Naruto to answer. "You were my mission," Naruto shrugged. "Besides, it would not have mattered.. I despise bullies so I would've helped you anyway."

"Why.. Why did they call you a monster, boss?" Konohamaru asked curiously. Hinata, who just walked towards them, froze.

Naruto frowned. "Probably because I'm a shinobi. Ordinary people are often jealous of us, right, Hinata?"

"I-I g-guess," Hinata blushed mildly. "But from what you told earlier, I think it is more because they were clanless."

"What's that, nee-chan?"

"People who do not belong to a clan, Konohamaru-chan," Hinata explained.

"Many treat them as second rate citizens," Naruto added darkly. "This only causes them to equally hate those of the clans in return."

"Why?" Konohamaru seemed confused.

"Because they feel like the position in which they were born defines their life," Naruto smiled gently. "You should understand this right? You're always treated well because of your heritage, while the clanless get the reverse treatment..."

This seemed to sober Konohamaru up. "Why would Jiichan.."

"The Hokage tries to unite the clans, but he can't force people to change either," Naruto shrugged. "But when one of us becomes Hokage, we can continue the old man's good example, right?"

"Right!" Konohamaru smiled.

When Hinata looked at both boys, she somehow knew that Naruto could make his dream come true. Despite his burden. Despite the village. If anyone could endure, it would be Naruto.

* * *

**A/N**: Yup, even Kurenai still finds out how much she is still underestimating Naruto. Would it make you consider how much more he is hiding?

I introduced the concept of having a (social) difference between those living in clans and those who do not. Will come into play later on. Let's say I wanted to create some more detail to the political situation in Konoha, something which Kishimoto himself pretty much ignored. Well, he gave us the clans early in the story, and then he mostly ignored it all..

-Z-

* * *

**_Some things in response to your reviews:_**

_Why Kiba and not Shino?_ Well, I thought Naruto would be in need of a friend. And while Shino is a nice guy, he is also silent and rather distant. This works very well with the 'regular' loud and cheerful acting Naruto, as for instance the 'Team 8' fanfic showed (I have that one in my list favourite fanfics, for those who haven't heard of it). But in this story, Naruto himself is already distant towards others. So I thought that this Naruto would not interact very well with Shino. Therefore, I thought the brash but loyal Kiba would be the better choice.

_About Sasuke._ Because of his heritage, he got away with a very light punishment after the whole country of waves thing: he and his team were forbidden to take anything but D-ranked missions, and he had to report to the Hokage's office every morning to do remedial chores. Hiruzen even wanted to let him look after Konohamaru once, but that didn't work out too well..

_The Hyuga clan._ Are they all stuck-up assholes? Nope. In fact: I will be focussing on them soon enough. The Hyuga are proud and have strong traditions; that's also why Hizashi's survival has not changed that much. Nor has Hitomi's. All you need to know right now is that the branch and the main families are not quite friendly.

_Hinata._ Indeed, Hinata will get a summon later on. I have several idea's on that one, but.. Deciding can be difficult at times, but I still have time. I think it should also fit in the scenario I have in mind for Hinata, as well as her personality.

**Edited, 27-01-15**


	12. Truth

**Genin arc**

**Truth**

* * *

At the end of the day, team 8 brought Konohamaru back to the Sarutobi estate, and returned to their respective homes, tired but content.

As the two of them came close to the estate, Hinata tried to suppress the urge to fidget. "S-Seems like you made a friend today, Naruto-kun."

"I suppose," he shrugged.

"Y-You don't think that.."

"Konohamaru just reminded me of my old self, seeking acknowledgement but not knowing how." While speaking, the pensive undertone returned to his voice. "I suppose you too understand what it is, having people look at the image of what they think you are. What they think you should be. Rather than who you really are."

Hinata looked down, her fingers now fidgeted again, though she could not remember when she had lost control of them.

"I'm sorry, Hinata," Naruto sighed, regretting he even said such a thing. "I didn't mean to bring up.." He sighed again.

"I know, Naruto-kun," she replied, before stuttering: "But why… why do people hate you?"

Naruto froze, his eyes turned sad. Chie looked at the girl and seemed to hesitate between anger and curiosity. '_We warned white-eye-two-leg that she shouldn't be this direct.. Why…'_

"I- I mean, I know why people don't like me, and I can understand but.."

"You shouldn't. Don't talk about yourself like that. Ever," he said firmly. "So what if people expect you to be the perfect heir. You are you. And there is nothing wrong with you."

Naruto sighed. "But my case.. I'm… well, you could say that I am different from every else."

It took her a moment to muster the courage to look at him again. When she did, she noticed he sat down on a nearby bench. "You are not different," she said softly, looking at him.

He sighed, and looked around. "But I am… I am different from other humans. More than anyone would suspect," He chuckled, humourlessly. "It is merely a fact that no other shinobi in Konoha is like me. Let me ask you: when we met Sakura the other day, did you notice how she looked when she saw me?"

Hinata nodded.

"She saw what I could do. What I am."

"Two-leg," Chie decided to warn him. "You shouldn't.."

"No Chie," Naruto sighed. "With her eyes, Hinata has probably already seen my… defect.. That byakugan can see through any superficial lie.. And I might as well get this over with.. There is no point in continuing this lie any longer."

"What did she.. W-What did Sakura-san…"

Naruto formed some quick hand seals, and activated a jutsu which made it impossible for other to eavesdrop. Or even see them. It was a useful thing he had learned from Jiraiya once, even though it was only restricted to a small area, and made movement virtually impossible. Ideal for the 'spying' activities Jiraiya often used it for. After all, his 'research' was rather dangerous if he would get caught..

"Kurenai-sensei did not tell you and Kiba what I did during my mission in the land of waves.." Naruto started. Hinata shivered when she saw his cold blue eyes. As if every emotion in his face had frozen. "A large number of mercenaries attacked the town and I… I annihilated them. I tore them apart, limb from limb… I ripped the heart out of their boss's chest."

Naruto sighed. "Sakura simply saw the truth. She saw the monster I am."

"You are not a monster, Naruto-kun," she said as firmly as she could, sitting down next to him. "You only.. Y-you only did that because you wanted to save the village. You are no monster. Ask Konohamaru. Ask me. Ask the people in that village. You saved so many lives. A monster would not care about others like you do."

"Do you want to know the truth?" Naruto asked cautiously. He had never trusted anyone before, but if he had to tell anyone..

Chie tensed as Hinata nodded.

"I'll understand if you fear me. Or hate me, when you learn the truth," Naruto said, though Hinata saw a slight grimace on his face hinting the opposite of what he said. "When you see me, with your byakugan, you see two kinds of chakra, right?"

"Yes, one is-"

"One is my own," he cut her off, "the other is.. The other source is the result of something the Yondaime Hokage did to me, when I was a baby."

She held her breath, even though she already knew.

"There is a secret kept by everyone in Konoha… the Yondaime could not destroy the Kyuubi. He could only seal it away, so it could not hurt others again. Not for a while, at least," Naruto spoke softly, with a nearly emotionless tone, while looking at the ground. "That is why the people fear and hate me. They fear the day I lose control, and the seal which that man cursed me with breaks, and I become the Kyuubi myself. Or that I simply unleash the demon because I want to.."

"That's impossible! You're not.. Y-You would never.."

"They are half right, Hinata." Naruto interrupted her with sad tone. "I can feel it, hear its voice, draw onto its chakra, and it changes me. I sense the evil in others, and fire hardly damages me. And why do you think I have an affinity for two nature types? Futon is my own, while katon is derived from the Kyuubi."

Hinata didn't know what to say. She saw the deep sadness on his face. He looked so lost, so vulnerable.. In a moment of boldness she forgot her shyness, only thinking of his pain, and hugged him.

Naruto froze. '_What is she doing? Why doesn't she run away? Shout at me? Or at least look shocked or afraid? Did she know? Or does she not care?_'

Even Chie, who had remained silent because she had decided to trust Naruto's judgement despite her own reservations, sighed in relief. She knew this situation could have ended badly. She knew that rejection from this girl would have hit Naruto much harder.

"You're not... scared?" he asked. Though her heart cringed when she heard him almost begging her not to be scared.

"No! Of course not! I know you, Naruto, you would not hurt anyone. I would never be scared of you," Hinata spoke with more strength than Naruto had ever heard before. "I.. I.. L-lo-" suddenly realizing what she was doing, what she was almost going to say, she squeaked and let him go.

"Why.. Why would you have so much faith in me?" Naruto's mind seemed unable to process the situation.

"Y-You saved me. You're always kind. Despite the way people treat you. Your strength… I know how hard it is to.. To keep yourself together," she tried to explain. "But you always endured. You never gave up, no matter how badly people treated you.. No matter how many times pushed you over, no matter how many time you fell, you always stood up again. I.. I think that is true strength."

Naruto looked at her, impressed and deeply surprised that anyone would call him, the monster of Konoha, an example of strength. Even Chie was surprised, which was quite a feat considering the cynicism of the creature.

Hinata blushed under the gaze of both the boy and the cat.

"I remember you fainting when you gave me something to eat," he said slowly. "And now you don't even give a budge after hearing that the world's most dangerous monster is next to you. You even manage to speak like some kind of philosopher.. I should've realized earlier you were a strange girl," he smiled.

Hinata looked distraught at his poor attempt of a compliment, and backed away a little.

"I mean, it's good that you're not like the others, right? I didn't mean to say you are strange, but.. Unusual. Ah, no," Naruto sheepishly tried to correct himself, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I mean… You're a great person and.. Well, I.. Ah shit, and now she did faint. Me and my big mouth.." Naruto facepalmed.

"You've got a lot to learn about how you need to act when being around a female," Chie retorted smugly. "Shall we bring the young hime-two-leg back?"

"Why would people..?" Naruto still did not understand Hinata's behaviour.

"You'll learn eventually," Chie smirked knowingly, amused by the clueless blond. '_As smart as he may be, he truly has a blind heart_. _But what could anyone expect of someone living a life like his?_'

* * *

It turned out that team 8 had gotten another day off after the whole 'mission' with Konohamaru, giving Naruto the time to make up for the chores he had been forced to neglect due to the previous missions. As well giving him some time to think.

He hadn't spoken to Hinata again, as she was dragged off by her father for 'remedial training', or so Hitomi had told him. She did not seem to be very happy about it, though she seemed kinder than usual to him. Perhaps she knew about the conversation he had with Hinata. It would not surprise him, seeing how she always seemed to know everything. When he was younger, he was both amazed and scared by her ability to see right through him. But now he understood what kind of person she really was.

Thinking back about the conversation with Hinata still made Naruto a little confused. Hinata knew about him, yet did not reject him. It was odd. Though Chie's amusement only added to Naruto's confusion. Perhaps this was what other's meant with 'friends'?

But why did friendship feel so weird?

So far, Naruto only had a hand full of people whom he considered to be friendly.

I he had to name them, he would think off the old man Hokage, Jiraiya, and Haruki. These three were all way older and had experienced the Kyuubi, yet did not blame him. Even though Haruki openly admitted to Naruto that he was afraid of the demon. No, they knew well who he was, and ignored the fact that he had the demon sealed within him. Beyond them, he thought of Ako as a friend, almost like an elder sister type to him, though she was a special case. The circumstances in which he had met Chie were equally strange, though he fully trusted the feline and knew she returned that feeling.

Beyond them there was perhaps Iruka… Naruto's former sensei was one of the precious few who treated him well, and even treated him on ramen a few times.

Then there were those like Teuchi and Ayame from Ichiraku's, who always acted friendly to Naruto, though they were probably unaware of the truth about what he was. '_I'd guess I could put Shikamaru and Choji in the same group.. And after what happened, maybe Konohamaru and Kiba as well?'_

"But she is strange indeed," he mused, atop his favourite branch in the forbidden training area, while fidgeting with the rubber ball he was supposed to pop. "I once thought she avoided me because she hated me, or that she was afraid of me.. Then she ordered me to stay, and now this… It makes no sense. Why would she.."

"Girl troubles already?" a familiar voice asked. "Whoah, watch it brat!" Jiraiya laughed after dodging the rubber ball that the startled Naruto just threw out of reflex.

"Wha.. How did you get here?" Naruto asked in surprise, staring at the white-haired toad sage.

"Wherever there are troubles with girls, I just happen to be close," Jiraiya answered smugly. "It's my job. I got a good nose for research, kiddo."

Naruto made Jiraiya dodge again. "It's not like _that_."

"Oohhhh," Jiraiya said, grinning as he mocked Naruto, "_That_? You're thinking about 'that' already, is it that serious? Perhaps I should borrow you a few of my quality books, if you mature this fast. You could learn a thing or two from good literature.."

"Ah just shut it, you pervert," Naruto retorted.

"Super pervert," Jiraiya corrected him dryly. "Don't want to compare your ordinary pervert to someone like me, do you?"

"You are as crazy as ever," Naruto finally said, after they finished laughing. "It's been too long, when did you come back?"

"Yeah, my mission got a little extended unfortunately," Jiraiya said, with a hint of seriousness. "The old man wanted me back earlier, but I couldn't hurry when I saw such interesting research material on my way back."

"Hot springs?"

"Hot springs," Jiraiya laughed. "That stealth seal of yours truly is useful!" he added with a lecherous tone. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but I have to go now. The old man needs to hear my report right away, or he'll kill me. I'll see you tomorrow," the perverted sage added before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"I got a mission tomorrow, you old fool," Naruto smiled. "Guess I'll have to leave a clone behind.."

* * *

**A/N:** I thought a lot about this chapter. How should I make Naruto spill the truth? Or should I skip it? Of course, Hinata already knew.. But still, I felt it was crucial for him to let him tell it her himself, and then feeling the acceptance. And how should I have let Naruto respond? It was a web of difficult choices. I'd say that this openness and honesty would be the first step on the path to getting both characters closer together, despite Hinata's shyness and Naruto's not understanding why other people could like him. This first step is especially because they still have to face a lot of troubles... That's why, even though it is short, I put it into a separate chapter.

-Z-

**Edited: 01/02/15**


	13. Uzumaki ruins

**Genin arc**

**Uzumaki ruins mission**

* * *

"Good morning team 8," the Hokage started, after the said team entered his office. He gestured the guards that they had to close the doors. "Your new mission for you will probably be an extended one again."

"Another C-rank?" Kiba asked hopefully, leaving the infamous 'puppy eye' jutsu for Akamaru to execute.

"Hmm," Hiruzen frowned. "This mission has actually not been ranked. It could be considered C-rank, but also might turn out to be an A-rank. It's a bit of a special case…"

"Hokage-sama," Kurenai interjected. "You should be aware that team 8 is not yet prepared to face the more difficult missions, all three need more-"

"I know, Kurenai," he cut her off. "And I am not asking the four of you to do this mission on your own. Team 8 will act as support for someone else. In fact, your team was requested to assist him due to the unique nature of the problem."

He gestured them to sit down on the chairs in front of his desk. Putting on his pipe, followed by blowing out a little cloud of smoke, he continued talking to the now rather curious team.

"What I am about to tell you is considered to be classified information, so treat is as such. Several years ago, a few of our jonin stumbled upon the remains of what we think had been a temple of the Uzumaki-clan. Yes Naruto," he said, answering the genin's surprised look before he could even ask. "Strange enough, the temple is located far outside Uzushiogakure, near the western border of the Country of Fire."

"If it was found so long ago, why is it now our mission?" Kurenai asked.

"The temple was sealed. The outer barriers were taken down, but the inner barriers and whatever remained inside, remained out of our reach. None of the shinobi from Konoha were able to breach those last barriers. And because we had no idea of what the temple contained, we decided to cover it up, and waited for you to grow up, Naruto. There are indications that only an Uzumaki might be able to pass that inner barrier."

Naruto shrugged. "Sounds rather weird, but I don't mind trying."

"But why now?" Kurenai frowned. "This could potentially be very dangerous, why not wait?"

"Because we suspect that there is someone who is looking for the location of the temple.." Hiruzen admitted.

"Ah.. H-Hokage-sama, wouldn't that make the mission even more dangerous?" Hinata stuttered.

The Hokage shook his head in denial. "Like I said, you will act as support. Your contact will wait for you by the gates, at eleven. Though it might be possible he shows up late, he probably can be found in one of the clubs near the shopping district. He will guide you and explain the details of the mission, good luck."

* * *

Two and a half hours later, team 8 was waiting near the gates of Konoha. All had packed for a journey of several days, but their guide had yet to show up.

"This feels like Kakashi all over again," Naruto sighed. "I'll go fetch him, I'm not waiting any longer."

"Naruto? Where are you going?" Kurenai asked him.

"Well, there's only so many experts on seals and barriers in Konoha.. We know it's a man, and we know where he resides: a club near in the red light sector. So, I already know who I have to look for."

He turned towards Hinata. "Though, I guess you could help me, Hinata, if you don't mind. I'll leave a clone behind in case he does show up," he added after the girl nodded with a slight blush.

As the two ran off, Naruto decided to warn Hinata. "We're looking for a tall man, with long spiky white hair. He possesses a huge amount of chakra, at least as much as the Hokage himself, so he shouldn't be hard to miss with your byakugan.. But… knowing him we might find him in some kind of compromising situation. Well, compromising for normal standards, he is arguably the greatest pervert alive so he wouldn't mind."

Naruto suspected that Jiraiya had just spent the entire night drinking all the sake he could find, while probably surrounding with some of the most expensive women he could get with his money, so though locating him would be relatively easy. Getting him to move would probably be a bigger issue. '_Though this might be a good moment to use my secret weapon against him..'_

* * *

"Ughh.. Stop knocking on the damn door," Jiraiya grumbled, "Damned hangovers... Why can't I enjoy a little sake without this crap? Stop knocking I said!" The Sannin was barely awake, and his head was pounding as if someone was trying to cleave it apart with a giant axe.

"Oi, Ero-sennin! Get your lazy ass out of there!"

"Naruto?" Jiraiya groaned as the voice seemed to tear right through his skull. "Dammit, let me sleep a few hours you brat.. Urgh. My stomach.." he grumbled, as his body started to revolt even more.

"Seems like he doesn't want to open the door," Naruto whispered to Hinata. She looked a bit distraught, but he just grinned. "Too bad for him, no I have to play dirty.. Oiroke no jutsu!"

* * *

Whatever had happened, Naruto had brought along their guide. Though Hinata was still blushing furiously for some reason she would tell, and Jiraiya grumbled something about deception and theft.

"Serves you right, lazy pervert," Naruto responded.

"Hmmpf , no student should deceive his master in such a cruel way. Almost thought I was dreaming, and next thing I know you took away my money and ran. Foul play."

Naruto smirked at the older man, "You were the one who taught me to exploit the opponent's weaknesses, so I used them against you, you moneygrubbing perverted sage."

"Dammit, show some respect, brat!" Jiraiya shouted in fake-anger, charging after the boy. Not that he was truly angry, he seemed to be too immature for something like that.

Kurenai facepalmed, Kiba looked completely confused, and Hinata's blown fuses were still recovering from the previous shock. Seeing a naked female version of Naruto charge into the old man's room was a sight she could not get out of her head. That the famous Toad Sage, one of the legendary three, was tricked like this..

* * *

Contrary to the turbulent start of their mission, Jiraiya had a surprisingly serious side to him as well, Kurenai noticed. Mostly because he had personal knowledge of where they were going, considering how he had been the one who failed to go past the barrier. Knowing this, she decided to ask him for more details on this mission. "Hokage-sama told us when those ruins were found, you could not go beyond the inner barriers, Jiraiya-sama?"

Jiraiya frowned a bit. "Yeah, I may be considered an expert on seals and barriers, but whatever they did in that temple was beyond my knowledge. Not surprising either, considering the reputation of the Uzumaki clan."

"But if you could not enter, how is Naruto supposed to do it?" Kiba asked.

"How should I explain this," Jiraiya pondered. "First thing to consider would be the difference there is between skill that is innate to a person, and skill that is trained. For example, your sensei is considered to be one of the best in Konoha with regard to genjutsu, but will probably lose to an Uchiha who has access to the higher levels of the sharingan, even if the said Uchiha would have little training in genjutsu. It is talent that is dependent on the blood, inborn."

"So the Uzumaki clan has an inborn talent for fuinjutsu?" Hinata asked.

"Probably, yes. I mean, I gave Naruto a few cabinets filled with theory on fuinjutsu, and within a few years he could master several of the more advanced seals. Taking into account the difficulty of fuinjutsu itself, added with the mostly incomprehensible way these texts were written, I say that the brat has some kind of inborn talent to it."

Kiba frowned, "Few people seem to use fuinjutsu, why is it so difficult?"

"You want a lecture on fuinjutsu?" Jiraiya, happy to talk about his field, became more enthusiastic. Sure, his perverted antics were his favourite hobby, but fuinjutsu was his _job_. Naruto saw Kiba's mistake and tried to prevent him from continuing before the Sannin would start a long, and to them probably useless, explanation. But he was already too late.

"Well for starters the user must possess large amounts of chakra, and a high level of controlling the chakra. In effect, that usually means that seals are created by several people who work together on one seal. But when multiple people work on one seal, it is a given that they all have differing types of chakra, and varying levels of control, which makes the creation, activation, and/or usage of a seal exponentially more difficult."

Now Jiraiya had become serious, the others listened attentively. Though, Naruto already knew that they would have a hard to time follow him. Even their sensei, he expected, because the Uzumaki style of fuinjutsu was quite different from the basic thing they were taught in Konoha.

"Of course, this difficulty is bypassed by for instance the Uzumaki, or awesomely strong people like me," he grinned. "Forget the skills, we've got the chakra to pay the bills! Though, jokes aside, even those who meet those high requirements must learn the complex language in which seals are written. Sure, it is possible to replicate seals with limited understanding, but the duration and strength suffer much from the lack of details, or the minor mistakes. It is a bit similar to the twelve hand seals, though the written version has more signs, so is exponentially more difficult as well. And then I'm not even talking about the importance of the sequence of signs, and the way you have drawn the connections between them. These are all factors which make recreating seals very difficult, and creating new ones even more difficult. And don't even begin to think about the difficulty of removing seals.. And there are no real shortcuts either, even for those with doujutsu like the sharingan it is pretty much impossible to see through fuinjutsu."

"I don't get it, if it is that difficult, why use it?" Kiba frowned, not having understood half of Jiraiya's mini-lecture.

"Simple. Ordinary ninjutsu usually have a limited duration, while fuinjutsu, if executed properly, is barely affected by time. That is why those barriers at the temple are still active. Creating seals may require a lot of knowledge and skill, as well as some time to activate the seal, but there is no cost at keeping the seal up. Once you create a seal, for instance at a tag, a scroll, or simply on the ground you stand upon, it will last nearly forever, waiting for you to active or disable it depending on which type of seal it is. This makes fuinjutsu particularly great for setting up traps before a fight starts, or for defending a certain position using barrier, etcetera."

"It is just like how I can activate the sentry seals which last all night, even if I sleep in the meantime. It all depends on the seal's design," Naruto explained, seeing his teammates' confusion. "It takes more chakra to activate, compared to normal ninjutsu, but unlike regular ninjutsu fuinjutsu has no upkeep cost. I can sleep, fight, even fall unconscious or die, but the seal will remain active unless told otherwise. But with all the complexity of seals, there are also a lot of conditions you can embed in them. In that regard: I suppose there are special conditions placed on that temple's barrier?"

"I suspect they added a few loopholes," Jiraiya agreed. "And seeing how it seemed to be a sacred place to the Uzumaki, I highly doubt they would create such a powerful seal without including some kind of safety measures to keep the inner temple accessible to their own kin."

"Jiisan said something about my chakra."

"Could be an option, because for all I know, you are the last surviving Uzumaki. I suppose that would make you the unofficial head of your clan, just like that Uchiha brat."

Naruto smirked, "I like _that_, I would love to see the looks at people's faces if they had to call me Uzumaki-sama, or Naruto-sama".

Kiba snorted. "Right, no way I'm ever doing that," he said, before laughing along.

* * *

In the evening, Jiraiya took Naruto apart for a moment. "So, how did this transfer to another team thing work out for you? The old man told me a bit about it, but I had not expected you to be this happy about it."

"Hmm I wasn't happy at first," Naruto admitted. "I suppose I felt just like when I was thrown out of the orphanage back when I was a kid, thinking that it was my fault. Hell, I even considered leaving Konoha for a moment, thinking that I could find a better life somewhere else," a statement which earned him a sharp look from Jiraiya, "But I was stopped before I could do so. Well, it would've been pointless anyway. As long as I am this weak there is no way for me to escape.."

"You planned to leave Konoha? And you were stopped!? Sarutobi-sensei didn't tell me anything about this, he-"

"He doesn't know. Hinata followed me, and more or less ordered me to stay," Naruto said a little embarrassed, scratching the back of his head.

"Aaaaah-ha, so _that_ was the source of your girl problems earlier?" Jiraiya asked, almost – but obviously not – innocently. "And the Hyuga heir, of all people," he added, not managing to contain his chuckling any longer. "Not bad, not bad at all.. I am so proud," he faked crying from happiness.

"I told you already, it is not like that," Naruto grumbled. "And I guess you shouldn't tease her either, unless you want to carry her. She usually faints when embarrassed," he added upon seeing Jiraiya's questioning look.

"Hmm.. That makes things quite difficult to.. So I take it that you two did not yet.. Oww!" he started lecherously, before getting hit by Naruto.

"It doesn't matter," Naruto smiled faintly at the man's antics. "Besides, someone like me has enough trouble as it is."

"She doesn't need to know that, right?"

"She already knows who I am, and my most likely fate.."

Jiraiya paled a little, and then grimaced angrily. "How did she learn of this? Did Hiashi tell her? Because if he did-"

"Nobody betrayed the Hokage's law," Naruto interrupted him. "I was the one who told her."

* * *

Jiraiya was still stunned when they walked back to the others. He knew full well how serious Naruto was about the fact that he carried the Kyuubi within him. In fact, to his knowledge, Naruto had never told anyone about his burden, unless the other started talking about it first. And even then, he remained extremely reluctant to speak about it.

'_Sarutobi-sensei said something about how Naruto thought she had saved him from the orphanages… it might be that he truly trusts her more than any other. Though, I wonder if she realizes the significance of his confession. Dammit, I got to figure out a way to talk to that girl about this, if she had turned him down. The signs of his struggle are becoming more and more obvious, so how would he have responded to a possible rejection?'_ Jiraiya felt a chill at the thought he might have to face his pupil one day, if the latter would fall. '_So far, I failed all my students, Minato, as well as Yahiko and the others, they all died.. But I would rather die than fail this kid. I owe Minato that much!'_

"So, how's the balloon exercise going? I saw you play with the rubber ball back in Konoha, so I take it you figured out the first step?" he tried to hide his worry by continuing a normal conversation.

Naruto looked up. "Yeah, the water balloon is easy now, though I would not have figured it out without Hinata."

"Seriously? I guess the doujutsu is quite a tool to cheat your way through training," the old man smiled at the blushing girl.

"I only gave some tips, Jiraiya-sama," she squeaked.

"Drop the honorifics kid," Jiraiya ordered, "they only make me feel old. I am old enough as it is, compared to a bunch of brats like you."

Kiba frowned a bit. "You're certainly quite different from the stories I heard mum tell about you. Though I did hear quite a bit about your writing skills… Sis made a habit of kicking every man in our clan who has those books with him. Mum never explains why though."

"And she shouldn't," Kurenai added sharply. Looking at her eyes, Jiraiya sighed in resignation. There was no hope of defending his literary arts in this company. Not that kids of their age should read it, anyway.

* * *

"So this is it?" Naruto asked with a cynical tone. On their sixth day of traveling the group had finally arrived. Not that team 8 would have spotted it. The woods had claimed the ground which once had been a temple, with only several large rocks and one ruined part of wall left as silent witnesses of the former complex. Even the word 'ruin' was almost too much to describe this former temple.

From his previous explanation, Jiraiya had given Naruto the impression that the temple had been quite a substantial building. But seeing the real thing was, as with most things, rather disappointing. Especially to the young genin, who had dreamed to see something of his nearly extinct clan.

"Yes, if we get past those two rocks over there," Jiraiya pointed. "Then we are near the entrance to the lower levels of the temple. I suggest setting up camp and gathering supplies first, I'll take Naruto and little Miss Hyuga over there with me to check the entrance." The old man glanced at Kurenai, "If the barriers I left previously are not intact, we might have to set out watches."

They knew that if anyone was trying to get in, they would be keeping an eye on the temple, and might attempt to attack any other person who tried to get it. Well, if they were stupid enough to not recognize Jiraiya.

Kurenai nodded, and together with Kiba and a dozen of Narutos, she started setting up camp. Luckily, the seals and barriers were all intact. Apparently no one had even entered the ruin past the first barrier which warded against wild animals. Despite having set out sentry seals, the group took turns in keeping watch, as the others slept.

* * *

The group had deliberately been moving at a slow pace, while travelling towards the temple these last few days, as Jiraiya had wanted to teach Naruto a few more things on how to temporarily undo or completely remove fuinjutsu cast by others. This meant that, even though they had travelled at high speed for a few hours each day, the remainder of that day would be spent at training. And now that they had set up camp, Jiraiya and Naruto spent most of their days on fuinjutsu training.

Not that the others had gotten bored. Jiraiya had given Kurenai instructions on how to train Kiba, whose nose might have the ability to trace the lingering chakra left by the fuinjutsu, and Hinata, whose eyes had a chance to detect the seals and barriers, as well as possible weaknesses in them. Despite his goofy act on their departure, Kurenai was impressed by the level of preparation Jiraiya had made for this mission. The scrolls he gave Kiba and Hinata explained most of the key concepts of fuinjutsu in such a way that even they could understand, while they only possessed the rudimentary knowledge on fuinjutsu provided by the academy.

But Kurenai was not really sure what to think when they finally entered the ruins. Jiraiya had removed the seals he had left previously, and they walked on for some time in a dark tunnel, deeper and deeper into the earth, while he took down the barriers he knew from last time one by one.

"How old is this place?" Kiba asked in amazement.

"I'm afraid I do not know," Jiraiya admitted. "I have yet to find even a single reference to this temple, none of the scrolls or books from the Uzumaki clan mention this place, as far as I know. To the best of my knowledge, the Uzumaki only had two shrines, and this one was never documented."

"We're getting close to the next barrier, next turn left, and then my vision is blocked," Hinata reported. She walked in front of the group, her byakugan activated with regular intervals, while the other carried the torches.

Akamaru barked a few times, softly. Kiba nodded. "That's the barrier alright, though I can't smell any dangerous chakra at all."

"No, I disarmed most of the traps last time," Jiraiya mumbled. "Though, that darn barrier never budged an inch.."

Walking towards the barrier, they saw what looked like a large window made of dark-coloured glass, though there was no reflection. The walls of the tunnel had widened a bit, and instead of the past lack of decoration, the walls here were embellished with several large human figures. All of the figures on their side to of the barrier seemed to be suffering, while those they could see on the other side seemed to be viciously defending. It looked rather disturbing, even though the artwork was top notch.

"This is amazing.." Kurenai said is an astonished voice. "Such a barrier… I've never seen something like it. It's completely flawless.."

"I can't see any opening, nor anything that might be used as an anchor to keep the barrier up," Hinata agreed with a voice which reflected her sense of helplessness. "Perhaps there is something on the other side, but I can't see through the barrier.. There is just nothing.."

Again, Hinata felt disappointed. She was useless. What would her father say if he saw her now? A true heir to the Hyuga clan would have been able to achieve _something_.

"Don't worry, I did not expect you to Hinata," Jiraiya assured her, having seen her loss of confidence. "Last time I was here, I took one of the Hyuga clan with me as well, your uncle Hizashi. He saw just as much as you do now." The girl spurred her eyes wide open, knowing full well that, even compared to her father, Hizashi did not lag behind in skill.

"So how are we going to get past this thing?" Kiba asked while cautiously touching the barrier. When nothing happened, Akamaru walked towards it as well to touch and smell the barrier.

"I'll try," Naruto spoke, looking at Jiraiya. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do, but if your theory is correct, at least _something_ should happen, right?"

He walked toward the barrier.

"What the.." Kiba exclaimed. Naruto put out his arm to touch the seemingly solid glass wall, but nothing changed. Except that Naruto's arm had just passed the barrier.

"Hmmm, so the barrier does not reject you, but does not change either," Jiriaya remarked after examining the barrier. Though Naruto's right arm had moved through, the barrier remained completely solid to the others. "This barrier truly is a remarkable piece of work, showing the true skill of your clan, kiddo."

"It feels kinda strange though," Naruto frowned. "Almost as if I had to generate chakra in order to get through it."

Jiraiya sighed, and looked at Kurenai, who nodded. "Ok Naruto. It seems like you can get past this barrier, so you should be able to look at the other side and figure out a way to get the barrier down. But listen very carefully: do not take any risk. We will talk you through it, but we can't help you if you get in trouble while this barrier is still up."

"'kay," Naruto said, before walking through. He touched his stomach. "Well.. That felt weird.. Ok, can you guys hear me?"

The others confirmed, looking at the blond boy as he started to thoroughly investigate the area. "I can't see a damned thing in here.. I'll walk down the corridors a bit further. If I see anything suspicious, I'll send at it a clone first."

"Good luck," Jiraiya answered. "And be careful.."

Kurenai frowned. "When you removed the other barriers placed in the ruins, were they dangerous?"

"No, not really. Most of them were designed to prevent animals or people from entering. The last barrier which I was able to take down was a little dangerous, as it repelled any jutsu used against it. That's why I told Naruto not to use any jutsu without first testing it with a clone.."

Still, the genin and their sensei were not completely reassured, seeing the frown on the toad sage's face.

'_Please be all right Naruto-kun_,' Hinata prayed.

* * *

After he had left the room with the glass wall, Naruto had walked a few hundred meters before the corridor ended. Just before reaching that end, Naruto spotted a hole in the floor. Sending out a kage bunshin, he figured out the pitch black hole was not deep. Though, when the memories of the clone returned to him, Naruto began to wonder why there was a glow of light in the distance.

Jumping down, Naruto walked towards the light. Cautiously, he made a few clones, letting them check the area for traps.

The boy frowned. There was a bright barrier in another open room which the clones could not get near to. '_Hmm.. It drained the clone until it dissolved. Perhaps this is another one of those jutsu-wards that the super pervert talked about earlier? Darn.. I couldn't remove that previous barrier, but I could pass it without being hurt. What should I do? Return empty handed, or should I take a risk? Well, I might as well take the risk. It's my clan after all.. If anyone is allowed to pass that thing, it's me.'_

"What the.." Naruto wondered, as he could touch the barrier without any consequence. But unlike the previous barrier that gave him a slightly unpleasant sensation, this new barrier felt nice and warm, almost reassuring. And strangely familiar. Unable to find any way to bring the barrier down, Naruto decided that the barrier wasn't meant to hurt. '_The wisest thing to do would probably be get my ass back to the others..'_ he pondered. '_But there doesn't seem any risk. Perhaps it is just like that glass thing, and I can just step through it.. Perhaps the way to take the other barrier down is behind this one?_'

Naruto shrugged, and entered after his curiousity won over his caution. This was his legacy, after all.

What could go wrong?

* * *

**A/N**: "Don't do it, Narutooooooo"

-Z-

**Edited and expanded: 02/02/15**


	14. The trident

**Genin arc**

**The trident**

* * *

Naruto pushed himself through the glowing barrier, and… the dark underground corridor had vanished.

"W-Wow.." Naruto exclaimed when his eyes were finally adjusted to the bright light. He was somehow standing in a great green valley. The scenery amazed the boy, with forests covering the mountainous area as far as Naruto could see, and a mighty river at the center of the valley. Naruto had the amazing view because he was standing atop a plateau, next to a waterfall. It was so peaceful, so perfect, that Naruto almost wished he could stay there forever.

"Welcome, young one," a deep voice startled Naruto. He had never seen or felt anyone approach him, yet there he was, the man stood right behind him, almost as if he had stood there all the time. "It has been quite some time since someone entered the inner sanctum. Longer than I dare to remember, it feels like an eternity since.."

"What.. Who are you?" Naruto asked the man suspiciously. The man had long red hair, though his age could be seen by the few grey hairs Naruto could see. He wore black clothing with long sleeves under his body armour, and seemed to be as tall and muscular as Jiraiya. But the thing which drew Naruto's attention was the Uzumaki emblem on each of the man's shoulders. "You're an Uzumaki?"

"It surprises you?" The man frowned a bit. "Do you not know? Have you entered without going through the proper rites? Has no one told you what this place is?"

"Rites?" Naruto asked, completely confused. "Jii-san, I just stepped through a barrier in that ruin of a temple, and then I was here."

"Ruin?" the man asked sharply. "I see.." a weary sigh. "It would appear that more time must have passed than I had ever imagined. Tell me, young one, why did our clan send you here?"

Hesitantly, Naruto told the man what little what was known about the sad fate of the Uzumaki clan, and explained to him that he was here due to the mission he was sent on. The old man may have been strange, but there was no malice in him, as far as Naruto could notice. In fact, Naruto was rather fascinated by the chakra which the man emitted, which almost felt ethereal, despite the large amount of it. It had something unnatural. Never had Naruto seen such a chakra, but then again he never ever met someone of his own clan before..

"I see.. So you are the last child, the heir of our clan, who unknowingly entered the sanctum, ordered by Konohagakure, the city founded by our Senju-brothers," the man summarized. He seemed torn. "This overrides every protocol placed on this seal. To think such a fate had befallen our kin."

"Wait, you say we are _inside_ a seal right now?" Naruto exclaimed.

The man looked at his surroundings. "Correct. When the end of my life drew near, I sealed myself in this place in order to preserve my knowledge to the next one capable of bearing my responsibility."

"Wow, I just though it transported me. But why the hell would you imprison yourself in a seal? I mean, it looks nice and all, but.."

The older man started pacing around. "Our clan is among the eldest clans in our world, hailing from the time when the greatest of all shinobi lived: the sage of the six paths. Some records even tell us that the predecessors of our clan lived before the sage himself. But a lot about that time has been shrouded in myths and legend. Anyway, some of the stories that were handed down the generations told that our ancestors received a weapon from the sage. The sage of the six paths was the one who ordered us to hide that weapon, and foretold that there would come a day when the world would need it."

Naruto frowned, recalling a reference to this shinobi in one of the history books, or perhaps in one of the rather boring history lessons that Iruka had given him at the academy. But one thing that Naruto remembered most of all was that this man had presumably started the age of shinobi. "That's centuries ago… you mean you have protected this thing for all that time?"

The old man smiled a little seeing the exasperated boy. "No, it was not just me who carried and guarded our clan's greatest secret. In fact, many men and women of our clan tried to use it, but usually its power proved too great for us to use. Only a select few people were deemed worthy to even try, and among those there have been only a precious few who were able to survive the bonding with the weapon. And even to them, using the weapon was exceedingly difficult. It is whispered that after our clan's founder, there have only been four in our clan's entire history who were capable of properly wielding it. I was the last of them, and used much of my life force by using the weapon, causing my early death at eighty four year of age. Which was considered to be young in our clan," he added with a smile, upon Naruto's look. "Not that the weapon consumed my life, but wielding it consumed too much of my chakra, and I was brought near death by chakra exhaustion more often than not when wielding the weapon."

The man stopped pacing around and looked pensively at the last of his clan.

"No, the legendary trident Gekihoko is a weapon too powerful for most, its chakra consumption often proved to be far too high, even for most of our greatest warriors. Only the greatest in history, like that little brat who married our Mito shortly before I took my leave, would have the chakra needed to wield it without suffering a fate like my own. But.. I see that you are unlike any man I saw before. The seal on your stomach conceals a being with power that defies all reason. Perhaps you were the one who the sage mentioned, perhaps you were the one meant to receive Gekihoko.."

"Wait.. How do you know what I am? What is this Geki-something? And what did you mean with 'bonding'?" Naruto blurted out. The man's monologues had completely confused him, no matter how hard he was trying to understand his words. This was, after all, the first time he spoke to someone of his own clan.

"The weapon is name 'Gekihoko'. The Gekihoko is a weapon which takes the shape of a trident, but… it is unlike any other weapon. The Gekihoko does not really have a solid form. It takes shape using the wielder's chakra, and has the ability to disrupt any jutsu it touches. For instance, while you summon the trident, no genjutsu will affect you, and any fuinjutsu you touch with it will dissolve. For generations, our clan has used this weapon to hunt down those of our clan who went rogue, to defeat the most skilled of our brethren who lost their way."

"So because it uses your chakra, it has to bond with you first?"

"Partially. Upon touching the seal containing the Gekihoko, the weapon will see whether the potential wielder is worthy or not. If proven worthy, it will be embedded in a divine seal on the main hand of its new wielder, residing there until his or her death. You, who are the last of our clan, should inherit the weapon. You already managed to pass the barriers that would have rejected any who would be unworthy by my own standards, so I ask you to ensure that this relic will not be lost to the world. Whatever line of reasoning the sage of the six paths once followed, whatever he may have foreseen, I cannot deny the power of the Gekihoko."

"Wait.. So what is.."

"I bid you farewell, Uzumaki Naruto. I, Uzumaki Ryota, the last wielder of the Gekihoko, deem you worthy of becoming the next wielder, both because of necessity and of quality. I wish you success with the binding process. Protect the legacy of our clan. And most of all: protect the world. That has always been the purpose of our clan. Though perhaps that is why we faced destruction first.."

As Uzumaki Ryota bowed respectfully to the last of his clan, the sun which had illuminated the valley dimmed. The sounds from the forest silenced. The winds seized blowing. The water from the waterfall stopped running. All the world paused, all the attention aimed at the older man who touched the palm of Naruto's right hand.

And then the sun exploded.

* * *

Jiraiya was anxious. '_What is keeping Naruto away for this long_?' he pondered, while pacing from left to right. '_Dammit brat, don't do anything foolish..'_

"Don't worry Hinata, I am sure Naruto will return soon," Kurenai tried to reassure the worried girl, who kept trying to look past the barrier with her byakugan. Kurenai moved closer. "Don't exhaust your chakra," she whispered, pulling the girl closer.

Kiba grimaced when he saw Jiraiya's worried look. "What is keeping him so damn long? If he faced another damned barrier, he would not have-"

A large explosion sounded, cutting of whatever Kiba wanted to say. The stone trembled, and a huge dustcloud blew through the tunnel. The dark-coloured barrier flickered once, then twice, and then it suddenly disappeared completely.

Now with her vision unobstructed, Hinata's byakugan pierced the darkness. "Naruto!" Hinata cried out, her face torn by a horrified expression as she pulled herself from Kurenai's grap and jumped off into the dark, with the others following her as fast as they could.

* * *

The moment the fake sun had exploded Naruto's body felt like it burned away for real. Excruciating pain blinded him, and all he could do was scream. Scream until his lungs started to hurt. Until his throat tore.

In a faraway corner of his mind, Naruto registered that the Kyuubi's chakra started erupting from his skin, tearing apart his skin. From the torn skin, the blood started to flow into the chakra, mixing into some kind of flesh-like cloak which now surrounded him. As if he grew a new body of flesh, surrounding his own.

So this was his end.

This was his fate. And he could finally rest. The Kyuubi had won. No more pain. No more sorrow. Peace. Finally peace..

Though he could barely pay attention, fighting to stay conscious, Naruto noticed how his cries had changed into a howling. Like his body had changed into the demon, so had his voice changed into the animalist growls and howl of a demonic fox.

Naruto noticed how all senses, his eyes, ears, and nose suddenly improved. Though it only made him feel more pain, and his improved sense of smell only resulted in him getting nauseous because his own flesh was burning.

Vaguely, he noticed the cries of Hinata echoing through the corridors, the sound of Jiraiya's wooden geta's on the stone, and the panicked barks from Akamaru followed by Kiba's curses.

He noticed how his balance changed, as he felt tails behind him. Vaguely wondering when those had grown out of him.

But more than anything, he felt his right hand burn.

* * *

"No.." Jiraiya gasped. "No… this cannot be! Get back, NOW!" he shouted as the other came close. Kurenai stepped up, and halted Kiba and Hinata before they could enter the last room.

Jiraiya cursed as he saw the solid red chakra of the demonic fox amidst the inferno that had erupted in the chamber. Jiraiya was filled a panic which had not felt for decades. This is what the scrolls had described as the second form of release, implying that Naruto was only moments away from losing control.

But before Jiraiya could think of anything to save his godson, the red chakra exploded.

* * *

Standing amidst the flames and destruction, Naruto noticed Jiraiya shouting at him. '_Why is he here__?_' Naruto started to think, too dazed and exhausted to think properly about what was going on. '_Where am I?'_

Naruto felt his numb body and his right hand, which still felt as if the flesh had molten from his bones. But the hand was intact, and was holding _something_.

A large, three headed spear was in his right hand. As long as Naruto himself, the weapon was remarkably light. And rather beautiful, despite its dull steel colour. The middle spearhead was a little longer than the two beside it. '_It's not a spear, but a trident_,' Naruto slowly realized. '_So this is that Gekihoko that Ryota told me about..'_

"Drop it, now," he heard a voice growl inside him. "Unless you want us both to die," the voice urged.

"What do you want now, you stupid fox?" Naruto replied on a weary tone.

"Silence!" the fox growled back, with a hint of worry that scared Naruto. "I remember seeing this weapon… drop it now, before it consumes all of our chakra. I cannot sustain you much longer from this place."

"But why-"

"Shut up," the fox urged. "Do it NOW!"

Naruto let go of the trident, but noticed that it dissolved before it could reach the ground. He felt the Kyuubi withdraw along with the fire that filled the room. The enormous amount of chakra that had enveloped him destabilized and exploded, as the world started spinning.

And everything went dark.

* * *

Hinata was sitting on the ground, the tears still running down her face, but she was too exhausted to continue crying. Only a sob escaped her every now and then. She knew her father would disapprove of such obvious weakness, but she could not care. What did the reputation of the clan matter when Naruto was wounded like this? Kiba was as exhausted as Hinata was, and worried himself sick, which was made obvious by the fact that he was unable to stop pacing around. Of the three of them, Akamaru had the most composure. The puppy held watch in front of the tent where Jiraiya and Kurenai had spent the last two hours, trying to heal Naruto.

With the risk of have the ruins collapse due to the previous explosion, Jiraiya and Kurenai had decided to drag the wounded Naruto out of the ruins. It worsened his condition, but the risk of collapse was too great to treat him there. The genin and the ninken did not know what had happened to Naruto, but Kiba had seen that his teammate had lost nearly all of his skin. As if someone had flayed him. Most clothes had been disintegrated, even the so called fireproof pants the Uzumaki had worn was burned.

While the wounds and the resulting loss of blood were dangerous enough by themselves, Naruto's condition was worsened by something else. According to the few things Hinata had managed to say, Kiba understood that Naruto's chakra had been nearly depleted, while his chakra network had been severely damaged by the massive overload of chakra it had to endure. If Kiba hadn't seen the deep red, three-tailed creature, he would not have believed it. "What the hell was that," Kiba muttered, not for the first time. "What the hell was that thing?"

As such, the three waited, until Akamaru suddenly jumped up. Hinata's head jerked up as the opening of the tent suddenly moved. Kurenai stepped out, with a pale and completely drained look. "He is stable for now," she spoke, sounding completely exhausted. "He survived, but he needs rest now. Jiraiya-sama will stay with him first. We will continue healing him tomorrow. One of you, please take the first watch," she added before she stepped in her tent, dropping onto her blanket, instantly asleep.

"I'll take watch," Hinata said, her byakugan aimed at the old man's tent. "I would not be able to sleep anyway," she explained before Kiba could protest.

Kiba shrugged. At least his teammate had survived. "Wake me in an hour. You look like hell so I don't think you would stay awake for much longer."

* * *

It took Jiraiya and Kurenai another two strenuous days to heal Naruto, despite the fact that the latter possessed an incredible healing ability. It was a testament of how close the boy had been to his grave, as he usually recovered within a day, even from the worst injuries. Though, in this case it had also been a matter of the Kyuubi having exhausted too much of its chakra before, so the creature could not speed up Naruto's recovery as much as usual.

"I'm sorry I screwed up like this," Naruto said, after he heard what had happened. His face was still hollow, showing he had yet to fully recover. His skin had returned, and remarkably enough: there was not a single scar to be found. He did lose a lot of weight, and looked as if he not eaten a proper meal in weeks. Naruto had woken up an hour ago, and after having had something to eat and drink, he now started talking.

"You should be," Jiraiya grumbled. "You're lucky that your sensei is a better healer than I am. Dammit kid, what the hell did you do down there? I told you not to take any risks!"

Kurenai frowned, and gestured Jiraiya to calm down, before she would have to heal another set of injuries. "Take your time Naruto, but I would like to hear about it too." Kiba's unintelligible grumbling seemed to be an agreement.

Stroking Akamaru, who had crouched down next to him, Naruto started to explain. How he could not find anything to remove the barrier, how he had walked on until he had finally found the luminescent barrier.

"When I entered that barrier… well, I entered the seal itself. I don't know how it happened, but somehow I got in a strange, bright, valley. I was told it was the interior of the seal, but I can't understand how anyone could create such a thing.."

"That must've been a combination of space-time and sealing jutsu.. But that should be impossible.." Jiraiya said, his anger reducing a little as he was deeply impressed. "Damn shame that seal was burned away afterwards, the things we could've learned.."

Naruto frowned and looked away.

"What happened in there, Naruto?" Kurenai asked gently.

Naruto sighed. "It contained a secret of my clan, which was passed down to me." He held up his hand. Kurenai frowned, neither she nor Jiraiya understood that seal. "He called it a divine seal."

Jiraiya looked perplexed. "Divine seal?" he exclaimed. "That's impossible! That technique was lost even before the Uzumaki fell!"

"I guess that was not the issue in this case," Naruto said, with a weak grin. "I.. I met someone in there. He resided in that seal, and gave me a secret which my clan had kept for centuries." He looked at them, noticing that they were a little offended by his refusal to tell, but he had no other option that to keep it a secret. "I am sorry, but I cannot tell. Not yet at least."

Too tired to properly think, he continued talking. "But that secret was burned into my flesh, and took quite a toll on me. Hell, I would have died, if the fox had decided not to help me… heh, how ironic, that the bastard saved me even when he never did anything by ruining my accursed life. Well, most likely to save its own furry ass.. Perhaps I.. Should.. Thank…"

Jiraiya saw that Naruto had fallen asleep. "Let him rest for now," he sighed. "I'll stay close, in case anything changes, so you guys take some rest."

* * *

"What fox?" Kiba said when they were outside the tent.

Hinata looked away, something which Kiba noticed. "You know, don't you, Hinata? What was that thing we saw in the ruins? That chakra wasn't human. What was that monster, it wasn't Naruto, right?"

"Kiba!" Kurenai barked, still too tired to start this discussion. "This is not the time..."

Hinata cut her off. "No, sensei. I think Kiba-kun should know, now that he has seen it. It could be worse if he drew wrong conclusions, or told other people about what he has seen."

"You know? How.."

"Naruto-kun told me, sensei," Hinata nearly whispered. She did not like to do this, knowing that Naruto preferred to keep this a secret, but with what had happened.. "I will not say that I completely understand what was done to Naruto-kun, but this is too important. And if it is about the law: Naruto revealed it himself, so technically we wouldn't break any law."

"Maybe you are right.." Kurenai sighed. She was still exhausted. But Hinata was right, Kiba's nescience could form a danger at this point. She shuddered at the thought at what might happen if Naruto's outburst became public knowledge.. The council would definitely try to seal his chakra, or something as foolish as that.

Kurenai knew all too well how Konoha treated those who were burdened with these kinds of seals, her friend Anko had been isolated and shunned for a long time before she finally managed to gain some of the credit she deserved. And the seal she got from Orochimaru paled in comparison to Naruto's burden..

* * *

"Tsk," the Kyuubi said. "Have you still not recovered? Puny weak human."

Naruto looked up. The last thing he could remember was talking to his team about what had happened.

"You are asleep at the moment," the monstrous fox growled, seeing the kid's confusion. "I only drew you here to make something clear."

"Thank you," Naruto said, before the fox could continue.

"What?" the fox's eyes narrowed, before the creature snapped. "I don't need your damned thanks! If you want to thank me: get me out of this forsaken prison!" it shouted, lashing out with one of its massive claws again the enormous bars that held him away.

"You know very well that I do not know how to do that. But I do know you saved my live. And for that I thank you, it is the least I can do.."

The fox grumbled darkly, seemingly unsure whether Naruto was mocking him or not.

"Whatever, it's not like I care. Right now, you need to know about that weapon. I agree with your decision to keep it a secret, it is probably the wisest thing to do for now, though I would suggest that you tell that Hokage of yours, and perhaps that frog summoning fool as well. They might know something to help you prepare to use it. But do not try to summon that weapon again. Not before you get a lot stronger. I have no intention to die, and I tell you that you will get us both killed if you summon the old man's trident now. You are too damn weak."

The monster looked a bit conflicted. "Perhaps.. Perhaps you should try it again when you're not so pathetic anymore," The fox chuckled. "But that will take a few years.."

'_And in those few years I have all the time I need to break free.. And getting a hold of the old man's trident would be a useful bonus.. Let's see those accursed human try to imprison me again_,' the Kyuubi smirked.

* * *

"Jiraiya-sama," Kurenai called.

"Yeah, what's wrong," the toad sage reacted, irritated by the disturbance. The exhaustion weighed down the old man as well. In his worry about Naruto the man had hardly been able to sleep.

"Kiba has seen and heard too much to keep things a secret. Especially after what Naruto just said."

Jiraiya sighed. "I guess so. Just tell him if you think it is right."

"You are the leader of our mission, and if am I not mistaken you are also in charge of looking after Naruto.."

"Annoyingly sharp witted woman," Jiraiya muttered to himself. "Fine, fine, I'll tell the Inuzuka mutt as well," he grumbled, and then came out of the tent and turned to the boy. "And you better keep this a secret, brat, and don't you dare to cause Naruto any more trouble than he already has, or I'll gut you myself," Jiraiya added darkly. Kiba paled a bit at the sage's theat.

"Naruto carries the Kyuubi within him," Jiraiya continued with a grim voice. "Or better, he carries the seal in which the monster was locked away by my former pupil, the Yondaime Hokage. From what Naruto just told, I think the Kyuubi saved Naruto's life when that divine seal was created. Naruto's own chakra supply could not sustain the burden, so the creature jumped in and save him. Probably just to save its own life, because it would've died along with Naruto if it had not interfered. The thing you saw a couple of days ago, was the partial transformation of Naruto into the Kyuubi."

Jiraiya returned to the tent before Kiba had managed to close his mouth, which had fallen open in shock. Or even consider asking any question.

"This is Naruto's burden," Hinata said softly. "This is why people fear him, why people hate him, even though he cannot help any of it," she managed to startle Kiba with an unusual fierce look in her pale eyes. "And I hope you will not hate him now you know, Kiba-kun."

"I should also add that this is an S-class secret," Kurenai added. "Though many people know, it is forbidden to talk about it. And those who break the Hokage's law will face a death penalty. Though I do not think Jiraiya-sama would wait that long, in this case.. In fact, if you do intend to mess things up, you could better kill yourself than wait for him."

Having lost his voice, Kiba just nodded dumbly. Finally he knew Naruto's secret, yet knowing did not make him any happier. In the contrary. Though Kiba was impulsive and short-tempered, and not the most observant genin in existence, Kiba had seen that Naruto was burdened by _something_. But this… this was just too huge. Too unreal. Like many other clans, the Inuzuka also lost members of their clan the day the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. But from what Kiba now heard, nothing of this was Naruto's fault. Yet everyone seemed to blame him.

"Why," he finally managed to say. "Why should he suffer for things he did not do himself? Why would anyone blame Naruto?"

"Because a lot of people fail to see the difference between the jailor and the prisoner, and many of those who don't, simply fear Naruto because he might one day lose control of the Kyuubi," Kurenai replied with a sad voice.

* * *

After another six days had passed, Naruto was finally good to go. Though he was still tired, he was anxious to leave the place where he had nearly died. Having destroyed his own clothes, Naruto now wore spare clothes from Jiraiya. Well, a shrunk version of them. Though he regretted not having his own mesh armour underneath, Naruto liked the green kimono and pants better than his own black and white set of clothes. The red haori on top of it was just awesome. And the spare hand guards Jiraiya gave him also hid his divine seal from unwanted eyes. But Naruto refused to wear the wooden creations that Jiraiya wore. Thankfully, Kiba had a spare set of sandals (very old ones) so Naruto did not have to walk on his bare feet.

The only thing he missed was his own belt and scrolls, but he could buy new ones when he got back in Konoha.

"Thanks," he smiled at the two, after showing his new style.

"It actually looks better than I had anticipated," Kurenai complimented him. "The green is quite stealthy, though the red haori is far too noticeable during missions." Hinata agreed, but was just happy Naruto didn't see her blush.

"Too noticeable?" Jiraiya frowned, looking at his own. "What do you mean? Shinobi should be stylish as well."

"The red might be useful for giving the enemy a fair chance," Kiba smirked, "So that they can run away first, before Naruto can attack and gobble them all up.."

"Perhaps I should draw a fox on it as well?," Naruto joked. He was a bit startled when he had found out Kiba was informed about his burden by the others, though when he heard from Jiraiya and Kurenai what they had seen, he understood their decision. After all he had been stupid enough to blurt it out himself. And in the end, he was relieved.

Though Kiba did not lie about his fear for the Kyuubi itself, the young Inuzuka understood Naruto was not at fault at all. He actually made fun of the ignorance of the other people, much to Naruto's amusement.

The relaxed atmosphere made the way back more enjoyable, despite their slow pace. Kurenai still insisted that Naruto should use minimal amounts of chakra, as little as possible, and Jiraiya agreed with her. Hinata even insisted on taking more breaks, as she didn't trust the damage done to Naruto's chakra network.

All in all, Naruto was a little embarrassed by all the attention, but he eventually settled that it nice that they cared about him. '_I still have a lot of training to do till I'm truly strong, and not need to depend on anyone else anymore,'_ were his concluding thoughts.

* * *

Kurenai had finished her report of the mission. Jiraiya thought she was the best person to tell all of it to the Hokage, partially to avoid a scolding from his former sensei.

Hiruzen frowned, not liking the secrecy from Naruto's side. "All right, I thank you all for your efforts. I suggest team 8 spends the rest of the time on training. There are less than two weeks left until the Chunin Exams will start."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Kurenai bowed, followed by her genin.

"Naruto, I would like to speak with you and Jiraiya first," Hiruzen said, stopping Naruto from leaving the office along with his team members. "Also, I would like all of you to keep all information regarding this mission a secret for now," he added. "Though I'll make sure you each get a payment for an A-ranked mission."

As the others left, Jiraiya closed the door. Hiruzen activated a seal preventing anyone else from 'accidentally' overhearing anything said in his office. "No one else will hear us now. Might I ask what truly happened?"

Naruto sighed.

"When I entered the final seal, I met someone from my own clan. Uzumaki Ryota, I though he said his name was.. Anyway, he told me he sealed himself before he would die, along with a powerful relic which the Uzumaki clan had kept secret for centuries." Naruto frowned a bit. "I guess I should tell you, in case something happens to me."

"That relic was the strange looking spear you were holding before you broke out of the Kyuubi's cloak, right?" Jiraiya asked.

"It is a trident," Naruto corrected him. "Ryota told me it was something created by the sage of the six paths, and handed by him to the Uzumaki clan. The trident is named the Gekihoko, and according to Ryota it can disrupt any jutsu, though it consumes a lot of chakra to summon and use the weapon." Naruto sighed and looked at his right hand. "Too much for me right now, at least."

"Ryota said he had to transfer the weapon to me, after I told him that I was the last of our clan," Naruto continued. "That strange valley stopped, the sun within the illusionary valley exploded, and my hand started burning like hell." Naruto removed his hand guard, showing the divine seal on his hand. "I was told that the Gekihoko would be embedded in a divine seal, and that this seal would be placed on my main hand. However, the transfer itself consumed a high amount of chakra. The Kyuubi actually chose to help me, if only to avoid dying himself as well. I do not really know what happened afterwards, other than the endless waves of pain I felt."

"He reached the second stage of transforming into the Kyuubi, three tails, and more chakra than I had ever expected to see from him at this point," Jiraiya said grimly. "It was as if I was looking at a miniature Kyuubi. The insane amount of chakra that had flown through Naruto almost destroyed his chakra network." Jiraiya sighed. "You really were on a hair's breadth from death, brat."

"Thanks for saving me," Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"These are truly serious matters," Hiruzen said. "To think you retrieved one of Rikudo's relics." Hiruzen frowned, and continue smoking for a few minutes. Then he decided. "This entire mission as well as the Gekihoko will be classified as an S-class secret, none of it will ever be recorded, and this information will be restricted to the three of us. And to those who will succeed us, as either Hokage or leader of the Uzumaki clan, or the next owner of this weapon."

Jiraiya and Naruto agreed. "I will make sure Kurenai, Kiba, and Hinata won't share any information regarding this mission," Jiraiya added. "If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have waited another couple of years.. Dammit, I just expected to find some secret scrolls and books in that ruin. Why did they put such an item at that place?"

* * *

Informing the rest of team 8 turned out to be easy, as they were waiting outside the building. Kurenai said that they had to report in at training ground three at ten, tomorrow. She, Kiba and Jiraiya then each went their own ways, while Hinata and Naruto returned to the Hyuga manor. "Do you think you are already strong enough to train tomorrow, Naruto-kun?" she asked nervously.

"Probably? Though I admit this is a bit news for me, I never had this much trouble with healing before. It was supposed to be one of the few advantages that the stupid fox gave," he smiled, tapping on his own stomach. "Guess it really was a close call… I'd better not tell Ako or Haruki.. They'll kill me for being reckless. Well, Ako will.. Haruki would give me a giant lecture, which could be worse, depending on your point of view," he said thoughtfully, scratching his chin.

She smiled, and remained silent for a little while. "Does it bother you Kiba-kun knows the truth about you now?"

Naruto frowned. "It was quite a surprise when I woke up. I suppose I wouldn't have told him myself normally, but under those conditions it was unavoidable. In the end, I cannot really say if it bothered me that much, I'm just glad Kiba didn't take it out on me. I somewhat expected him to become scared or something, but he took it pretty well."

"Jiraiya-sama promised to gut him if he did," Hinata said on a serious tone. She wouldn't add that Jiraiya would likely wait for her to be finished if Kiba had crossed _that_ line.

Naruto shook his head in denial. "No, that wasn't it. If Kiba hated me, I would have noticed the difference. I would feel it. Besides, I think Kiba is either too honest or too stupid to lie," Naruto laughed.

The two teens were still smiling when they entered the Hyuga manor. "Meet here at nine thirty?" Naruto asked.

* * *

**A/N:** And that concludes the "genin arc". I will now move on to the "Chunin Exam arc". That will be spanning approx. 15 chapters according to my current planning, but I have yet to finish the arc. So for now, I will be a bit slower on the updates. I plan to finish wrapping up the storylines of the conclusion of the exams in the upcoming few days, and after that I will post the next new chapter!

-Z-

* * *

**_About the gekihoko_**

I got the idea from this place, while I was searching for a weapon for Naruto: www dot onmarkproductions dot com slash html slash objects-symbols-weapons-senju dot html

Later on, I also found several theories going around about the weapons the Sage of the Six Paths was using. I used those theories and made a little guess: the Tetsuko was used by Hamura, while Hagoromo used the Shakujo. (Note: both weapons which can also be found on that site). Obviously, these weapons are borrowed from the same Buddhist traditions, so I thought the Gekihoko would fit in perfectly. I quote: "_The trident also represents triumph over ignorance. In some traditions, the three-pronged trident also symbolizes the destruction of the three poisons (greed, anger, and ignorance.)_" Also, from other sources: the gekihoko is associated with thunder and with rivers. It represents power over creation, preservation, and destruction, also the power of will, knowledge, and action.  
Note: the weapon has various names, it could also be called the 'Trishula,' but I liked 'Gekihoko' better.

Of course, this weapon is not something which is easy to use, with only the strongest among the Uzumaki being able to properly use it, so we will not see much of it any time soon. Right now, Naruto is still too weak to use it. Let's just say it is one of the two things I add to improve Naruto, so I do not have to resort to the illogical powerups that we see in the manga. Though, I will add that the gekihoko will get a crucial role later on..

**Edited and expanded: 03/02/15**


	15. Training

**Chunin Exams arc**

**Training**

* * *

"Good morning Hinata-sama," Naruto said teasingly, knowing how much she disliked it when he used the honorific.

She looked at him and sighed. "You'll never stop doing that, will you?", already seeing the answer in the little twinkle in his eyes.

"Probably," he smirked.

"So you really changed to green," another voice behind them spoke up.

"Hitomi-sama," Naruto bowed. "Yes, I started to like it. I guess I needed a change."

She looked at him. The boy wore a green short kimono, with long sleeves which almost covered his hand guards. He wore pants of the same colour, and black sandals. Several scrolls were attached to his black belt. Though he had dropped the red haori, much too her agreement. On the other hand, she saw Haruki had given him a couple of his old shoulder guards.

"You look like a real shinobi now," she complimented him.

"Ahhh thanks, I guess?" he said, confused how to answer politely.

She chuckled. "Now, go you two, and train hard."

They bowed and left.

As she saw them leaving, Hitomi smiled. They grew up much faster than she had realized. The boy's burden forced him to, while her shy daughter followed in his footsteps, constantly looking at the boy she admired and taking him as her shining example. And Hitomi believed her daughter was right about him, a child of his age facing such hardships and still be sane, was nothing short of a miracle.

'_No, not merely a miracle, it is his strength. Below his anger... something about his personality just glows with a gentle power I never expected to see from him. And Hinata saw it. Perhaps her eyes truly have the potential to surpass to my own_,' Hitomi thought. '_If only I could find a way to make Hiashi see that. His focus on strength makes him blind to the truth.'_

But there were more urgent matters. Several things within her clan did not add up. The branch's hatred toward the main family had been increasing, despite her efforts. Hiashi noticed, and his response only fuelled the fires of hatred. But Hiashi was not the original source of all this hatred, someone else was manipulating them from the shadows. But who? And what was there to gain from such a dispute?

* * *

"Good morning Naruto!" Ayame greeted the boy cheerfully, before widening his eyes. "Oh my, on a date? This early in the morning?" she teased, seeing the blond being unusually cheerful.

"Ayame do not bother our best customer," Teuchi scolded her with a smile on his lips. "The usual?"

"Errr.. Yeah," Naruto frowned. "And you, Hinata?"

"I-I just had breakfast, N-Naruto-kun," the girl hesitated.

"Eh? What would that have to do with ramen?" Naruto blinked, not understanding why someone could not have an appetite for his favourite dish.

"Well… If it had been cinnamon rolls," Hinata blushed. "But.."

"Ok," Naruto shrugged. Hinata saw him create a clone, one which took some of his money with him.

"Naruto-kun?"

"He'll fetch some rolls for for you," Naruto smiled.

"You're treating a girl?" Teuchi remarked when he put down Naruto's bowl of miso ramen with roasted pork fillet. "I'd almost think Ayame's instincts are right. This looks serious indeed."

"She my teammate," Naruto retorted, seconds before he dove into his food.

"Hyuga Hinata," Hinata bowed her head to the chef of Ichiraku and his daughter. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," Ayame smiled. "My name is Ayame, and this is my father Teuchi."

"So you're one of Naruto's new teammates?" she asked curiously. "Or are you really-"

"I am Naruto-kun's teammate," she said quickly. "Naruto-kun was transferred into my team a while ago."

"Good thing he did," Teuchi frowned. "Naruto actually smiles now. Even when he isn't looking at my ramen. But it is sad he doesn't eat as often here now."

"I always came here after my training with Gai-sensei," Naruto explained, before he continued eating.

"Have you been ill, Naruto?" Ayame noticing that the boy's weight had diminished quite a lot.

"Still recovering," Naruto replied with his mouth full.

"Then I'd better prepare another bowl," Teuchi said generously. "Can't have my best customer being weakened, right?"

* * *

"She looked rather friendly," Ayame remarked when the two genin left.

"Indeed," Teuchi nodded. "And a Hyuga of the main family.. Not a bad catch. And she seems good for him as well."

Ayame chuckled. "Not that he realizes it himself. Hell, I doubt she would even dare to admit it to herself.. You don't often see such a shy and gentle girl. Especially not from such a high and noble clan."

"Well, I doubt anyone who wasn't that kind would have gotten through to him…"

"Maybe," Ayame agreed. "But have you ever seen Naruto treat someone else? Well, aside from that handsome sensei of his," she added with a faint smile.

Teuchi coughed, pretending not to have heard that last remark.

* * *

"Good morning team," Kurenai started with a rather joyful mood. "For the upcoming few days, I would like to make your first steps with your elemental training. As I am aware that Naruto has already started this, I have arranged someone else to help him with some new fuiton and katon jutsus. In return for his help, you will be facing his team in a couple of days."

She informed Naruto of the location where he would be expected, and started to educate Hinata and Kiba after he jumped off.

"First thing we will need to know is the type of chakra you have an affinity towards. We test this by putting some chakra in a piece of this special paper," she handed the two each a paper. "If it ignites, you have an affinity towards fire, if it splits, wind, if it wrinkles, lighting, if it turns to dirt and crumbles, earth, and lastly, if it becomes wet or damp, you have an affinity towards water. No single type is best, though each have their own advantages and disadvantages. In addition, having an affinity towards one type does not mean you cannot master another, is simply means that you will have to work harder to master those other types."

"So an affinity is restricted to one type?" Kiba asked. "How come Naruto has two?"

"Normally, yes. But there are people who possess a kekkei genkai and thereby get twho natural affinities. But for Naruto it is different, because he has a katon affinity due to the Kyuubi's influence. Its chakra affects Naruto somehow, and enables him to use katon as easily as futon. In addition, he says that he is virtually immune to fire-based attacks." Kurenai added, now in full lecture mode. "Which is a good thing, his burden does not only have disadvantages, but also brings in a few advantages for him. Here Akamaru, you should try it as well."

Hinata smiled a little, before focussing on her piece of paper.

It turned out that both Kiba and Akamaru had an affinity towards earth, while Hinata had an affinity towards water. "Good," Kurenai concluded. "That means that Hinata should work on mastering suiton jutsus, while Kiba and Akamaru should focus on doton. The will be easier for you to learn, and the resulting jutsu will be more powerful. Though I don't know if Akamaru can perform any jutsu which normally requires hand seals, you should probably ask your family about that."

Kurenai paused a moment before continuing.

"Let's see.. I said that each type of chakra has their advantages and disadvantages. In general, it can be said that each type has one type it is strong against, and one at which it is weak against. In your case, Hinata, it can be said that water is weak against earth, while strong against fire based attacks. Kiba and Akamaru will be strong against water-types, while weak against lightning." Both teens and the dog nodded at hearing Kurenai explanation.

"And-," Hinata started.

"And for Naruto," Kurenai guessed what the girl wanted to ask. "His fire is weak against water, but strong against wind, but he also has an affinity towards wind, which is strong against lightning. In essence, Naruto could improve his own fire-based jutsu by using the wind element, however this is something extremely difficult."

"So I can beat Hinata, and she can beat Naruto?" Kiba asked.

"It is not that simple, Kiba," Kurenai frowned. "Though it is true you all have advantages towards each other, there are other factors that are important. For instance how strong the techniques are: an A-rank suiton will beat a D-rank doton, even though the doton has a relative advantage. Similarly, if one puts a great deal of chakra in a lower ranked technique, he or she could defeat a much higher ranked technique if that one is powered by a lower amount of chakra."

"So we still have nothing?" Kiba frowned.

"No, not yet," Kurenai smiled, "But you do know where to start training now. Your affinity does not say you can't use other elements, but simply that you have one particular element in which you excel. You could both use doton, but Kiba would have to spend far less chakra to get the same effect, while Kiba would also learn new doton jutsus faster. But before all that, there is one more exercise I need you to do…"

* * *

Kurenai had sent Naruto to Sarutobi Asuma, the jonin-sensei of team 10. Something which didn't surprise Naruto much, considering how close the two jonin were. "Good morning," the older man greeted. "Kurenai asked me to teach you a few basics regarding futon and katon."

Naruto nodded. "You possess an affinity to both types as well?"

"No, no," Asuma laughed. "But as someone from the Sarutobi clan, katon was a given. I had to work hard to master futon as well." And so began the lecture, in which the usually easy going man was surprisingly serious.

At the end of the day, Naruto's head was spinning from all the information he had yet to process. At least he now knew the basics of jutsus called the 'renkudan,' or air bullet, as well as the longer ranged 'wind cutter' which Asuma had picked up from someone from Suna. Asuma had paid less attention to the katon jutsu's, as Naruto already knew a little more about those. Besides, there were more than enough katon users in Konoha, while there were only a precious few who mastered the wind element. Still, Asuma did teach Naruto a basic fireball jutsu.

Still, this was mostly explained to Naruto in theory, along with the required hand seals, as Asuma had been wary not to overburden the still weakened Naruto.

With less than two weeks to go before the exams would commence, Naruto knew he had his work cut out for him. Mastering these thee new skills would be a challenge, though equally rewarding. Naruto was well aware that beyond his fuinjutsu, his skillset was rather a mess. Beyond that, he could still feel that he had yet to completely recover from all the damage he had sustained during the last mission. When he finally reached his cottage, he dropped into his bed without bothering to change.

'_Damn.. I never had to spend so much time on recovering. That trident-business really could have gotten me killed,'_ he realized. But from what the Kyuubi had told him, Naruto knew that this weapon was far stronger than he had initially expected. Especially if it could scare a demon as proud as the Kyuubi.. '_Now I only need to get either the old man or the pervert willing to tell me about that six paths guy.. He was supposed to be a darned myth, according to all the books that mention him. And that damned fox doesn't want to tell either..'_

Normally, Naruto had little trouble with figuring out secrets. His stealth seal took care of that, even when he lived amidst the Hyuga. But how could he find something that was apparently not even documented?

And precisely because he knew that he could not figure out this secret himself, just like with the mysterious scroll from Gato's office that Konoha's cryptology department was now researching, Naruto knew well enough that keeping secrets only to himself would be pointless. With no other Uzumaki around he would have to find _some_ way to master using the Gekihoko. Even if it required him to ask help from others, no matter how much he disliked doing that.

'_Learning some new jutsus is easy, but figuring out stuff that is as secret as this.. Like Shikamaru always says: troublesome_,' Naruto yawned, before falling asleep.

* * *

"Hey Naruto!" Kiba shouted, when the blond showed up at their training ground next morning. "Tell me how you did _this_."

Kiba held up a single leave, and frowned at Naruto's response. "What?" he said, upon seeing the horrified look.

"Hizashi-sama and Haruki… my instructors at the Hyuga clan, they made me do that one when they figured I had to refine my chakra control even more," he shuddered for a moment. "Even with my kage bunshin that was one hell of a shitty exercise. It bordered outright torture.."

"Your conditions were completely different," Kurenai interfered, seeing Kiba's shock and Hinata's incoming depressions. "Why don't you tell us what happened, Naruto."

"Hmm. Well first thing that was hard was to make the leaf either cut or burn. Often is just did both.. Especially because I had to control the amount of chakra I used. If I did not pay enough attention, or just tried too hard, the leaf would explode," Naruto chuckled a bit sheepishly. "Wasted dozens of good shirts on that."

Kiba chuckled and Hinata blushed, as she was imagining how it would have looked like. "S-so it was more difficult because you used two different types of chakra?" Hinata managed to ask.

"I guess that would be the point, yes. Burning the leaf was pretty easy. But cutting it was harder." Naruto scratched the back of his head, but with a serious face for once. "Now I think about it, I learned to distinguish my own chakra and the fox's chakra because of that. I guess they saw with their byakugan why I messed that up, because afterwards the other chakra control exercises became pretty doable as well.. Easy even, by comparison, as long as I made sure not to use too much chakra. Most things just require such minimal amounts of chakra that it just becomes impossible."

"Damn," Kiba uttered, "So that was the reason why you always messed up the basic things when you first entered the academy?"

"Yeah. Jiraiya once told me that I had trouble doing the things that required the least amounts of chakra, because I had far too much of it. Still can't do the regular bunshin no jutsu, for example. I keep overloading them, and the result.. Well, not that I bothered learning it once I could do the kage bunshin no jutsu."

"Regular shinobi start out with small chakra reserves for which they have to train hard to increase them," Kurenai explained. "Your 'guest' created the seemingly unique problem of having enormous reserves before learning how to properly wield it."

"Could you show us, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, handing him a leaf.

Naruto focussed a bit, and the leaf was cut in two pieces. Holding on to the two pieces, Naruto frowned a bit, and the leaf burst into flames. Hinata watched it all with her byakugan, noticing that Naruto shaped his chakra. "C-could you do it again, for the futon?" she asked.

And Naruto obeyed. Though a bit uncomfortable with how she stared at him and even leaned a bit towards him.

"How.. Why did you shape you chakra before cutting the leaf?" Hinata asked in surprise.

"Well, after I figured out how to keep my chakra separated, it was relatively easy to figure out how to cut or burn leaves. Burning is simple: just imagine like the chakra you put into the leaf _consumes_ the leaf. Basically, if you put enough chakra into it, it will ignite and burn."

Naruto gave her a sheepish smile. "Unless you put too much chakra into it.." he mimicked an explosion with his hands. "Wind chakra was a bit harder though. In the end it just came down to creating two fields of chakra with collide into each other, sharpening itself in the process. I don't know how to do it for water though. Or earth," he added, looking at Kiba and Akamaru.

"Naruto is correct. The exercise will not work by only forcing your chakra into an object. The paper I gave you is made of a rare kind of tree, and serves as an easy conductor for your chakra. In essence, it does the 'trick' for you. But something which does not conduct chakra that well, such as an ordinary leaf, requires you to figure out the trick for yourself," Kurenai lectured. "If you manage to draw on and use your chakra in such a specific way, your skill will increase substantially. For learning any jutsus, however, you will also need to learn how to manipulate the shape of it, and not just the nature of chakra. So basically, this exercise does both at the most basic level."

"So we will get no help," Kiba grumbled.

"If you wanted things to be easy you should not have become a shinobi," Kurenai retorted sarcastically. "These things are difficult, and for good reason. But the rewards are equally great."

Naruto shrugged, and walked towards the riverbank. He and a dozens of clones tried to execute the futon jutsus Asuma had taught him. "Hmm let's see.. Rat, snake, horse, dog," Naruto and half of his clones said simultaneously while performing the hand seals. A few meters away, the other half of the clones incanted "Tiger, rabbit, dog, ram, dragon."

Throughout the day, the small sighs of wind grew enough in strength to make the effect of the jutsu visible on the water surface. When Kurenai decided to call it a day, she and her other genin students found Naruto, sleeping at the riverbank. "Small wonder," she smiled, watching how Akamaru crept towards the boy. "The feedback from what the clones had learned must have exhausted him in his current condition."

After the sleepy genin finished complaining how Akamaru had bitten him (startling him by barking had not worked), group 8 returned to get some rest.

* * *

"Hokage-sama," Kurenai bowed when she entered the office and closed the doors.

"Kurenai," Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned, wondering what had been so urgent that the usually calm woman had demanded to see him.

"Hokage-sama, there are a few things which I need to report."

"Is it about Naruto?"

"Yes. We… I tried to train team eight in how to use and how to dispel genjutsu. Naruto proved to be incapable of genjutsu, which wasn't too much of a surprise considering his grades on the academy, but when it was his turn to disrupt the illusion I cast on them…"

"Yes?" Hiruzen questioned, when the woman fell silent.

"Genjutsu requires someone to change the chakra flows in the victim, thus controlling them... I couldn't do that on Naruto. Hinata used her byakugan, and told me Naruto had two seals on him, one at his right hand, and one on his stomach, in which the genjutsu just would not attach. And because I did not get a complete control, the combination of Naruto's own chakra, the Kyuubi's chakra, and that other seal disrupted all but the strongest illusions I was willing to cast on him."

Hiruzen nodded. "I was aware that fully trained jinchuriki were virtually immune to genjutsu. Even when their hosts would get caught the bijuu would simply disrupt the illusion."

"Naruto has a lot of work to do before I would say he is fully controlling the Kyuubi," Kurenai frowned. "What is that second seal doing? I've read reports from the academy stating that he was not immune to genjutsu back then, so what did the new seal change?."

"I am aware about Naruto's second seal," Hiruzen admitted. "But it is not something which I can or will share. It is a secret. And for good reasons. I do not think I need to ask you to keep silent about this, as in many cases when it comes to Naruto.." He did not voice his worries about what would happen if Naruto lost control of the Kyuubi now, since genjutsu was the only known weakness of the creature. Though, it also meant that others could not easily abuse Naruto's weakness against genjutsu now.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Kurenai heard in his voice that further discussion would be pointless. She knew the seal on Naruto's hand was special, but it was virtually unheard of that a seal could do such a thing with genjutsu.

Then again, Naruto did many things that were supposed to be impossible. She started to agree with Kakashi's assessment of Naruto as him being the village's number one unpredictable ninja.

* * *

**A/N**: And thus I present to you the first chapter of the Chunin Exam arc. First some training, then some duels, and perhaps a bit of food or a present. Then we go to the three rounds of the exam, and it's sorrowful conclusion..

-Z-

**Edited; 04/02/15**

* * *

**_Bonus_**

Chie was curious. Very curious. An old teacher of Naruto had visited the manor, but of course: Naruto was not at home. Chie grew bored of it; the boy was continuously training, sneaking of early in the morning, and dragging himself home after dark. And she had no one to annoy the entire day. Ako was nice enough, but annoying the person who provides food was a no-go for the young feline.

No, what had been a nice distraction from her boredom, was the way Ako had reacted. '_Ako-sama never acts that shy.. Unless..'_ Chie chuckled and realized what she would have to do.

* * *

"Ako-san! Long-time no see!" Ayame smiled. She had known Ako for a while now, seeing how Naruto was often to be found at Ichiraku's. And because both young women were of about the same age, they had little difficulty talking with each other. Which had developed into a friendship of sorts, over the years. To the point where Naruto often got the change to binge another bowl or two while Ayama kept Ako busy, before the Hyuga would eventually drag him home.

"Ayame-san," Ako smiled back, but her worried frown did not go away.

"Looking for Naruto again?" Ayame chuckled.

"No.." Ako sighed. "Not right now, at least. No, have you seen a cat around here? She has a black and white fur, and an unusually long tail."

"Ah, you mean the cat that Naruto keeps as a pet? No, I haven't seen any cats today.. Why? Has she run off again? Do I need to warn the shopkeepers?" Ayame knew full well about the cat's raid at the butcher's shop. And if the rumours were correct, it had not been the only mischief from the cat either..

"I… Eh, I don't think that is needed just yet," Ako smiled sheepishly. "Chie was with me when I went out shopping, but she disappeared on the way back.. I thought Naruto might have been here, and she went to him. Well, I'll look around, have a nice day," she waved her friend goodbye.

* * *

She had watched him for a while now, and decided to make her move. Striking down, she had success and he chased her.

Two-legs were so easy to fool..

* * *

A bit annoyed that the cat had vanished, Ako walked around the shopping district. '_Chie knows full well that I did not want her to walk off in this place. Not after the previous incident she caused. She won't get away with this easily if she pulled another heist again..'_ Ako thought, grumbling.

She decided to go to the next street, and if Chie wasn't there either, she wouldn't get anything for dinner either. And depending on what kind of chaos she had created this time, she would lose her blanket too.

Walking around the corner, something or someone bashed into her. Hard.

Losing her balance, she fell down to the ground. Whatever it was that had walked into her, it fell on top of her.

* * *

Umino Iruka blushed heavily when he realized what he had done. And how he had landed on top of the Hyuga girl. After all, it was a rather improper position. "I-I-I am sorry," he stuttered. "Please, I offer my fullest a-apologies, I did not mean to.. to.."

Chie landed next to the heavily embarrassed humans. "And I now pronounce you to he-two-leg and she-two-leg," she chuckled, before she had to dodge when Ako burst out, outraged and embarrassed.

* * *

Still blushing, Ako walked home. Iruka had apologized profusely, over and over again, but she said he wasn't the one to be blamed. It had been Chie who was to blame. Of that Ako was sure, especially after Iruka had told her how he had been chasing the feline.

Though.. Ako still wondered whether she had to punish the cat, or thank her..

'_I suppose that would depend on the dinner that Iruka offered in order to repay for this entire situation,_' Ako thought as she kept humming while she tried to decide what she would have to wear.


	16. Duels and dinners

**Chunin Exams arc**

**Duels and dinners**

* * *

Thinking she would have been first to arrive, Hinata was surprised to find out that Naruto was already busy. He, along with two clones of his, was practicing the fireball jutsu which had learned recently. Looking at him, with her byakugan activated shortly, she could still see the damage he had sustained to his chakra network. Even though it was very minimally, his tenketsu were still not as they were supposed to be.

Even she could see that, despite not believing she was a great talent when it came to the byakugan's abilities. But Naruto's tenketsu were just too visible. Abnormally so.

What bothered her more, though, were the minor signs of exhaustion which she could see. '_How long has Naruto-kun already been training?'_ she wondered. '_Kurenai-sensei made him promise to ease the training for now..'_

"Eh.. Ehmm.. Good m-morning, N-Naruto-kun," she said, raising her voice a bit after starting out with a whisper.

Naruto, who had been completely focussed on his practice and never heard her approaching, looked around with a surprised expression. "Ah.. Good.. Good morning Hinata-sama," he panted. "Sorry, you startled me a bit," he admitted.

"No honorifics," she sighed. "Please."

"Ah.. Yes, sorry, forgot about that for a moment," Naruto smiled weakly. "But then you drop them too!"

Naruto turned away just in time so that Hinata could safely blush. '_How could I.. Address Naruto-kun in such a familiar way? I can't.. But… He asked me._'

"Ugh, this training is boring," Naruto sighed.

"Ehm.. D-don't you think your training is going well?"

"Well? I guess so.. But I'm still so darn slow.. I sleep way too much, can't seem to lose my hunger, and my chakra reserves are horrible.." Naruto frowned. "And everyone keep forbidding me to use too much chakra. Seriously, even Ako was at my throat last night for training too much!"

"W-well your injuries were severe.. A-and you should be careful not to overexert yourself too early, Naruto-ku- Naruto," Hinata blushed.

This time, Naruto saw her. But completely misunderstood. '_Is she mad because she suspects that I'm already training for three hours now?'_

"Errr I know I promised before, but I'll try to calm down for real now, sorry," Naruto apologized. "Though... it's not like me, I never had this much trouble healing before. Even that one time when that rooftop collapsed when I was a kid, it only took a few days in hospital to recover. But this time, it is just takes so damned long. Quite frustrating.."

"I did not mean to say that.. I didn't think you.. I, ehm.." Hinata was lost for a moment. "Please by careful," she decided to say. "If you train too hard.. You should be careful not to hurt yourself."

"I.. I-I didn't mean to say.. I don't think you are weak, but.. You should not.." Hinata uttered after a moment of silence, distraught by the way Naruto looked at her. And she started fidgeting with her index fingers again. "I saw.. The K-Kyuubi caused you a lot of pain.."

'_She's worried?'_ Naruto finally realized. He considered this was why she had kept looking at him, whenever she thought he wasn't watching. And her expression, it held a lot more determination than he was used to see in her. '_I thought she was annoyed that I had messed up, back in the ruins.. Or that she was scared because of the Kyuubi. I mean, she might have known about the demon, but seeing it with her own eyes, seeing me almost lose to it would be something else…'_

But that hadn't been it. Hinata had never blamed him, he realized. She was worried. '_But why? Why would she be worried about me?_' He could get it through his head, so he decided to do the logical thing: ask. "Why worry?" he wondered out loud.

"Eh?"

"Why.. Why would you be worried about me?"

You're my teammate.. And, well… I.." Hinata whispered. "I.. I don't like it.. I like.. I don't want you to s-suffer so much pain.."

Hinata looked down at the ground, unsure what to say, and severely embarrassed. How would she say what she really thought? How could she tell him how much his wounds had worried her? That it had worried her so much because she didn't see him as 'just' her teammate?

Naruto smiled when he saw the girl's uncertainty. Even if he did not understand it, he felt odd that someone would care that much about him. "I'm sorry, Hinata.. I guess I still have to get used to the friendship thing," he scratched the back of his head.

'_Friend? Naruto-kun sees me as his friend?'_ Hinata's mind exploded.

Kurenai smiled, looking down on the two clueless children. _'They both be shinobi, and are very deadly in their own ways, but they are also just children.. No, not just children.. They both carry burdens and emotional scars that no one of their age should have_,' she realized. But she was glad to see the distant and cold Naruto finally melt a little, while the young Hyuga would only gain confidence from these things.

* * *

"Haruki.." Naruto started, with a bit of confusion in his voice. Haruki could see that the boy hesitated to ask his question.

"What is wrong, Naruto?"

"I wanted to.. What is friendship?"

"Friendship?" Haruki frowned. "Well that is... well it is just difficult for me to answer because it is hard to define. It is a feeling, so it is not exactly logical. I'd say it is a strong bond between two people."

"Yeah, I know.. But why?"

"Well, you care about your friends, don't you?"

"I.. Yes," Naruto frowned. "But why would that mean I have a bond with anyone?"

"Well, for starters friends tend to care about each other. The affection, honesty, and compassion they can openly share between each other could be seen as characteristics of friendship. But that also means you have to trust those who you call your friends."

"Or else I would never be completely open and honest," Naruto guessed.

"Indeed! How could someone truly express one's feelings if the other is not trusted? So I would say friendship is a bond of trust between two people. People who accept each other for what they are, both because of their strengths and their weaknesses, accepting the good one can do but also the mistake one can make."

"So if I.."

"You told Hinata-sama about your burden, haven't you?" Haruki smiled. "Would you have done so if you had not trusted her?"

"I.. I just took a gamble," Naruto admitted. "I mean, I hoped she wouldn't turn away from me, but she asked me and I.. I just took the risk."

"So you decided to trust in her judgment?"

"Well.. No, I mean yes, you could say that.." Naruto hesitated, frowning while he tried to figure out what the right answer should be. "Is that.. Friendship?"

"Do you trust me?" Haruki smiled.

"Yes, of course I.."

"You thought I was different from those of your own age?"

"Yes, of course you are," Naruto sighed. "No one of my age ever treated me that well, so yes.. Perhaps I.."

"Do you consider Ako to be your friend too? Or Jiraiya-sama?"

Haruki felt a little sad that Naruto had such a large difference in how he looked at those who were of his own age and those who weren't. But he could not blame the boy. The orphanages treated him badly, and he had grown up with the idea that those of his own age were a danger. Only a very few were different to him, such as the Hokage, Jiraiya, and people within the Hyuga such as Haruki himself.

"Don't think too much about what friendship is, Naruto. It is not something you truly can, or should, rationalize.. It is emotion. Accept your emotions, and don't be afraid to show your emotions to those that you can call your friends."

"Perhaps, but.. It is strange that people would willingly be friends with me," Naruto shrugged. "I thought.. Well, because of the demon, that no one would want to treat me as an equal.."

"You are not to blame for what the Kyuubi is, or what it did.. You are Uzumaki Naruto, and despite your burden you are just a regular twelve year old boy," Haruki rummaged through the boy's hair. "Come, let's go see what Ako made for dinner!"

* * *

After several days of training, team 8 noticed that it had made some progress. Hinata, Kiba, and even Akamaru managed to soak or crumble their leaves. Naruto, in turn, had mastered his three new techniques to some extent. Just as his health had recovered quite a bit by now.

The Ichiraku-treatment seemed to work well for the young blond.

Despite the protests of Ako and Haruki against the continuous consumption of ramen..

With four days to go till the chunin exams started, team 8 was facing team 10. Kurenai and Asuma had agreed that some exercise would be good for both of their teams, as well as..

"Ok everyone," Asuma called all the genin which stood at the training ground. "Before we start, some rules. Firstly, no killing or causing any serious injuries. Secondly, when you know you have lost, say "I yield," no attacks are allowed after that. Lastly, these are team exercises, so I suggest you both work as a team."

Shikamaru looked bored. "Are you serious about g\this, sensei?"

"Quite, I cannot have you lose this."

"What did you bet?" the lazy genin smirked.

"And what's in it for us?" Ino demanded, still annoyed. Asuma had told her they would be facing Naruto's team, so she had hoped to see Sasuke again. So caught up in her moment, she had forgotten that Naruto had been transferred… Asuma and the others had been wise enough to keep silent, knowing that this way she would at least come along. And be annoyed enough to fight seriously, rather than being worried about her hair or nails.

"If you're going to treat us again, I might have to get serious," Choji was hoping Asuma would pay for another visit to his all-you-can-eat restaurant.

"Fine, fine," Asuma surrendered.

"I wonder who is in charge in your team," Naruto frowned. Hinata giggled and Kiba chuckled.

"That blonde has always been bossy, she's almost as bad as my sis," Kiba added, earning him a glare from the Ino.

"What are you going to win today, Kurenai-sensei?" Naruto asked innocently.

"Don't talk like you have already won, you idiot!" Ino snapped. Sadly, the end of her already limited self-control had been reached.

"Something good enough," Kurenai replied vaguely. Hinata could've sworn her sensei blushed slightly.

Asuma grumbled, though the twinkle in his eyes betrayed his actual amusement. "Also, I would like to suggest that both teams cooperate instead of compete during the exams, whenever you get the chance to do so. Fresh genin usually are not nominated to participate at the first opportunity they get, so I suppose you could need all the help you can get. Use this chance to get to know each other a little better."

"Since when did we get officially nominated?" Shikamaru asked, with some surprise mixed in his bored voice.

"Last evening," Kurenai replied, with a look at Asuma. "We were _supposed_ to tell you after this training, as we wanted to see if you were truly ready or not. Participating with the exams is a decision each of you has to make for yourselves though."

Naruto saw Hinata's depressed look. "Well, I doubt any of the three of us would fail something as easy as that," he boasted.

Though Hinata recognized his boast, and the intent behind him, she still doubted her own abilities. Kiba, on the other hand, got lost in his own enthusiasm. "Yeah, they should've given us the jonin exams first, instead of something this easy," he grinned.

Choji looked doubtful, while Shikamaru facepalmed and mumble something which sounded much like "troublesome". Ino dragged her teammates to the area which the jonin had marked as their 'battlefield,' foolishly being caught by Naruto's pace.

"I do hope the other two are not as insane as Naruto is?" Asuma whispered to Kurenai, having regretted their bet from the moment he had taught Naruto.

"Naruto is Naruto," Kurenai said as if it explained everything, "But it would be foolish to underestimate Hinata and Kiba. Besides.. When you saw Naruto, he was still weakened," she smiled.

Asuma frowned deeply. "To be honest, I asked my dad about Naruto… He didn't want to tell me too much, but from what he did tell…" He shook his head. "I always thought the boy was cursed, but it seems like it proves to be a blessing of sorts as well."

"It wasn't actually the fox or the seal which gave Naruto so much trouble," Kurenai replied on a serious tone. "It was how people mistreated him because of it. The prejudice and hatred caused more pain the fox ever did."

Asuma nodded, also realizing that they too had part in how his life had gone.

* * *

"Begin!" Asuma shouted.

The teams had taken position at the opposing corners, in an area large enough to contain at least one soccer field. Naruto looked at Hinata. "So, what will be our plan?"

* * *

Asuma whistled when he saw the number of clones Naruto suddenly deployed. "How much chakra does he have?"

"I honestly don't know. At least at the level of a jonin or kage," Kurenai answered. "The issue is that is not all _his_ chakra. Still, Naruto himself could easily pass for a chunin, or perhaps even a jonin, though that is a bit speculative. Problem is that he doesn't not have jonin-level chakra control.. But I don't have a byakugan, so it's hard to say what his limits are right now."

"And that's only the beginning," a voice spoke. Startling both jonin, they saw Jiraiya and his former sensei near.

"Father?! What are you doing here?" Asuma recovered first.

The Hokage pointed at the field where the clones had now mostly vanished. "This caught my interest. Though I'm partly here due to Jiraiya's nagging…"

Not that Jiraiya heard it, he was completely focussed.

"Smart.." Jiraiya whispered. Hiruzen could only nod in agreement.

* * *

So far, their plan went fine. The kage bunshin had littered the field around team 8 with weight seals, which could trap their opponents when they entered that section. But it was merely a diversion, as the smoke from the dispelled bunshin concealed them from team 10, meanwhile, just as Hinata had suggested, Kiba had created a hole in the ground.

"You two hide, I'll sneak up to them. I'll strike when they get close enough," Naruto whispered.

Kiba nodded, before he and Hinata hid. Meanwhile, three clones used the henge no jutsu to resemble the others, while one stayed in its original form. The clones created a little distance between them and the spot where Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru were hiding.

"Good luck, Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered in the direction Naruto was last seen.

* * *

"What the.." Asuma exclaimed. "Where did they go? Those are bunshin!" He pointed at the fake team 8. Kurenai frowned, and shrugged.

"I think Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru are hiding in that hole over there.. They even camouflaged it. Quick thinking, must be Hinata's doing. Even though Kiba is still quite rough when it comes to his doton," Kurenai smiled. "But the real Naruto isn't there.."

"Naruto used his stealth seal," Jiraiya explained. "Something he found in the Uzumaki scrolls I gave him, and of all the jutsu in it, that particular one was actually the first jutsu he mastered…" he added on a somewhat sad tone, remembering why his pupil once had such a strong desire to not be noticed by others.

"Seems like it is partially derived from genjutsu," Hiruzen remarked. "But it is unlike the regular camouflage techniques, or even your transparent escape technique, Jiraiya."

"Probably. Those Uzumaki created many crazy fuinjutsu that I could only replicate, but never truly understood," Jiraiya admitted. "Naruto once said that the seal basically absorbed everything other people would otherwise notice, but that it doesn't work while people keep concentrating on you while you activate the seal. I bet they can see Naruto, but team 10 is left blind."

Asuma whistled. "Looks like the brat wasn't completely boasting when he said he could give the jonin-exam a try.."

Jiraiya nodded, with a look of pride, one that was mirrored by Kurenai.

* * *

Shikamaru guessed that the Naruto's that had initially popped up were no ordinary bunshin, and had left something on the ground before they were dispelled.

"Annoying. Seems like Naruto left some traps behind. We should either disarm or avoid them, I'd say the latter is the only choice we have, because we probably do not know how to disarm his traps. Or have the time to figure it out… But that leaves us only one path to go through. Likely another trap," the lazy genin pondered.

"What were those things, Shikamaru?" Choji asked.

"No ordinary bunshin, probably kage bunshin"

"What?" Ino looked annoyed at her teammate. "I've heard about that, that's for jonin! There is no way that idiot could perform such a technique!"

Shikamaru sighed. "I told you Sakura was not crazy when she said Naruto was strong.. And Naruto has never been an idiot, he was merely hiding what he could really do.. But if this part of Sakura said is true, than the other things must be true as well.."

"You mean that invisibility jutsu?" Ino shuddered. "How do you plan fighting that? Damn, if you had not come up with the idea of asking Sakura about what he could exactly do, we would already be screwed.."

"It's a good thing she warned you in the first place, Ino," Choji nodded. "But that wasn't the worst part.."

"You mean what she refused to tell you?" Shikamaru guessed, having come to the same conclusion as his friend. "Yes.. If she doesn't think such advanced seals are no big deal, then what more is he hiding.."

"But what are we going to do?" Ino asked. "We can't wait here.."

'_No.. We surely cannot stay at this position too long,' _Shikamaru pushed his brains to the limit. '_But approaching them is also a bad option.. Troublesome, whoever came up with this strategy, I should definitely challenge for a game of shougi..'_

"We do the usual: Choji distracts, I capture, and you, Ino, force them to surrender. But I'm worried about the traps Naruto created. If those clones spread them, as I suspect, we would only have one way to approach them, so be on your guard…"

"That's it?" Ino almost shouted. "Couldn't you come up with something a bit more-"

"We will trust Shikamaru," Choji cut her off. "I'm sure you have some kind of plan, don't you?"

Shikamaru smirked, to the relief of his teammates. The three of them started to carefully move forward.

* * *

'_So Sakura told them about my abilities?'_ Naruto frowned, having heard the conversation of team 10. '_Figures.. But it was inevitable that I would lose the advantage of surprise, but getting ratted out like this..'_

Naruto grimaced. He shouldn't let himself get distracted by this. He had to fight. Hinata's plan had been relatively simple, but it required good timing and thus paying attention would be crucial.

When team 10 crossed half of the distance to the fake team 8, Naruto decided it was time to start. The chakra consumption of his stealth seal began to annoy him. '_I've still not recovered completely, if only a few kage bunshin, weight seals, and a few minutes in stealth are enough to create such a strain on my chakra reserves..'_

"I still see nothing, Shikamaru," Choji grumbled nervously. "What do you think they are up to?"

"With Naruto, you never know," Shikamaru admitted. "The other two shouldn't be too much of a problem, but with Naruto helping them.."

"Right," Ino smirked weakly. "Deadlast Kiba, and the uncertain Hyuga heiress…"

"You three are wrong about them," Naruto calmly stated, standing in between them. Ino was startled, and all three of them made a crucial mistake: they did not mind the bunshin.

Dropping their disguises, all four shouted: "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

Too late, Shikamaru realized they were trapped in the narrow path, leaving them unable to dodge the four fireballs that were approaching. "Choji!" he shouted, urging the Akimichi to stop the attack of the bunshin, while he trapped Naruto with his Kagemane no Jutsu.

Naruto frowned when he saw Choji increase his size several times. "Ouch ouch ouch," Choji bounced around when the four fireballs hit him, frantically trying to extinguish the flames that had latched to his sleeve. But while dancing around, he triggered a lot of seals..

"You should not have underestimated us," Shikamaru smirked. "Kagemane no jutsu, success."

"Who said I did?" Naruto chuckled. "Weight seals: activate," Naruto said calmly, while he broke Shikamaru's restraint in order to form the hand seals required. "Oh, and don't try to trap someone who has that much more chakra," Naruto added.

Choji fell down, the seal amplifying his already not so light body. Shikamaru spurred open his eyes when the bunshin disappeared – they had exhausted their chakra – and the real members of team 8 charged at them. "Ino! Capture Naruto, I'll hold them off"

"Right!" Ino snapped. " Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

* * *

The moment the bunshin executed their attacks, Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata jumped out of their hiding place. Immediately charging at their opponents, Hinata took the center while Kiba and Akamaru attacked team 10 in their flanks. But Hinata saw that Choji was already incapacitated, while Ino fell down to the ground, screaming.

"Surrender," Hinata said, now standing in front of Shikamaru.

"Tch.. This is too troublesome to do on my own.." Shikamaru grimaced. "We yield.." He turned towards Ino, who was lying on the ground, groaning as if she was in pain. Naruto stood next to her with a concerned frown. "End your jutsu, Naruto," Shikamaru demanded, annoyed that the blond would let his bossy teammate suffer like this. Even though Ino was troublesome in Shikamaru's eyes, she was still his teammate and friend.

"I didn't do this," Naruto frowned. "I don't know what kind of jutsu she tried to use, but it seems like it backfired on her.."

Shikamaru raised his brows. '_Then her mind-body switch failed? But how? Even though it was just for a second, I am sure I held him still the moment she cast the jutsu on him! I never heard of anyone resisting.. What did Sakura say again? Monster?'_ Shikamaru looked up from his blonde teammate and saw Naruto's pensive look. '_No, he's no monster. But that doesn't mean that he has nothing to hide.. But what? Wait..'_

"I'll remove the seals placed on Choji," Naruto said, noticing Shikamaru's look. "Hinata, could you figure out was happened with Ino?"

"Ino-san in fine, physically at least. Her chakra flow seems to be a bit chaotic, but it should be fine soon enough.." Hinata said, after looking at the girl with her byakugan.

"Here you go, Choji," Naruto said, after removing the last seals that had held the Akimichi down. "So Ino's fine?"

"Seems like it," Shikamaru said, though his scowl had not disappeared. "Clever tactic, using some kind of jutsu to hide yourself and then using yourself _and_ your kage bunshin as distraction for the real attack.."

"Well.. It would've worked better if you hadn't already known about my seal," Naruto shrugged. Though, Shikamaru could hear a hint of agitation in his voice. "I hadn't expected Choji to block that attack though.."

"We hoped you would dodge, so that Naruto's seals would have caught you," Hinata added shyly. "Kiba, Akamaru and I only acted as backup.."

"But that would mean that Naruto could get hit by his own jutsu, right?"

"Tsk, like I would get hurt by my own fire jutsu. Though I have to say that we mostly won because Hinata is smart enough to consider backup plans," Naruto smiled a bit. "If she hadn't come up with this plan I could have failed the moment Shikamaru caught me.. Or when Ino cast that weird jutsu. I was just lucky."

'_If Ino's jutsu had worked.. We should have won at that moment. Making you fight against you own team, Naruto, would definitely make it easy to take Hinata down, and with the three of us Kiba shouldn't have been too much of a problem either,'_ Shikamaru pondered. '_But why didn't my kagemane no jutsu work? Is there truly such a large difference between me and Naruto that the can break it so easily? Is that why Ino failed? Dammit, this duel only created more troublesome questions..'_ Shikamaru sighed. "No, you still would have won, because you can break my hold and Ino failed. Though Kiba and Hinata made sure we had no chance anyway.. Troublesome team.."

* * *

"Damn," Asuma exclaimed. "Yeah, you won," he added, seeing the smug look on Kurenai's face.

"The exam will be pretty interesting this time," Hiruzen concluded, before he and Jiraiya vanished.

* * *

"That was shorter than I had expected," Jiraiya said while speeding back to the Hokage's office. "So, why did you really tag along, sensei?"

"I'm old, Jiraiya. As far as I see, there are only three who I think are worthy of succeeding me. You and Hatake Kakashi would refuse to do it, and your former teammate has yet to deal with the demons of her past."

Jiraiya frowned. "Do you want to say to me that you were checking for a successor? Naruto?"

"He is the most promising candidate I've seen after Minato died," Hiruzen agreed. "Though he is still young, and struggles with a burden few could ever understand, he grew in quite an interesting way. I look forward to seeing him grow further."

"Naming him as a successor will cause quite a bit of political trouble."

"I am well aware, but I'm not planning to step down yet. I may be feeling my years, but I am still stronger than any jonin currently in Konoha. Well, except for you, of course."

"There's Gai with his celestial gates," Jiraiya offered.

"He may have the strength, but not the personality needed. Besides, his strength is comparable to that of Kakashi. And though the latter does have a more suitable personality, he still struggles with his own past mistakes and losses. And I cannot say I'm too thrilled with the way he did his job as a sensei for his genin either," Hiruzen sighed. "Of course, Danzo would be happy to take the seat, but that would be a disaster for Konoha. No, either you or Tsunade would be most qualified to succeed me at this moment.. But if I hold out a couple of years.. Five, or perhaps eight years should be enough for Naruto to surpass me."

"But people will still not accept him."

"People will recognize his strength. And when the time comes, they will find that they have no other option than to rely on his strength, and his determination. As happened with the Shodai Hokage, people will be attracted to strength, like flies to the light."

"That's a rather cynical observation," Jiraiya sighed. "I would prefer it if people accepted him for who he is, rather than accept him because they are forced to rely on his power. I mean, they would just betray him whenever he would show any sign of weakness.."

"Perhaps, perhaps…" Hiruzen admitted. "But it is the way of the world. And what other choice do I have? The only one with a reasonable comparable potential has a highly unstable personality. Nor did he ever show much talent to take a leading role. And my own grandson has yet to prove himself, despite the magnitude of his ambitions. Not to mention that he is even younger than Naruto is.."

* * *

"Sensei, how come you aren't teaching us tricks like theirs?" Shikamaru asked when Asuma and Kurenai joined them. Kurenai inspected Ino and said she would be fine with an hour of rest. She had been a bit worried when the girl had tried to use her technique against Naruto, but it seems that the Kyuubi's presence had made it impossible for her to enter Naruto's mind. Or had it been that mysterious seal on his right hand? '_It could be similar to his resistance to genjutsu,' _she considered.

"Well, that's because it is not something I could even teach you," Asuma admitted.

"But all those jutsu's should consume an insane amount of chakra! Why waste so much?" a still groggy Choji sputtered.

"True, but for Naruto, that is no problem," Kurenai explained. "People from his clan were known for their chakra capacity, and not without reason," she added the usual lie they told people whenever Naruto did something impossible (again).

"But Naruto is not the only one who has grown, compared to our days at the academy," Choji remarked, having noticed the speed at which Kiba and Hinata had moved.

"Seem like I won our bet," Kurenai smirked at Asuma. "Team 8, let's meet again tomorrow at nine at our usual training ground."

* * *

As team 8 stalked off Kiba smirked. "You know, team 10 was supposed to be one of the strongest genin teams of our class. The children of three clan heads, all in one team, they were supposed to be a golden combination. And we defeated him without taking a single hit." The overly enthusiastic boy started to laugh, while Akamaru jumped around him with an equal overdose of energy. "Hah, they didn't even see us coming!"

"We did do well, but I think the older teams still have an advantage," Hinata said with a hesitant voice, remembering her cousin. "We still lack experience.. And skill.. And..

"We'll be fine," Naruto smiled at her. "With your amazing eyes, and the unbeatable noses of Kiba and Akamaru, there is no team that could surprise us."

"Especially with these kinds of tactics," Kiba laughed. He stopped in his tracks. "Ah crap, I nearly forgot!"

"What's wrong, Kiba-kun?" Hinata asked, still blushing that her teammates complimented her like that. For someone who was only told she was a failure, a situation like this was a bit embarrassing to the young girl. Apart from her mother, no one ever seemed to trust her ability much.

"Erm. I eh.. I was supposed to invite you for a dinner at my place. My mum more or less ordered me to drag the two of you along. Tough it is an Inuzuka matter, it's not something as fancy and neat as you two are used to with the Hyuga," Kiba added with a hint of uncertainty.

"We'd love to join you," Hinata replied with a smile.

"Though I hope your stories about you mother are not entirely true," Naruto smirked. "Wouldn't want to join a dinner where I risk myself getting killed."

"No, she only does that to me," Kiba smiled embarrassedly. "And don't tell her any of that!"

"Then I guess we will have to join you," Hinata said with a witty tone, "we should avoid getting our team mate getting killed so shortly before the exam."

* * *

Despite their attempts at using humour to lighten the mood a bit, Kiba kept a little fidgety. Hinata wondered why he was this nervous. She knew the boy was a lot more sensitive than he wanted to appear to be, but she wondered why he would be so uncertain about something like this.

Though she thought she knew part of the answer when they stepped into the Inuzuka's home. A large dog with an eye patch started to growl at Naruto.

"No Kuromaru," a fierce voice warned the large ninken. Naruto realized why Kiba was afraid of his mother. She was… wild. Worse than Kiba. And she had similar spiky and untamed brown hair. Just like her son, her eyes were not like that of normal humans, as she had slit-like pupils. Similarly, her teeth seemed awfully dog-like. Together with the fang markings on her cheeks, she seemed quite dangerous.

The fact that she held a saucepan in her hands seemed quite unnatural.

"Hey mom," Kiba greeted his mother. "These are Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Hinata, my team mates."

"Ah, you finally brought them with you?" another female popped up from the kitchen. This younger woman seemed much more civilized and calm then her mother and brother.

"She ordered me to do so, Hana," Kiba grumbled.

"Well, we asked you a few times and you didn't listen," the elder women shrugged. "Please take a seat, we're almost done. Oh yeah, I'm the pup's mum, just call me Tsume," she added, nearly forgetting etiquette entirely.

As she stumbled back, Kiba's sister added: "And I'm Hana. The black and white one is Kuromaru. Those lazy bastards over there," she pointed at three sleeping grey and white dogs, "are the Haimaru brothers."

Kiba's home turned out to be very cozy, though a little messy. Naruto was not really surprised though, Tsume did not really seem the usual type of housewife. In any case, Naruto decided that the place really befitted the Inuzuka: it radiated the warmth and honesty which Kiba showed at times.

"Nice place," Naruto commented. '_Chie would love the place..'_ he thought sarcastically.

"It isn't much but.." Kiba started.

"It's much better than my three room cottage," Naruto grinned. "And my place would be a complete chaos if Ako-san didn't force me to clean it up. And if Haruki hadn't scolded me as much as he did." Naruto knew he had no family, but Ako was pretty much like Naruto imagined how an older sister would be, while Haruki.. Well, no one came that close to being a father figure to Naruto.

Hinata giggled a bit, the effort Haruki had put into making Naruto a bit 'Hyuga-like' in terms of manners were widely known throughout her clan. And the living proof that even amongst the Hyuga, there existed something called 'a sense of humor'.

"Anyway, the whole Hyuga complex is a bit too clean and tidy to my taste. Much too formal if you ask me," Naruto added.

Kiba grinned a bit. "Well, they do act like they are royalty, don't they?"

"Watch it Kiba, no heresy around our princess," Naruto joked at Hinata, who had no idea how to respond. Luckily, Hana saved her by entering the dinner room.

"Princess?' she asked absently, more focussed on the food she was carrying.

"They weren't talking about you," Tsume smirked. "Those kids are not completely stupid, though it doesn't take much for Kiba to praise someone."

"Mum.." Kiba groaned.

"Well, you did pester us a lot about the boy's secret at first, right?" she replied to her son.

"Which one of my secrets?" Naruto smirked, causing some eyebrows to rise before they joined him in laughter. "I heard you guys sniffed me out, so it's not fair anyway, how could I have kept that secret from you?"

"We all have our advantages," Hana smirked.

"We do," Tsume agreed as she sat down with the others on the dinner table, "But the drawback is that we tend to trust our senses a little too much. Quite honestly, kid, I thought you were danger. You smelled dangerous. Demonic. But the Hokage trusted you, so I thought it was best to not tell our Kiba a thing, so he could form his own opinion of you."

"Unusual, but it turned out to be the right decision to in Kiba for once," Hana commented, baiting her little brother. "Quite impressive, for someone with his limited brain capacity.."

"SHUT IT," Kiba growled.

Naruto ignored his teammate and frowned a bit. "You're saying you don't hate or fear me now, even though you did before?"

"I was there when the Kyuubi hit us," Tsume said, on a very serious tone. "I've never sensed anything that came even close to that. It was like a natural disaster in the flesh.. Only a fool would not be afraid. I hated it, but I did not hate you. Though I was afraid, I simply doubted that such a monstrous being could be kept imprisoned in by a mere child."

Hinata spoke up, though uncomfortable about the subject. "The Yondaime created the seal which holds the Kyuubi.. It could not have caused any problem, yet still…"

"And still we could smell its chakra all over Naruto," Tsume noted. "Sure, the Hyuga have shown us that we were wrong. And I really do admit that we were wrong, and even though it's in hindsight I will apologize for it," the woman sighed. "But let us eat, and speak of more cheerful things than our past mistakes. Let us celebrate the upcoming exams!"

The remainder of the dinner was indeed cheerful. With Hana and Tsume telling things about their own exams, and Kiba's boasts on how he would pass the exams on their first try. Hinata, however, noted that Naruto was somewhat reserved. He enjoyed himself, but it seemed like he was wondering how these people could act so casual with him around. Not that she blamed him, this evening was unlike anything they had ever experienced within the Hyuga clan. The warmth and openness were completely new to Naruto, and even herself.

At the end of the evening, Tsume thanked Naruto and Hinata for their visit before the two could even thank her for inviting them. "You two are always welcome here, and I will make one more promise: no longer will the Inuzuka clan belief the false rumours that are spread about you, Naruto. I wish you the best of luck during the exams, and please keep my Kiba save."

Moved, Naruto could only bow, as Hinata thanked her for both of them. As they walked back, Naruto was mostly silent, seemingly confused by Tsume's promise.

"Do you think we can do it, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, hesitant to voice her own uncertainty.

"Wha.. What? Oh, the exams? Yeah, why not? I mean, we're all skilled enough, aren't we?" he answered.

"I don't know if I.. If I.."

"You will rock, Hinata-sama," Naruto said, half joking, half serious. "You are smarter than Kiba and I together, your eyesight is probably unmatched by anyone else in the exams, and your skills are much better then you want to believe," he added, now completely serious. "You saw how easily team 10 went down, and it was because of your plans."

"But that was you, I barely did a.."

"No, Hinata. We did that as a team. You had the idea, right?" Naruto sighed. "Look, please don't compare your strength with mine, ok? I've got a monster inside me, so how could I be judged by normal standards anyway? You need to have a little faith in yourself. You know, it is very unlikely that even Kiba could beat you, and quite honestly, I would not know how to handle your juken without the Kyuubi's chakra as backup. It's not like I can dodge you either, and your eyes would probably see right through my seals, so I would be forced to rely on kage bunshin and hope to wear you down. Even if I would win, it would be with high difficulty."

She looked at him, thinking he was just lying in order to encourage her. But she saw none of the signs her mother had taught her to spot lies. He could not be serious, could he? She was the failure of the Hyuga clan, the clan's embarrassment. Still, Naruto's eyes looked at her with complete trust. But why would he trust a disappointment such as her? Everyone in her clan knew about her emotional defect. And still..

And still, if Naruto could believe in her, perhaps she could do it. She should at least try. She had to. _'I have always been a disappointment to my clan, but I will not disappoint my team. I will not disappoint Naruto-kun!_'

* * *

Back at his cottage, Naruto first tidied his studying room. The clone he had left this morning had ran out of chakra during the day, leaving behind several opened scrolls and books. And Naruto had too much to think about anyway. Why did people slowly change their opinion about him?

"Power.." a dark voice answered his question.

"Shut it," Naruto replied to the fox. But the fox did not listen, but instead drew Naruto into 'his' room.

* * *

"What do you want this time," Naruto said, annoyed to be back in the sewer-like environment.

"Freedom," the fox answered dryly.

Naruto sighed. "You keep watching from the inside, don't you? So you should know I can't give you that one."

"You asked what I wanted, not what you could give me.." the Kyuubi countered. "But don't you think that people are only changing their opinion of you because your strength increases?"

Naruto shrugged. "Only a few do that."

"Now, perhaps, but with that exam of yours, many more people will see your strength. Or should I say: _our_ strength."

"Get to the point."

The fox's eyes narrowed, giving away his annoyance. "Not all will accept you. For the few who will do so, a greater number will fear you. Look at the pink-haired idiot. Or that damnable Uchiha. Strength always draws jealousy. People fear the strength of those they cannot control, and their hatred will be born out of that fear."

Naruto frowned. "Is this another of you 'I don't want you getting killed' things?"

"No," the Kyuubi sneered, before sending Naruto away, "I am merely informing you of the inevitable, so that I can enjoy your anger and despair even more. If I tell you now, you will only see your own fate, while there is nothing you can do to avert it.."

* * *

"Damned bastard fox," Naruto growled, back in his study again, but still hearing the demon's chuckle. Though, Naruto realized that he could not counter the fox's arguments. "Guess I should hold back whenever possible.. They will not see our power, but _my_ power."

But he could feel the fox's amusement. The creature knew that Naruto would rather be hated by everyone, than risk the lives of his team mates.

Chie blinked as she woke up. Well, woke up.. Naruto could've sworn the cat's laziness increased by the day. One of the disadvantages of how Ako spoiled the creature.

* * *

**A/N**: Not much excitement yet, but we're still building up towards the start of the exam. One more chapter, and then it'll begin! I wonder if Ichiraku will sell their medicinal ramen to the hospital as well.. Ino doesn't need it though, even if she was _not_ on a diet, because she's already recovered. Our friendly neighbourhood fox kicked her out before she even entered. Good thing she didn't have enough power to see anything, or Naruto's secret would be spoiled.. She is a gossip, after all.

On a personal note: seeing the stats of this story make me proud, it has already reached 20.000 views from over 5.000 visitors, and that in a span of two weeks! I had never expected that, so I thank you all.

I hope you all enjoy reading, and please leave a review if you do (or if do not, and have tips).

-Z-

* * *

**_Bonus_**

* * *

"Ugh.. I'm bored…" Konohamaru sighed.

"Ehm.. We could look for Naruto-kun?" Moegi suggested.

"Nehh, boss is busy training."

"I heard the chunin exams are coming soon," Udon spoke up. "You think Naruto-kun will compete too?"

"It would explain why leader has been working so hard.." Moegi frowned. "Though.. Should we make sure he doesn't train too hard? Leader looked awfully pale, the other day.."

"Yes!" Konohamaru decided. "We will find him!"

Chie jumped down, having spied on them long enough. But before she could tell the kids it would be pointless to go looking for Naruto, the three jumped forward screaming "THE BOSS'S CAT!"

Naturally, the cat decided to run.

Even she had respect for the amount of mischief committed by the Konohamaru squad..

* * *

Finally having been successful in shaking of her annoying guard, Hanabi walked alone through the streets.

Other people could be so bothersome. But they were just inferior to her, so why did she have to bother with them? She had already proven her worth, being superior even to her sister, someone of her own flesh and blood. Her father saw her talent, her value to the clan. But as much as he focussed on her, so her mother focussed on her failure of a sister.

But at least now she was free from all the meddling servants and guards.

And as if she had heard her silent wish, the long-tailed furry cat appeared in front of her again.

"Kitty!" Hanabi exclaimed happily, allowing herself to forget proper behaviour for a moment. But her believe that she could do that because she was alone was proven wrong when a boy crashed around the corner, into the street where Hanabi and the cat were.

"Stop that caahaaat," the boy screamed, regaining his footing.

But Hanabi did no such thing.

She smacked the boy in his face, halting him, if only from the sheer surprise that someone had dared to hit him.

Moegi and the slower Udon had finally caught up too, and now saw Hanabi standing in front of Konohamaru, while the cat sat behind Hanabi.

"What did you do that for?" Konohamaru exclaimed.

"Why don't you leave that poor cat alone," Hanabi frowned.

"Who do you think you are, telling me what to do?!"

"Ugh.. Get lost, peasant boy," Hanabi shrugged, her disdain obvious on her cold face.

Though amused, Chie decided to end this little squabble before it really started. "There's no need to fight over me, you can both pet me if you want to," she chuckled.

Four pair of baffled eyes looked at her.

"What?" Chie wondered. "Never seen a cat talk? Errm.. Why are you all ganging up on me?"

Chie looked a bit worried when the four kids surrounded the cat.

"Alright," she sighed. "Time to bail.. Again."

* * *

The surprised villagers from Konohagakure could, that day, wonder why four children were chasing one cat. Moreover, they would wonder why that group consisted of both the unruly grandson of the Hokage and the cold daughter of the head of the Hyuga clan.

Needless to say, Chie was quite amused by playing with the kids like this..

Hanabi and Konohamaru both swore to one day catch the talking cat, before the other could. Konohamaru realized that this world contained a lot of rivals..

**Edited: 08/02/15**


	17. A gift and a meeting

**Chunin Exams arc**

**A gift and a meeting**

* * *

Naruto woke up. "Whah?"

He heard knocking again. Grumbling, he stepped out of his bed. "_Half past seven? Too early for Ako.._" he realized, his mind still half asleep.

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming," he uttered when he heard knocking again. Putting on his pants, he opened the door. "Hitomi-sama?" Naruto croaked in surprise.

"Yes, Naruto," the wife of the head of the Hyuga clan answered, smiling at the sleepy genin's confusion. "Can I come in?"

"Ah.. Yes, of course.." Naruto stammered. '_Why would she visit me the day before the exams? And at this hour?'_

"Thank you," Hitomi said as she entered the boy's cottage. He quickly put on his a shirt, as she looked around in his room. It surprised her how much scrolls and books he had crammed in the three rooms. The largest room contained the living area and kitchen, while the smaller room where Naruto was dressing himself was his bedroom. The third room was a storage room which had transformed into a study, though a lot of his study materials could also be seen in the living room. By the looks of it, Naruto barely understood how extremely valuable these scrolls were.

Though.. Now she looked better she saw seals everywhere. This place was a lot better guarded than she had initially thought. To anyone this boy would seem careless, while in reality the amount of seals more or less pointed out that he was a security freak.

"Seems you take your studies quite seriously," she remarked, as the now fully dressed Naruto entered the room.

"Yeah, it usually takes me quite some time to understand each scroll or book," he admitted somewhat embarrassed. "Even when using kage bunshin, studying my clan's fuinjutsu without someone who can teach me is a bit... difficult at times."

"Perhaps you could try to ask Jiraiya-sama if he wants to take you as his official apprentice."

"Uhmm. Well, with him continuously being on those long missions of his, I don't think that is feasible. Not with my rank and disposition."

She chuckled, realizing the boy was much smarter then he usually wanted to reveal. "Perhaps you could ask him if you made it to chunin?"

Naruto blinked. "Perhaps, but even if that happens, the old man would still have to give me permission to leave the village.."

"Perhaps," she admitted, "But if you perform well during the exams, I am sure you will draw quite some attention from both the Konoha and the foreign shinobi. Though, you should not let that get to your head."

She frowned a bit, and the slight hesitation made Naruto realize how much Hinata was starting to look like her mother. They shared the same dark blue hair and fair skin, but their faces also were very similar. This was something which Naruto did not notice until now, as the expressions and body language of the confident and calm mother and her hesitant and shy daughter usually were very different. But now that Hinata seemed to open up a little…

"I hope you will do your absolute best," she said. "And I would ask you to protect my daughter if I had not known you will do so even if I did not ask it." She smiled a bit. "The Hyuga clan has yet to realize the things you have done for us, I'm sure of that. But on my own account, I wish to offer you this, both as a token of gratitude, and to wish you success on your exams."

She handed Naruto a package, and urged him to open it. With his eyes wide from surprise, Naruto unpacked a new set of clothes.

"I thought the new colour fits you very well," Hitomi added. "Though the shrunken down clothes did not suit you as well as it should. Also, I studied your clan's history a bit, and altered the Toad Hermit's style a little with elements of your clan's style."

"This is amazing," Naruto said softly, as he held up the green shirt. The new set included a mesh armour, over which he would wear a dark green shirt. This shirt was much like Jiraiya's, as it resembled a short shirt kimono, but the sleeves were wide and long, covering his hands. Naruto knew this was something which the Uzumaki clan preferred, and he figured it would be perfect to hide scrolls or smaller weapons underneath. Or to mask the execution of hand seals.

"I heard from Haruki-san that you used fire-proof materials previously, so I had ordered to make the entire set of that instead of regular materials," she added. She smiled as he found out that the symbol of Uzushiogakure was emblazoned on the shoulders. He looked in the package and found pants of the same materials and colour, as well as a black belt, designed to hold scrolls.

"I also had some hand guards made for you, which should be a better fit. It is made of the same materials as the shoulder guards," she said when he uncovered the last items from the package.

With a lump in his throat, Naruto bowed. "Thank you, Hitomi-sama. This is more then I.."

"If I had to give you what I think you deserved," Hitomi cut him off. "Our clan would face bankruptcy." She chuckled. "Please do not think that I am completely ignorant of the things you did. No matter how well you hide it."

Naruto blushed a bit, but did nothing to either agree with, or counter, the statement. He knew she could easily see through lies anyway. "I only ever did what I thought was right," he decided to say, knowing that it would both be the truth and not really confirm anything at the same time.

"And so did I. At the very least, if you are going to impress the world, you could do it well dressed," she smiled. She saw he realized what she hinted at, even though he did not tell why he did it. '_Perhaps he does not want it out in the open yet,'_ she mused, '_A majority of the people hate him, and even within our clan there are enough who doubt him. Or despise him. Perhaps his decision to keep this covert was wise, but he can't maintain this much longer..'_

"I guess I'm obliged to put up one hell of a show now," he smiled at her, though he was unable to hide the happiness and gratefulness he felt. "I probably owe the village a scare or two anyway," he added mischievously.

"Impress the world, Naruto, but don't give them more reason to fear you then they already have," she warned him gently, before she left to eat breakfast with her family.

* * *

Elated by the gift he had received, he decided to eat at Ichiraku's again. Though he had gone there several times this week, the delicious ramen was a feast to him every time. And this was certainly a moment worth to celebrate. Though, Ako and Haruki scolded him because he had to eat more healthy food, threatening him that he would not grow properly otherwise. This time, however, he could not eat without being disturbed. A blonde haired woman ordered something to eat, and sat down next to him, continuous looking at him.

"What?" Naruto said after a while, getting a bit annoyed by the woman's gaze. He had such a good mood, and did not want it to be spoiled by another idiotic civilian.

"It is always odd to look from the outside in."

"What?" Naruto replied pointedly. He looked a bit better at her, the woman had long, straight, blonde hair, and dark eyes. The woman wore black pants, a black and purple blouse, and purple fingerless gloves, with a chain of blue beads around her left hand. But that was not just it. She looked different, but more importantly, she _felt_ different from any other shinobi he had seen. "Who are you, why is someone from Kumo bothering me," he added, recognizing her forehead protector.

The woman chuckled. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you're not scared."

"You're strong, but not as much that it should be fearsome," he frowned.

"Perhaps to you," she added knowingly. "But people usually fear me, like they fear you, Uzumaki Naruto."

"I asked you who you are," Naruto repeated, now a bit on his guard.

"Relax, no need to generate such chakra," she smiled, but he easily saw through it and knew the smile was fake. "I was merely interested in you, and Jiraiya-sama told me where I had the biggest chance of finding you. Though, I mostly followed your scent."

"What does the old perv have to do with someone from Kumo?"

"He acted as both my guide and my guard. He led my team and me to Konohagakure. I currently function as a jonin-sensei for my team of chunin-candidates. Though, the real reason for me personally to come here is you, mister nine."

Naruto heard the latter, narrowed his eyes a bit, and stood up. "If you're finished playing with me, I'll take my leave," he said darkly.

"I had imagined you would be more interested when you met someone like yourself," she frowned. "I am indeed a shinobi from Kumogakure, but like you, I have little in common with ordinary shinobi. My name is Nii Yugito, and I hold the Nibi, the two-tailed bijuu, inside me."

Naruto turned back. "The Kyuubi already told me so, but he also seems to think you and the cat are quite amusing."

"He talks to you even though he is sealed?" she asked, surprised. "How clearly can you hear him?"

"Not really a subtle spy, are you?"

"As I said, I care little about the borders set by shinobi," Yugito started to get a little annoyed by the boy's impudence. Didn't he realize how privileged he was, meeting a fellow jinchuriki, not to mention one with a level of control such as she reached? "Kumogakure may be my home, but I am as much a prisoner of that place as you are here."

"And you want to know how strong the Kyuubi's influence over me is, while you can hardly control your own hatred?" Naruto smirked.

Yugito's eyes narrowed, and her nails seemed to extend. "What do you know about-"

"I am the Kyuubi's jinchuriki, just as you said. I would have expected you to be smart enough to not make such obvious lies," Naruto said sharply. "Besides, you refer to yourself as a jinchuriki, the name the _humans_ give us to indicate we are their tools. The word they use to indicate that we exist to serve for their convenience. But you are wrong at one thing: even though many of them may be fools, I do not think myself that much different from them. And I certainly refuse to be called a tool.."

"What do you know about such things, child," she hissed. He shrugged at her, and walked away.

"Apologies about the scene, Teuchi-san," Naruto said, seeing how guarded the ramen master was due to the sheer amount of killing intend both jinchuriki had expelled, leaving a little extra money on his way out.

* * *

"He is different from what you expected, I presume?" Jiraiya said, stepping away from the cover from which he had followed the conversation.

"Apparently," she growled. "The fool is barely in control, he should at least listen to his elders. He is as foolish as Bee. No, even worse!"

"Now, now," Jiraiya reassured her. "He knows his situation pretty well, and though he still has a long way to go, he is already pretty remarkable for someone of his age."

"Don't let your pride blind you, Jiraiya-sama," the jinchuriki sighed. "Just like the eight tails caused more trouble than the two tails, so will the nine tails strength be beyond that of the eight tails. And unlike most of the bijuu, the Kyuubi was cunning enough to retain his freedom for centuries, while his brothers and sisters were caught and imprisoned one after another."

Jiraiya frowned. "So that is the reason you were not surprised he wasn't impressed by your power, even though you are 'in control' as a jinchuriki?"

"His power will surpass mine, just as the Kyuubi's surpasses that of the Nibi." She paused for a moment, thinking. "Just from speaking to him a little, it is clear to me his power vastly exceeds my own when I was his age. But still that means little, because his problems to gain control will also be far greater than the ones I had to face."

Jiraiya knew a few thinks about the horrible training the woman had endured to become this way. "Are things really this bad?"

"I honestly don't know," she spoke softly. "My process was partly an experiment, but my solution was quite different from that of the Hachibi's jinchuriki."

"After the first two parts of the exam are done," Jiraiya asked on a serious tone. "Would you be willing to take a look at the boy?"

She frowned. "It would be against the orders from Raikage-sama to reveal to much about myself, but I will do my duty as a jinchuriki, though I think you should make sure he listens to me, first."

"Thank you, Yugito. And I will make sure of it," Jiraiya laughed gently. "But don't be too surprised, the brat has lived his entire life without fully trusting anyone, there are probably only a handful of people he partially trusts, so cut him some slack."

"I know what it is to be seen as a monster," Yugito answered on a bitter tone. "Though, the fact that he still sees himself as a shinobi despite his acceptance that he is not human surprises me. Perhaps the support he got from you and the Hokage helped him to retain some of his humanity.."

* * *

Naruto frowned. Why would a foreign jinchuriki visit him? Naruto shrugged, and noticed that his hand guards each had a different symbol, on his right hand the symbol of Uzushiogakure, his left hand the symbol of Konohagakure. '_Who cares about villages, titles, or other boundaries? The only thing that would matter is friendship,'_ he thought. Jinchuriki or not, the woman was not his friend, she was nothing like him. So why would he care about her?

'_True strength is enduring everything on your own, not needing any help, not bending your will because of others. Like Hitomi-sama said, I will show the world my strength, than these idiots will no longer underestimate me._'

Not that Naruto's musings lasted long. "Ooooyyyaaabbbuuuunnn!" was the last Naruto heard before being tackled by an incoming Konohamaru.

After their babysitting mission, Konohamaru had taken a bad habit of stalking Naruto whenever he could. This meant that Konohamaru once again had managed to escape Ebisu, who would probably be panicking again. Apparantly, the teacher was not a fan of being lectured himself…

"Yo, what are you doing niichan?"

Naruto groaned when he stood up again, whisking the dusk from his brand new clothes. "Having a day off, Konohamaru."

"Are you going to take the Chunin Exams tomorrow, boss?" a small orange-haired girl asked.

'_Great, the entire Konohamaru squad has tracked me down,'_ Naruto realized, as he saw Moegi and Udon. "Yeah, my team will participate as well. I'm sorry, but I can't play today, still got some things I need to buy, and I have to meet my team soon," Naruto said, before vanishing with a puff of smoke and leaves.

Naruto knew enough that they would not stop following him, so he chose to shake them off. Though not the nicest way, the shunshin no jutsu certainly was the most effective. Naruto smiled to himself, realizing that not all the Konoha shinobi saw him as a monster.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh dear, and now I create some serious deviations from the manga.. But to quote the joker:_ it's all part of the plan_. A darker Naruto means the Kyuubi has more influence, which in turn creates the need to guide Naruto a bit more. Though.. It might not be as easy as Yugito would think…

Next chapter: the first stage of the exam!

-Z-

* * *

**_Another bonus, as Anko's presence was requested:_**

Dango

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt old. His head ached from an entire hour of listening to the rants of several shopkeepers and other civilians. And now he would get to speak the one who caused it all.

"Come in, Anko," he sighed when he heard her knocking on the door of his office.

"Ah.. Ehm.. Good afternoon, Hokage-sama, I ehh.." Anko started, clearly being very uncomfortable under the older man's glare.

"Sit down.." Hiruzen said, cutting her off.

"For the past hour I had to listen to reports from various civilians."

"Ah, yes, you see Hokage-sama, I was.."

"Silent," he cut her off, looking strictly. "I would like to get an explanation for the destruction of two shop buildings, three civilian houses, several dozen meters of street, and the fence around of Inuzuka kennels.." Hiruzen sighed. "They still have not located all of the dogs that had ran off.."

"Well, I was chasing.."

"There are also several rooftops that need mending now, and not mentioning the property you destroyed further, I would also like to know why there were nearly a dozen people wounded during your little rampage.." Hiruze continued, with a harsh look.

"Not to mention that you impaled several animals with poisoned kunai.." Hiruzen raised his voice. "Is this the behaviour expected from a jonin of Konoha?"

"Well, I was chasing a cat, sir," Anko said, blushing with embarrassment.

"A cat.." Hiruzen hissed. "All that.. You did all that because you chased one cat? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?"

"It stole my dango," Anko added, as if that explained everything. Though she quickly realized she should not have said that, as she saw the older man redden and several veins on his forehead bulged out.

"Give me one reason why I should not demote you to a genin," he managed not to shout. "Give me one reason.."

"Ermm… Well, this cat snatched away my dango.. And when I tried to catch the damned creature, I kept eluding me.."

"You mean to say that one single cat could escape a seasoned jonin?" Hiruzen facepalmed. "That is it.. You will only be doing D-rank missions the next three months! And you _will_ repay ever bit of damage you have done. Now get out of my office."

"Hokage-sama, you cannot be…" Anko tried to protest, paling at the idea of doing such missions. She would be the laughing stock of whole Konoha. And Hiruzen knew.

"You are lucky I did not take you off the exams, now GET OUT," Sarutobi Hiruzen, even though it happened only very rarely, lost his patience.

* * *

"Chie, what have you done? How did you get that dirty?" Ako exclaimed upon seeing the mud-covered cat.

"It was worth it," the cat chuckled.

* * *

Animal abuse

*ding dong*

"Hello?"

"Good Moring mister Uchiha, I am terribly sorry to bother you, but I am from the Konoha Animal Control, and I need to check up on an anonymous tip."

"Tip? What about?" Sasuke frowned, surprised by the visit of this uniformed man.

"Well, apparently you have been keeping a large number of illegal birds in your apartment, which is against the law. Let's see.." the man rummaged through his report. "Ducks. Ducks need to be kept in a garden, not inside an apartment, mister Uchiha."

"Ducks.. DUCKS?" Sasuke snapped. "That cat again.. I.. I will kill that bloody cat!"

"Calm down sir," the officer warned, taking a step back. The Uchiha's killing intent being obvious.

"Calm down? I WILL KILL THAT CAT!" Sasuke roared, activating his sharingan.

The man shrugged. "Suit it yourself, you are arrested for attempted animal abused," the man replied, taking out a can from his belt.

"Arrest me? Do you think you can stop an Uchiha?" Sasuke now totally lost it.

* * *

The Hokage frowned when he read the report. Uchiha Sasuke would be prosecuted for attempted animal abuse. And got arrested by a mere agent from the animal control department.. Who had used pepper spray against the sharingan...

"I'm getting too old for this job.." Hiruzen sighed.

**Edited: 08/02/15**


	18. The first stage

**Chunin Exams arc**

**First stage**

* * *

"I'm glad you all decided to come," Kurenai smiled proudly at her genin team. "Now I will explain how you will start the exam, now that you are all here. What are you doing?" she added when she saw Kiba give Naruto a few coins.

The said Inuzuka shrugged. "Hinata said this was a team thing, which meant that if one of us didn't show up, we would fail. So, Naruto and I made a bet on whether she was right or not."

"You.. Make bets like these?" Kurenai blinked in surprise.

"You gave us the good example, sensei," Kiba shrugged.

"I told you that it is foolish to think you know better than Hinata," Naruto smirked at the Inuzuka, not noticing the blush on Hinata's cheeks.

"You brought the forms I gave you yesterday?" Kurenai sighed, trying to hide her amusement. "But I must warn you not to be too carefree. These exams are a serious matter, staged or not, this is an event where people will die if they do not pay attention properly." This caught their attention. Well, Kiba's and Hinata's. Naruto did not seem to care at all.

Kurenai frowned. "I don't want to see any of you end up death because you underestimated the test, or the competition. Remember to back up your friends from Konoha, but be on your guard at all times, even to them. Do not trust anyone besides your own team."

"The first test will be taken in room 301 inside this building," she continued in her lecture mode. "Expect obstacles. Now hurry up and enter when it is your turn. And good luck."

"Thanks sensei," Kiba replied.

"And don't worry about us," Naruto added nonchalantly, though she saw in his eyes that he was completely serious. '_It must be an act to boost the team's morale a bit_,' she realized. She noticed that Hinata needed it, the girl just bowed to her, too nervous to speak. Kurenai wondered how many doubts had gone through the girl's had before she had arrived here. And how many doubts she still had. After all, she was uncharacteristically late. Normally, Hinata was the most punctual of the three. Well, Naruto didn't do too bad once he got used to the fact that she was not a jonin like Kakashi.

'_Good luck… I know you three have the strength and skill to make it._'

As she wanted to go to the meeting room where all the jonin-sensei were supposed to gather during the first test, she was halted. "Don't worry too much, Kurenai," Jiraiya spoke.

"How could I not worry?"

"I know," he smiled, though with a hint of sadness due to the memory. "I've sent more than one team into their exams.. But this team is strong. Even if they faced another Jinchuriki, they would win."

"As long as the rules are not bent or accidently forgotten because of Naruto.." she answered darkly.

"Even if it was my old sensei, anyone who tries that one will wish they were never born," the older man said in a tone which sent the chills down through her spine. It was easy to forget at times, by the Sannin had not earned himself that honorary title because of his goofy act. No, this was a shinobi with a vast amount of skill and experience.

* * *

When it finally was their turn to enter the building, Kiba alerted them the moment they stepped in. Hinata activated her byakugan. "Genjutsu," she hissed.

"Anyone watching us?" Naruto replied on a casual tone.

"Yes. Two men, chunin chakra levels, probably hiding their identities using henge no jutsu," she whispered back.

"Only chunin?" Kiba responded with disappointment.

"Yeah, why did we even bother to enter?" Naruto smirked. "Those fools can't beat Hinata's eyes, or your nose. Or my jutsu," he concluded with a smile.

The two chunin watched in confusion when the three genin disappeared after one of them had dropped a smoke bomb. But they couldn't be found. "What the.. Shunshin no jutsu? Where did they go?"

"No," the other replied. "It's impossible for genin to travel both fast enough, and far enough, to avoid being detected.."

"But look at the screen," the first one pointed, "Look. They just entered the room."

"How in the world…"

* * *

"Great idea, Hinata!" Naruto smirked, looking at his teammates. "Of course I could not use the stealth seal on you, but you can activate them for yourselves. Stupid I didn't think of it earlier!"

Kiba panted, and looked annoyed. "Stupid… you are… an idiot," he stammered. "Damn, if you hadn't... used that shunshin no jutsu… that chakra... drain was crazy!"

"It only took half a minute," Naruto frowned, not understanding why his teammates were so exhausted. '_If it had been a few minutes, ok.. And they didn't even have to walk themselves_,' Naruto pondered. Luckily, Kiba had a few food pills with him, so the others rejuvenated quickly.

"H-How long can you keep this jutsu active, Naruto-kun?" Hinata questioned, after she had regained her breath.

"Depends.. It drains more chakra when more people are around, and if they are really looking for you, the chakra consumption is quite high," Naruto shrugged. "But a few minutes, at the worst circumstances, is doable. I think my record is about twenty five minutes," he scratched his chin, thinking. "But that was during night.."

'_So long?'_ Hinata almost wanted to say out loud. "Does it take the... it's chakra to do that?"

"Why?" Naruto replies, honestly surprised.

'_As I thought..'_ Hinata realized. '_Naruto-kun doesn't need the Kyuubi, he is already far stronger than anyone would suspect.' _

Kiba shook his head, thinking that he should stop feeling surprised whenever Naruto did these kinds of things. He looked into the room they were supposed to enter.

"So, these guys are our competition? Doesn't look like much. Damn, look at how old they are.. They must really suck if they still need to do the exam at their age," Kiba said loudly, drawing more than a few angry looks.

"You should not draw too much attention to us, Kiba-kun," Hinata whispered, worriedly.

"Don't waste your breath on that troublesome fool," Shikamaru remarked, walking towards them. He and Choji greeted them friendly, but Ino did not seem to have forgotten her defeat. "Come along, I saw the others over there," Shikamaru added.

"Are you alright, Ino-san?" Hinata asked, seeing the blonde's look.

"Yeah.. Yeah I recovered quickly enough," Ino said, with an odd tremor in her voice. She did not know how, but somehow, something had pushed her out of Naruto's mind when she had tried to use her jutsu. Especially the response of her father made her worry. Enough to agree and promise that she would never attempt to use her jutsu on Naruto again.

"So you guys entered too?" Sakura asked when the two teams joined hers. Kiba and Hinata walked towards the ever quiet Shino. Sasuke stood a bit apart from the others, seemingly annoyed and a bit impetuous. Naruto expected that the last Uchiha was dying to get a chance to show off his skills. '_How much would Sasuke have grown? Fighting him could be amusing_,' Naruto pondered. '_I still owe him some payback for attacking me.._'

"Yeah, Kurenai-sensei allowed us to enter," he said indifferently. Naruto could still see the fear she was trying to hide. Not that he really blamed her, after what he had done in the country of waves, fear was only a logical emotion for her to feel, as she did not know the truth about Naruto. Naruto had once hoped Sakura would behave differently because she too knew what it was to be singled out because of something she could not help. Not that she had allowed to let that hope exist very long. Though, it had surprised him a bit that she would take the initiative to talk to him..

* * *

Kurenai joined Kakashi, Gai, and Asuma in their conversation about their genin. "Excuse me," a blonde kunoichi from Kumo tapped on her shoulder. "Could I talk with you for a moment? Privately?"

"Of course," Kurenai frowned. "Is there something wrong?" she asked when they stood at some distance from the other jonin.

"You are the sensei of Uzumaki Naruto?" the woman asked, continuing when she saw Kurenai's nod. "My name is Nii Yugito, and you could say I am… related to Naruto, from a certain point of view."

"What?" Kurenai frowned.

"I am two where he is nine," Yugito added softly, cautious not to be heard by the others. "Do not worry I am here under Jiraiya-sama's protection. But I do need to warn you, as Naruto is not the only one who joined the exams. There is another.."

* * *

"Neji!" Naruto exclaimed. "And Lee as well!" he added. "Darn, now this exam has become a lot more difficult.. Can't we make a deal?"

"No way," Lee smiled back, "It's been too long since we had our last youthful duel, and we will face each other again." Neji grimaced slightly because of his overly enthusiastic team mate's behaviour.

Their third team mate, Tenten, was amused by the carefree behaviour of Lee and Naruto. "I know you, my dad made that set of armour and clothing for the Hyuga clan," she remarked.

"He did? Tell him he did a great.." before Naruto could finish his response, someone walked towards him. Naruto noticed how Sasuke and Neji tensed.

"You.." a cold voice permanently ended the cheerful atmosphere around the young Uzumaki. A murderous intent filled the room, and Naruto turned around to look at its source. A relatively short boy of Naruto's own age was looking at him, he had auburn coloured hair, and a large gourd on his back.

Naruto smirked when he saw the kanji for the word 'love' on his forehead, something which was completely out of place next to the boy's empty and emotionless eyes. But it was not the lack of distinctive pupils or eyebrows, or the exhausted look on his face, which made Naruto shudder a bit. It was the cold fury he saw behind the boy's mask. The obvious lack of sanity. Somewhat shocked, Naruto realized what the boy was.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto answered, keeping his smirk intact, though his eyes were fully serious.

All the talk in the room silenced when Naruto answered the boy's intent with equal power. Most of the nearby genin stepped back, with terrified looks on their faces. '_Is this what it feels like when _I_ am angry? No wonder Sakura was scared_,' Naruto mused.

"Sabaku no Gaara," the boy replied with a voice devoid of any emotion. "I did not know there would be another like me."

"Tsk. Don't even bother to compare yourself to me," Naruto scoffed, feeling his whiskers thicken, and knowing that the colour of his eyes had changed a bit as well. "It's not like we are anything alike."

Two terrified shinobi who seemed to be Gaara's teammates tried to persuade Gaara to walk away from this, but Gaara did not even seem to notice them. He was far to obsessed with this unexpected threat he now faced.

Meanwhile, Naruto wondered what agitated the Kyuubi so much. The demon had been amused when they had met the host of the two-tails, as if he viewed the other demon like a younger and weaker sibling, but this was different. The Kyuubi despised the demon that had been sealed inside Gaara.

"Your blood would be a worthy offering," Gaara said, while his face lost all pretense of sanity. "And killing you would certainly prove my existence."

"Gaara, please don't," his older female teammate tried to warn him. "Please stop this.."

"Back down you two," a heavy voice shouted through the room. A jonin had entered the room, a large and imposing man, covered with scars. "If you two start fighting, I'll kick the both out of Konoha myself."

Gaara glared back at the man. "Fine," though his tone spoke of the contrary. "We will meet soon, Uzumaki," Gaara added with a final look at Naruto, before he took his place.

As Gaara walked away, Naruto turned towards his formed classmates. He frowned a bit when he noticed that all of them, except for Hinata and Kiba, had backed away. "Whatever you guys do, avoid that guy," Naruto said to them on a serious tone. "A duel with this Gaara will only have one possible end: slaughter. Avoid him, or run away as hard as you can if you cannot avoid him."

Flanked by Hinata and Kiba, Naruto walked towards the list to find out which seats they had to take.

"Monsters," Sakura said softly, her face still pale because of her fear. "They both are.. Must be monsters.. And Kiba and Hinata didn't even flinch.."

Shikamaru frowned as he considered what she said. He realized he had to talk to his dad, or Asuma, soon. Was this why Naruto had broken through his restraints so easily? If so, then these were indeed monsters, but not as unpretentious as Sakura would think. And while Naruto seemed to have some humanity, the other did not. "Neji-san, what did you see?" he asked the Hyuga.

"Naruto is correct," Neji said on an even tone, trying to not reveal how unsettled he was. "Facing Sabaku no Gaara would be suicide. They both possess chakra levels beyond any other genin in this room. Far beyond any of us.. Lee, Tenten, let's follow them."

Shikamaru nodded towards Choji and Ino, and followed Neji's example. Sakura wanted to move on as well, but noticed that Shino looked at Sasuke. "What's.." she started, before she looked at Sasuke's face.

Even though it was only a fraction of a second before he regained his composure, Sakura saw the jealous look at Sasuke's face. She knew how obsessed her teammate was when it came to power, so witnessing the display of Gaara and Naruto must have been a slap in his face.

Sakura sighed, realizing that this exam might become a bit problematic if it continued like this. "Let's find our seats," she said with a faked optimism. Her inner persona shouted that she should jump in to comfort Sasuke, but that she decided that this would not be the best course of action.

* * *

To their disappointment, the man called Morino Ibiki led the first part of their exam.

It was especially disappointing because it was a written exam, consisting of ten questions, of which the last one would be revealed ten minutes before the end of the one-hour exam. With the rules he set out, it was pretty obvious that they wanted to see how the genin could cheat the exam without being noticed. And though Naruto could answer two questions, the remaining seven were beyond his knowledge and abilities.

Naruto was a bit annoyed that there were so many observers, which made it impossible for him to use the stealth seal, as there would always be one who would notice him. Hinata had it easy, as her byakugan could simply saw everything, making cheating in this exam almost embarrassingly easy to her. Naruto saw that Kiba, who was seated a few spots in front of him, also smiled with confidence. The observers didn't pay any attention to Akamaru, who was sitting on Kiba's head. Naruto figured that the dog somehow peeked at the exam sheets of others and gave Kiba the information he needed.

'_Dammit, what now,'_ Naruto cursed at himself. He had left two bunshin outside the room, but though they had stealth seals on them, Naruto did not know how to contact them without being noticed himself. Usually, Naruto communicated with his bunshin by creating another, which spread the new information once it 'popped'.

* * *

Because all the stories had made her curious, Chie had been watching from the other side of the window how Naruto would do this exam of his. And while she conveniently sat there, she thought he was rather foolish.

'_And now he panics because he does not know every answer.. Foolish two-leg, he only needs to take care he doesn't drop to zero points,' _she thought, annoyed by the boy's short-sightedness. He always lost track of the details while busy.

She sighed. '_But if I do nothing, he'll start doing something foolish and he'll end up failing the exam. Let's see, I guess I could track down those clones he made earlier. If they were in the room itself, he would have already finished writing down the answers… so they are probably right outside,' _she guessed.

* * *

'_Dammit, I got to try _something'. Naruto cursed internally, as he realized he should have anticipated something like this, keeping those bunshin outside the room had been quite a mistake. One of the observers looked at him suspiciously, but could not spot anything suspicious. '_Just another panicked brat,' _the man smiled to himself.

A moment later, one of the observers stood up to close the door, which had suddenly opened up slightly. The observer looked in the hallway, and as he wanted to close the door when he saw nothing, a cat slipped through his legs. When he turned around, he noticed the black and white creature sitting on his chair. The creature seemed rather curious when the man tried to pick it up, but refused to cooperate.

The man considered that it wasn't worth making a fuss about it. The creature did not help any of the genin, and attempts to remove it would only distract the kids. The man shrugged, and closed the door, resuming his watch. Four minutes after that, Naruto started writing down the answers. And thanked himself for putting so much extra chakra in the bunshin, as a contingency. That was why it could last this long, despite the number of observers. Containing a demon was useful, at times.

The observers had never spotted the bunshin which entered the moment Chie caused a distraction, though Naruto nearly facepalmed when his bunshin had kicked Gaara's chair before it dispelled itself. Though, it seemed like one of the observers made a note when a little amount of smoke lingered near Gaara. The remaining time seemed like an eternity to Naruto, especially because more and more genin were removed from the room. Luckily, neither Hinata nor Kiba got caught. Not that Naruto expected such. When it came to these things, his team mates were a lot better than he ever would be. Well, if he did not have the stealth seal active that was.

To his big surprise, Naruto spotted a familiar figure a few seats away from him. _'What the hell is Haku doing here?'_ Naruto asked himself, recognizing the clothes. Haku had been a deserter from Kirigakure, and to Naruto's knowledge, missing-nin were not allowed in the exams.

"Alright," Ibiki spoke up after looking at the clock. "And now we will begin the tenth question."

The serious looks on the scarred man's face unsettled most of the genin, especially those who were already panicked due to the exam. "This question will have some added rules." This certainly caused some surprise with the remaining genin.

"I'll explain. These are the rules.. Of desperation," Ibiki spoke darkly, while he started to pace around. Those who were seated in the front looked more and more uncomfortable. "Each of you must decide for yourself whether or not you will take this last question or not."

"Choose?!" a female voice spoke up, from somewhere behind Naruto. "What happens if we choose not to take it?"

A devilish grin appeared on Ibiki's face. "If you don't want it, your points will be reduced to zero. You and your team fail!"

"Silence," he said loudly, after several genin started to speak. "The other rule.."

Completely silence returned in the room. "If you choose to take it, and fail to answer the question, you will lose the right to take the Chunin Exams."

"What?!" several voices protested.

"Forever," Ibiki added ominously.

Naruto smiled when Kiba started to protest, aided by a ferociously barking pup Akamaru. "What kind of stupid rule is that?! There are enough guys around who took the exam before!"

Ibiki laughed at him. "Those guys had the luck they did not meet me.. This year I set the rules. Of course, if you don't have the guts, you can always try next year."

When the silence set in after Ibiki's explanation, a lot of genin showed outright panic. It wasn't long before one stood up, raising his hand and shouting he gave up.

"50, 130, and 111. You fail," one of the observers noted.

This one resignation caused a new wave of panic, and within a minute another twenty four genin had left. Naruto frowned, the first one to give up was the guy whose answers Naruto had copied, as his bunshin had concluded that this guy was the one who had the best answers. '_Awfully suspicious that a guy who easily answered everything correctly with such speed, would not dare to take the final question.._'

Naruto saw Kiba's frown as the boy looked back at him. Naruto shook his head when he saw the unspoken question. They would not give up. But what bothered Naruto was not Kiba, but Hinata. She constantly doubted her own ability, so he figured she would also have the highest chance of giving up.

But Hinata did not look back, when Naruto turned to look at her. He could see a tear rolling down on her cheek, even though he could not see most of her face, as she looked down.

'_Dammit Hinata.. Don't you give in, that's what he wants. Don't give those bastards the chance to say that they are right about you, because they're not!'_ Unintentionally, Naruto's anger drew on the Kyuubi's chakra.

* * *

'_They must have made this rule to make Naruto-kun fail..'_ Hinata thought gravely. _'The whole village is against him, so it is likely that they would make a rule to lock him out. It's so unfair!'_

Tears of anger started to flow. Why was there so much injustice towards her team mate? Why would they always go out of their way to harm him, even though it was forbidden?

Her head jerked up when she _felt_ his rage. With frightened eyes, she looked at the angry face of her normally kind team mate. He shook his head as if he wanted to say 'don't dare to surrender'.

She nodded, with a little smile. "Naruto-kun would never give up, no matter what they want to do to him," she whispered to herself. How could she doubt him, the very person whose courage had inspired her all these years?

* * *

Naruto turned back, after being confident that Hinata would not give up.

"Why don't you stop playing around with us?" he exclaimed, after another six had left the room.

Ibiki frowned a bit. The boy had radiated anger for only a moment, and due to the enormous amount of chakra the brat possessed, that intent had nearly paralyzed the other genin. And even scared one more group out of the exam. He looked around and saw that most of the doubters had already left. "There are still three more minutes if you want to avoid the risk, brat."

"Avoid risk?" Naruto scoffed. "We are shinobi. If I wanted to avoid risk I would have become a farmer."

That broke the tension. '_Darn, seems like that's it.. Anko will have to do the rest,' _he sighed. He looked at the 63 genin that were left in the room. "No one else?" he asked.

When no one responded, he shrugged. "All right.. Everyone!" Ibiki spoke loudly. "You all pass."

"What?" several genin screamed. "What about the final question," one demanded.

"I just asked that final question," Ibiki smiled, now completely different. He dropped his intimidating act, and explained. "The final question gave you the two options you had during the first stage of you exams: you could either take the risk, or be scared away. And no, those first nine questions were not pointless," he laughed.

"Those first nine questions tested if you could gather information or not. The last one if you had the guts you will need to back up those skills. As far as I am concerned, those that fled away are incompetent as ninja." He uncovered his head, which caused many of the genin to hold their breath as the saw the horrible scars on top of it.

"Gathering information without being noticed is one skill you will have to possess, unless you want to end up like me," he pointed as his own scars. Several genin paled. "But in order to gather the information, you will first need to take a risk. Those left us today were unfit to become a chunin who could do the higher ranking missions which require you to risk your life."

"It was a leap of faith," he added, as the protests continued. "Because, if you make it to chunin, you will not be able to avoid the danger. If you are not prepared to die, or see your comrades hurt, you should quit this exam and continue your D or C ranked missions back home. There is no place here for cowards! Now, I wish you luck with the next stage of your.." Ibiki went silent when something broke through the window.

This person erected a large banner, and shouted "I am the examiner for the second test, Mitarashi Anko, now let's go!".

"What the.." Naruto frowned. What the hell was going on? The black (or blue?) haired woman was vaguely familiar. The woman wore a tan overcoat on top of a fitted mesh boy suit. She also wore a dark orange mini-skirt, and a forehead protector, but all in all Naruto thought she should have chosen something more decent to wear. Haruki's lectures on good manner finally sorted their effect.

"Bad timing," Ibiki said, showing up from behind the banner.

"What the.. Why did you leave so many of those maggots in here?"

"They're good," the tall man shrugged. "That is why 21 teams managed to survive the first phase."

The woman looked around at the 63 perplexed genin. "Bah, fine, I would have halved them anyway. All the more fun for me," she added with a vicious smile.

"Ok you maggots, get back to your sensei!" the loud jonin said. "Tomorrow at nine we will continue at training ground forty four."

Naruto realized where he had seen her, she was the caretaker of the forest he often went to, and chased him out twice. When he joined up with Kiba and Hinata, he let a wide ferocious grin escape. "Tomorrow will be fun," he stated. "Thanks Chie," he petted her when she jumped into his arms.

* * *

**A/N: **I wasn't sure whether I wanted to replace this part of the exam or not, but in the end I felt like it didn't really matter to me what kind of setting it was. The most important thing was that Gaara and Naruto had to meet. First stage of the exam did not interest me that much, to be honest. The second part is much more interesting. Not to mention the third… nor what happens after that part.

-Z-

**Edit: 17/02/15**


	19. The second stage

**Chunin Exams arc**

**Second stage**

* * *

"Do you know Nii Yugito, Naruto?" Kurenai asked, after the three genin had told her how they succeeded their first test.

"She talked to me, yeah," Naruto frowned. The others looked curiously. Naruto saw that Kurenai was troubled by something, and Naruto made a guess. "We've met another one just now."

"He did feel like you did," Hinata said on a sad tone. "Though, the influence of the 'other' chakra was a lot stronger."

"Yugito told me to warn you about another jinchuriki," Kurenai admitted. "I do not know how she figured that out though."

"It takes one to know one," Naruto replied darkly. Kiba realized what they were talking about now.

"Who was he?" Kurenai asked. "Did he have control? Yugito-san seemed quite agitated about it."

"Sabaku no Gaara, a genin from Sunagakure," Naruto answered. "I do not know much more, but I do know that his mind is nearing the point of being shattered under the pressure," Naruto sighed. "He will probably fall soon. I do not know why they took him here, but in my eyes it looks like they brought an armed bomb over here, waiting till it explodes. Because if he is challenged during this exam.. Perhaps that is what they want. This situation is suspicious."

"I will report this to the Hokage-sama and Jiraiya-sama at once," Kurenai said on a serious tone. "Try to avoid him. Do not engage him at any cost."

After their sensei walked off with a hurried pace, Naruto turned to his teammates. "I cannot do as she asks," Naruto told them. "Gaara has a demon sealed inside him, just like me. However, he is unstable, and a danger to all of Konoha."

"What do you want to do about it?" Kiba asked, afraid of what Naruto was going to answer.

"For you two to stay out of it. No Hinata, I am serious about this," Naruto interrupted her before she could argue against it. "Gaara possesses chakra beyond any other genin. If he progresses to the latter stages of the exams, or that he loses control when you guys are around.. No, I am the only one capable to take him down, and the forest of death is the perfect place to get rid of him."

"You can't be serious!" Kiba exclaimed. "Why would you have to risk your life to.."

"Because I am a shinobi," Naruto interrupted him. "It is my duty. And also because I am his fellow jinchuriki. And I fear that he was brought here for a reason. Perhaps as a countermeasure against me, or perhaps they just want to unleash him upon Konoha."

"Sunagakure and Konoha have a peace treaty," Hinata tried to argue against it. "And how would they have known about you?"

"Perhaps the two villages have a treaty. But it would not be the first treaty to be broken.." Naruto replied darkly.

"You should let the jonin handle him, or Jiraiya-sama, or the Hokage himself!" desperately she sought a way out of this situation as she could not let Naruto risk his own life like this.

"And create an international incident? Intervention from Konoha during the chunin exams against one of Suna's candidates? It would be seen as a breach of that same peace treaty, and the world would know that it was Konoha who broke it. What would it mean to the other treaties that Konoha has? It might lead to a fourth shinobi world war.. Especially when Iwagakure is only waiting for an opportunity to attack us. And Kumo isn't exactly friendly either."

"B.. but.."

"Hinata," Naruto said softly. "I know you don't like it, but Gaara is a threat to Konoha, and I am the only one who can do something about it. Whatever I may be, I know I do have a duty to the village. All I ask from you and Kiba is to locate him, and then I want you to get out of there as quickly as you can."

"Like hell we would!" Kiba showed his anger, emphasized by Akamaru's angry barking.

"We would never let you do this on your own," Hinata said with determination, though Naruto could see the tears in the corners of her eyes. "We can help! We _will_ help."

"Do you even realize what you two are saying?" Naruto replied with an exhausted voice. "You have never seen a demon, not a real one. Even back in the ruins you only saw a fragment of it. You have no idea of what it can do.. If I am right, and Gaara loses control… I even doubt that one of the jonin would be capable of stopping him alone. Perhaps Jiraiya could, but even he would have a hard time."

Naruto became a bit angry, though a corner of his mind realized he loved it that his teammates would take such risk for him, he would never actually allow them to take the risk. "If I face Gaara, you two _have_ to get out of my way. I will not let you risk your lives because of what I have to do. If you guys are too close you would only distract me. It would only hold me back."

Hinata looked like he hit her, and Kiba and Akamaru growled. Though it pained him to hurt his teammates like this, Naruto saw no other option. Even if it meant insulting them, even if it meant that he had to say they were just a burden to him, he would rather do that than allow them to risk their lives. He rushed away, though not before Hinata caught a glimpse of fear and sadness on his face.

"He is afraid," she said to her angry teammates, when Naruto was gone.

"Of course he is," Kiba growled.

"No, not of Gaara," she replied. "Naruto would not be like that. I think.. I think he is afraid he gets us hurt. Perhaps even that he will be the one who loses control. That he is the one to hurt us.."

"What do you mean?" Kiba's rage turned into surprise. "He just told us we were useless, that we would only be in his way!"

"I think Naruto fears that if Gaara releases his demon, he will have to do the same to stop Gaara.."

"That would… he wouldn't…"

"Naruto-kun will put the village's interest above his own. He just told us that the forest of death was the ideal place... it would be the area where their fight would cause the least destruction to Konoha. Imagine what would happen if a demon was released within a populated area.." Hinata felt the tears run down. Naruto would be willing to die for the very citizens who cursed him his entire life. "But I.. I won't allow it," she stammered. "Jiraiya-sama must be able to help us.. Somehow."

* * *

Silence had filled the room after Kurenai had left. Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in his chair, smoking his pipe, whilst staring into the distance, seemingly lost in thought.

Jiraiya couldn't blame him. '_This situation is dangerous. We cannot act, unless we want to create trouble with Suna, but if we do not act, and Naruto is proven right about this Gaara's instability.. Last time I nearly saw a jinchuriki lose control, I was just in time to repair her seal,' _Jiraiya remembered the ordeal when he had first met Yugito.

The longer the toad sage pondered, the further away a solution seemed. That meant: a solution which avoided casualties in Konoha, and did not lead to war with Suna. Both elder men were shaken out of their reverie when Hinata and Kiba entered. The young Inuzuka could barely contain his frustration while he told them about what had happened before.

"We could promote Naruto based upon his assessment of the situation alone," Hiruzen said with a wry smile.

"Hokage-sama!" Hinata exclaimed, her eyes widened with shock. "You can't mean you intend to.. To let Naruto.."

"No I do not, Hinata," Hiruzen sighed. "But I cannot deny that Naruto's judgement… well if I were him I would probably do the same thing. Jiraiya do you know anything about this Sabaku no Gaara?"

Jiraiya frowned and looked from the genin to his former sensei. "If I remember correctly, Suna had sealed away a demon called Shukaku. This creature is said to be the restless spirit of a corrupted priest, but I suspect that it is truly the Ichibi, the one tailed bijuu." Jiraiya sighed. "Sensei, in all honesty, if that kid breaks there are probably only four people in Konoha who can engage such a demon on their own and live."

"And one of them has no intent of causing a global war," Yugito spoke from the window, startling the others. Which was quite a big deal, considering the two people she managed to surprise. "Don't worry. I have no intention of acting against Konoha, Hokage-sama," she added quickly, when she saw Hiruzen rise from his seat. "I will _defend_ myself when I am attacked, but I cannot attack a chunin-candidate while he is participating in the exams. Raikage-sama would forbid me to do so, and he would be right."

"But.." Kiba tried to protest.

"Aside from the three of us, Naruto is the only other who has the raw power to match Gaara," Yugito spoke clearly. "But it would be foolish to think that he has the control needed to match Gaara if the latter loses control."

"Then what do you propose?" Hiruzen asked sharply. "We cannot act, but cannot afford not to intervene when there are so many lives at stake."

"If you want to kill Naruto, you should send him to fight Gaara right now," the jinchuriki spoke bluntly. "He is not ready yet."

"Perhaps, but perhaps not," Jiraiya spoke softly. "Never underestimate Naruto's ability. And like you, Yugito, he was forced to grow faster than any other child."

"Do not compare us," she hissed back. "The Kyuubi is something completely different from the Nibi!"

Hinata and Kiba were shocked when they realized who this woman was.

"This is not the time for this," Hiruzen said with a tired voice, as he lifted his hand to end the discussion. "If you think that it is time which Naruto needs, than I propose that Hinata and Kiba try to stop him from engaging Gaara tomorrow. And all this is a secret, of course.."

"We will try our best, Hokage-sama," Hinata said in relief.

"Hold it," Jiraiya warned. "Naruto will be able to sense Gaara. Guiding him the wrong way, or stopping him, will prove to be a very difficult task. Especially with that stubborn nature of his."

"We don't care," Kiba replied. "We know we must stop him, and we will."

Hiruzen smiled at the determination he saw on faces of the young genin. "I will arrange for a strong paralyzing poison to be brought to the Hyuga manor. Add a little to a kunai or a senbon, and you should be able to stop Naruto for a few hours," Hiruzen said gently to Hinata.

"Jiraiya, and you too, if you are willing, Yugito-san," Hiruzen continued. "I ask you two to go to the central tower. If you notice things go wrong, you have my authorization to intervene. And if it is possible, train Naruto while he awaits the next stage of the exam."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Jiraiya and Yugito agreed.

"And I trust you two will do your parts as well, and keep this knowledge secret from everyone else," Hiruzen frowned. He did not like it to rely on two genin in such sensitive matters, but under the current conditions…

"Erm.. Hokage-sama?" Hinata asked hesitantly. "If Gaara gets through the second stage, how will he be stopped?"

"There will be a one month period between the second and third stage," Hiruzen said seriously. "If possible, I will arrange it so that Naruto faces Gaara under controlled circumstances. Also, I will notify the jonin-sensei from Konoha to warn their students about this Gaara."

"After what happened today?" Kiba smiled weakly. "None of the others would even dare to get close to either Naruto or Gaara, let alone engage them..."

* * *

"Yo, Haku!" Naruto drew his former enemy's attention. Hinata and Kiba had not yet arrived at the meeting place, but Naruto knew he was a bit early, with another twenty five minutes before they had to report at the entrance. But most of the foreign teams had already gathered, though Naruto had not yet seen Gaara.

"Naruto-san," Haku replied, somewhat pensive.

"So, I take it that you returned to Kirigakure?" Naruto pointed at the new hitai-ate on his fellow genin's head.

"Yes, after the current Mizukage-sama was appointed, Zabuza-sama was willing to return. Mizukage-sama was quite happy with our return as well, and she has allowed me to join a genin team and take the exams."

"Even though becoming chunin is only a formality to you," Naruto smirked, remembering the boy's skill from their meeting at the Land of Waves.

"I don't know," Haku replied honestly. "After my defeat, and what happened yesterday, I doubt whether it will be that easy. I cannot, however, disappoint Mizukage-sama, nor will I disappoint Zabuza-sama."

"You sound as if you doubt yourself," Naruto said somewhat surprised, "Even with your strength?"

"Tell me, Naruto, what do you think is 'strength'?"

"Strength?" Naruto scratched the back of his head in confusion. "I uhm.. Being able to beat any enemy with my own power?"

"Don't you think strength should have a reason?"

"Reason?"

"Why would someone use his strength if he has no reason? They say that each of the kage is so strong because they all have a lot of people who they need to protect. I believe… when a person has something important to protect, that's when they can truly become strong."

Naruto frowned. He remembered the moments when he felt strongest, like in the Land of Waves. He recalled his own reasons to face Gaara. '_Protecting those I deem important.. But who do I..'_ Naruto mused, before thinking about his team, Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, and Kurenai. And beyond his team there were Haruki, Ako, Jiraiya, and even the old Hokage.

"Perhaps you are right," Naruto admitted. "But why tell me this?"

Haku looked at him sharply. "I have seen you act, both yesterday and while in the country of waves. I have always lived and fought to serve Zabuza-sama, and now Mizukage-sama. But when I saw you, it felt like you only fought for yourself. As if you do not know any reason for which you fight."

Naruto did not really know how to counter that statement. Haku returned to his team members. "Strength without reason," Naruto mumbled. '_But reason do I have? I do my duty to a village which shuns me. I act kindly to those who return it with hatred. Do I even have a reason?'_

Naruto felt the Kyuubi chuckle. "_Reason? Reasons are for weaklings, you should fight for yourself, because no one else will fight for you.._" the fox spoke darkly.

Normally, Naruto would have immediately agreed with this… but the time with team 8 made him see things differently. Naruto felt like he began to change, if only it was a little.

* * *

Naruto had another ten minutes to ponder about his own reasons, and Haku's statement, before he was joined by a serious looking Kiba. Even Hinata seemed somewhat agitated. _'Still annoyed by the Gaara thing I guess,'_ Naruto thought. The group remained unusually silent.

'_Great, I even manage to scare away the few that don't treat me as an outcast_,' Naruto scowled. But he felt as if it was needed. He would rather be hated by them, than to let them risk their lives like that.

Mitarashi Anko had finally appeared, but Naruto heard relatively little about what she said, still lost in thought. Though not lost enough to be unable to dodge the kunai the annoyed jonin threw at him. "Pay attention, maggot," she spoke, appearing from behind him.

Naruto felt his anger surge, but before he could respond, another genin appeared behind Anko. Who handed her the kunai she had just thrown… with his extended tongue.

"You dropped this," he said with a creepy voice.

"Why thank you," Anko responded, seemingly friendly. "But don't sneak up on me, unless you want to die.. Seriously.."

"My humblest apologies," the genin said, though there was nothing in his voice that agreed with his words. "I just got a little exited by that blood," he pointed at the scratch on Naruto's face.

As the tall, dark-haired genin stalked off, Anko frowned a bit. "Looks like we've got no shortage of bloodthirsty ones this time." She looked down at Naruto, "Be careful for that one too, don't act stupid, kid. Kurenai would kill me if I let anything happen to you," she whispered.

Naruto didn't miss the slight traces of agitation in the jonin's voice. '_Great, now we have that long-tongued creep to worry about as well? And she is aware of Gaara as well..'_ Naruto had just realized that he could not notice anything which might have implied that the Hokage had taken countermeasures after Kurenai's report, but he now guessed he was wrong.

"Are you alright?" Hinata asked softly.

"Huh? O, it was just a scratch, it's already healed," Naruto said casually, wiping the blood drops off his cheek to demonstrate it.

"Just pay attention, Naruto," Kiba said on a serious tone. "We've got to get a scroll from the tent over there, and capture its counterpart during the test. Once we have both scrolls, we need to go to the tower in the center."

"Yeah, yeah. Scroll. Tent.. I heard her," Naruto shrugged.

"Then don't act stupid and focus on the mission," Kiba growled.

As Kiba stalked off to the tent to collect their team's scroll, Hinata watched Naruto carefully. Her mother's lessons enabled her to 'read' most people fairly accurately. But she could not figure out what Naruto was thinking. Despite the determination he showed the day before, he now seemed distracted by his own thoughts.

"Say, Hinata," Naruto shook her out of her contemplations. "What would you fight for?"

"I.. I don't.." she stammered. She thought he was talking about Gaara. "I would rather not fight at all."

Naruto frowned. "Fighting is inevitable, we are shinobi. But what should we be fighting for?" Kiba returned, and Naruto saw Hinata would not answer him.

"Here, you two fill in these agreement forms," the Inuzuka said bluntly. "Somehow, there seems to be a risk that we might die."

* * *

"A little to the north east," Hinata whispered to her teammates. Within ten minutes after entering they had tracked down another team. Of course, team 8 had an unfair advantage, with both Kiba and Hinata in a single team.

"There is something strange about them," Hinata added, while they drew close to them.

"Genjutsu," Kiba hissed. "Release," the three chanted. Even though Naruto wondered why he did not feel any change at all.

Three genin dressed in yellow jumpsuit fled from the clearing. "Seems they were preparing some kind of trap, and we disturbed them before they finished it," Hinata explained. "Wait, Naruto!"

But Naruto did not wait. He easily caught up with the three terrified genin. Naruto saw their head protectors, they were shinobi from Amegakure.

Naruto decided to send out three kage bunshin to capture the three cowardly genin. "Give me your scroll," he said calmly, when his bunshin brought his victims to him. Kiba and Hinata jumped down, finally having caught up.

"Now," Naruto growled. Seemingly not willing to take a chance, one of them, the only one with both his eyes uncovered, took out a scroll. Sensing his intent, Naruto tore a kunai through the boy's throat.

Hinata screamed out as Naruto executed his captive, and then noticed that the scroll he had taken out was a fake.

The boy had been willing to ignite an entire scroll of explosive tags, willing to sacrifice himself if it meant taking them all down at once.

"Last chance to leave this place alive," Naruto's voice threatened the remaining two genin. They surrendered quickly, this time handing over the real scroll, which Kiba took.

"Another heaven," the Inuzuka said tersely, not yet realizing Naruto had just saved them. The two survivors took their comrade's body and left, heading back to the entrance they came from. "You keep these two, Hinata," he added, handing over the scrolls.

"Why the hell did you just do that?" Kiba snapped.

"Kiba-kun, he was trying to ignite a scroll filled with explosive tags," Hinata explained softly.

Kiba frowned a bit, but was not satisfied. "Nevertheless, you," he pointed at Naruto. "You should control yourself."

"You did draw on the Kyuubi's chakra very easily," Hinata agreed, before Naruto could respond. "I know you are agitated, but.."

"Hinata is right," Kiba growled. "Right now, you are a mess, Naruto. It's bad enough to be afraid of one lunatic around here, so don't lose your mind as well."

"I don't," Naruto growled back. "Did we get the right scroll?"

"We already had the heaven scroll. I told you that already," Kiba countered, "You killed that guy for nothing."

Hinata was a bit worried by Kiba's anger, and the somewhat disillusioned look in Naruto's eyes. She activated her byakugan. "North, nearly a kilometer away, a girl is attacked by a bear."

"Maybe she has the right scroll," Kiba said grimly.

* * *

Karin lost track of her teammates when they were ambushed by another group. A kunai had wounded her left calf muscles, hindering her movement. Once she was able to escape her pursuers, she decided to take a little rest to heal her leg.

"Damn it all," she screamed, running away as fast as she could on her injured leg. The cave she had just looked inside was occupied by a large bear. The black-furred creature now chased her. Normally, the beast wouldn't have had a remote chance of keeping up with her, but after sustaining her wound and fleeing for over half an hour, Karin was unsure if she could outrun the creature.

And as if her situation wasn't bad enough, she now felt three shinobi in front of her as well. Her sensory skill told her that two of them were fairly regular, though above average. But compared to their teammate…

"Shit, shit, shit! Why would I have to cross paths with one of those two," she exclaimed, having witnessed the confrontation between the Konoha and Suna shinobi the day before.

She tried to evade, but between the bear and them, she saw no chance of escape. Despaired, she tried to hide behind a nearby tree.

"Gatsuga!" one voice exclaimed, and another barked. After a huge crash, she saw the bear falter away. "Well done Akamaru!" the voice said enthusiastically, with some happy barks in response. Karin froze, perhaps they would not notice her.

"Where are your teammates," a gentle female voice asked her. Karin looked up, into the white eyes of the girl which now stood before her.

"I don't know," Karin said with a hoarse voice, she put up her hands. "Please don't kill me!" Karin silently scolded herself for not being able to hold her tears in. But within the hour, she had already expended all of her chakra. And had faced death several times.

"Nehh, _we_ don't kill people," the boy whose voice she had heard earlier said. "Where are you from?"

"She has a Kusagakure forehead protector," another voice answered for her. This was the blond chakra monster she had seen earlier, and she backed away in fear.

The blond sighed, and the girl stopped Karin from moving away. "Naruto-kun doesn't hurt people who don't intend to hurt us," she said with a soft voice, though her eyes were focussed on the other boy who now had a little dog on his head.

"Only if you don't give us your team's scroll," the dog-carrying boy said with a wolfish smirk.

Karin looked at them, despite her initial fear, the red haired girl realized they had no intention of hurting her, instead: they had saved her. "Thank you," she said weakly. "Thank you for saving me."

The boy named Naruto tensed as Karin rummaged in her pack. "Have this," Karin said, handing over her team's scroll. "I don't know where my teammates are, if they even survived the ambush we ran in before all this…"

"Who attacked you?" the white-eyed girl asked.

"I think they were from your village. An older, grey haired shinobi led them."

"Doesn't seem like anyone we know," Naruto answered. "Kiba?" he asked the dog-wearing boy who had saved Karin earlier.

"Nope," and after the dog barked, "and neither does Akamaru". The white-eyed girl also shook her head in denial.

"Do you have some kind of sensory ability?" Naruto asked Karin. "What? She looks at me quite funny," he explained when the others looked at him.

Karin nodded. "Y.. Yes. I can sense you.. You and whatever else that is inside you. It isn't… right."

Kiba laughed. "I told ya, Naruto. You should control yourself."

"Kiba-kun," the white-eyed girl warned him softly, as Naruto frowned. "Don't."

Suddenly, Naruto struck out. Karin screamed in fear, and tried to dodge.

"Stupid," Naruto smiled mischievously, as he pulled his fist away, which now contained a snake. "This place is filled with dangerous animals. You are a sensor right?" Karin nodded. "We've got three scrolls now, if you help me out I'll give you our spare scroll of heaven."

Karin's eyes widened. "Why.. Who are you looking for?"

"Did you see the Suna genin with that crazy gourd on his back?"

"Naruto," Kiba said sharply. "No. Don't go after that guy!"

Karin looked at them, Kiba and the white-eyed girl disagreed with Naruto, but it was Naruto who offered her a scroll. "I sense five people in this area with extraordinary chakra levels."

"Aside from Naruto-san," she continued, "there are two located in what I think is the center of this area, another one is east, and the last one is in the western direction."

"Can you sense if any of those last two is like me?"

"Naruto, please don't," the white-eyed girl pleaded.

"They both have strong evil chakra," Karin decided to trust the other two, despite not knowing what the problem was. "The one in the west is the vilest, but doesn't seem to move very quickly." Karin didn't know who this was, but the chakra was not nearly as inhuman as that of the Suna genin and Naruto.

Naruto frowned. "Why don't we take a short break? You need to be fixed up first. I'll get some food, you guys set up camp."

"I saw a cave a little to the north-west," Karin added. "That's where I met that bear.." she admitted with some embarrassment in her voice.

"Great, then it's empty," Kiba said. "Let's move."

* * *

"Thank you, Hinata-san," Karin said, after the girl who had introduced herself as Hyuga Hinata had cleaned and bandaged her leg.

"Karin-san, could you please make sure Naruto-kun does not meet this Gaara of the desert?"

"It would make our day quite a bit easier," Kiba added.

"I already did," Karin admitted, Naruto was still away and she wanted to figure out why the other two wanted to avoid this Gaara so badly. "When you two asked Naruto not to chase this Gaara, I decided to help you. You are the one who saved me," Karin added shyly, looking at Kiba.

Kiba looked a bit uncomfortable under the compliment. "So this Gaara was the chakra you sensed in the eastern direction?"

Karin nodded. "Though I am not entirely sure, I think so. The one in the east is comparable to Naruto, while the one in the west is significantly weaker, though still stronger and more evil than any other signal in this area."

"So the other two must be Jiraiya-sama and Yugito-sama," Hinata whispered. Though, she was a little uncomfortable that there was another powerful chakra amongst the genin, one which she had failed to spot the day before. She knew very well that it was rather difficult to hide from her doujutsu.

"So, who are you?" Kiba asked Karin, the latter now petting Akamaru, just before Naruto entered their cave with rabbit and a variety of fruits.

"My name is Karin. Though I live in Kusagakure right now, I know I wasn't born there. I lived in an orphanage in their country, after my village was burned down during the war."

Naruto looked up, his distaste obvious when she spoke the word 'orphanage'. "I was the only survivor of my village, or so I was told," she continued. "I don't know if I belong to some clan, but when the shinobi of the hidden grass found out that I had a sensory ability, they 'recruited' me."

Naruto frowned, he knew many orphanages did not bother to hide the way they sold children who showed a particular talent. "Do you like it over there?" he asked.

Karin's silence was enough to them. "If you don't like it, you could always defect," Kiba said, "I mean, just hide in these woods, and after the test is finished you could request to join the Konoha shinobi force. Kusagakure would just think you died during the exam."

"That… would be great," Karin admitted, at the thought she could escape that place. "Though I doubt they would see me as much more than another tool here.. If they even accept me, that is."

"People are not tools," Naruto said darkly.

"Hokage-sama is not like that," Hinata said quickly, realizing what Naruto meant. "He respects his people, just as he would not let people throw away their own lives," she added pointedly.

Naruto did not fail to notice what Hinata had pointed out, but focussed on the fruit, while Kiba prepared the rabbit. In a little while, team 8 and their temporary ally were eating.

"Thanks for the food. But why are you taking a break this early?" Karin asked.

"Right now, everyone is out 'hunting' right now," Naruto explained. "We already have what we needed, so we don't really need to rush, especially now that tracking has become even easier," Naruto yawned. "Beating up the other teams would only be a 'troublesome' thing to do, as Shikamaru would put it."

Kiba chuckled, especially because he and Akamaru had been labeled 'troublesome' many times.

"And I did not really sleep that well either," Naruto admitted. He was bothered by the whole situation around Gaara, which also caused the Kyuubi to keep annoying him throughout the night.

"We could extend our break a little, so you get an hour of sleep," Hinata offered.

Naruto looked at her, and at Karin. "Fine, but wake me if he start to move."

* * *

"He's attacking another team," Karin hissed. Kiba woke up Naruto, and the four of them moved. Karin's leg had healed with remarkable speed, something she though was normal, but was impossible to anyone but Naruto. "Another kilometer north-west," she said, after a while.

Hinata's byakugan, as well as the noses of Kiba and Akamaru, ensured that they avoided any traps or other teams. Naruto didn't particularly mind beating up another team, but it would only be wasting time.

When they arrived at the scene, they saw Shino's unconscious body on the ground, and Sakura's panicked look at a screaming Sasuke, who collapsed the moment team 8 came close. "Sakura, what is going on," Naruto shouted, while looking at the odd genin who stood in front of them.

This genin was the one with the freaky tongue, and his chakra level was way beyond any normal genin. Or jonin, for that matter. _'Seems like Karin-san was wrong_,' Naruto realized. _'This isn't Gaara, even though this guy is obviously trouble as well._'

"Welcome, Uzumaki Naruto-kun," the creep said. Now Naruto looked better, he saw the genin's eyes were slitted, just like those of a snake. "I had hoped to meet you too, today. Though I would have liked to play around with little Sasuke-kun a bit longer," the freak smirked at Naruto. "Quite rude to interrupt me.."

"Sakura?" Naruto urged, but his former teammate was frozen in fear. "Kiba, Hinata, look after them," he ordered. "Look at the wound in Sasuke's neck please." Something about the wound made Naruto feel uncomfortable.

"Amusing," the freak remarked, "But pointless. Do you really think you can engage me on your own, _boy_?" Like a snake, the genin struck out to Naruto, seemingly stretching his own arm.

Naruto did not dodge, but instead quickly fired at the freak. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu," Naruto exclaimed, as did the eight clones he made just before he had arrived.

Yet somehow, the genin was able to dodge the nine fireballs, though this left him open. "Futon: wind cutter," the Narutos shouted.

Though Naruto could not follow the speed at which the freak executed his jutsu's, he could see that this had been a variation on the kawarimi no jutsu. Despite the evasion, Naruto had managed to cut his opponent once. Something the freak apparently had not expected, Naruto guessed when seeing the annoyed grimace on the freak's face.

Noticing his teammates wanted to jump in after having removing their classmates from the danger zone, Naruto used Futon: explosion. Though a weak variant, as Naruto didn't have the time to build up a greater mass of chakra, it was enough to create some distance between them and the freak.

"Nothing seems to work. Well then, let's see how _this_ will work out," Naruto grimaced, as he submerged himself in the Kyuubi's chakra, though he took precaution not to dive into it too quickly, to avoid losing control.

"So that is where it went.." the freak murmured, his eyes changing from anger to surprise.

Now enveloped in crimson chakra, Naruto charged in. The freak blocked most of his attacks, but had to exert himself rather than do things casually like he did before.

"Futon: renkudan," Naruto growled, putting enough chakra into the air bullets to blow several trees apart when the freak was hit. "Is it still pointless?" he tried to provoke his freaky opponent, as he drew more of the Kyuubi's chakra into himself.

"Not pointless, Naruto-kun," the freak said with a slight hint of seriousness. "I admit you are better than I had anticipated. But continuing this would be a waste of my time and energy…"

The freak disappeared, and Naruto was surprised that he could not sense how or where went. "This guy was a lot better than he let on.." Naruto grumbled. "Dammit! Who was this evasive bastard?"

Now Naruto noticed the scratch on his left arm. It was an injury that the freak had given him before he used the Kyuubi's chakra, and though it seemed minor it didn't feel good. As the Kyuubi's chakra evaporated, Naruto could feel a strange itch from the place. And not from healing.

"Antidotes, quick," he shouted at his teammates, while he dismissed the Kyuubi's chakra and jumped towards the place where the others had gathered. "Hurry I need-"

"Damn Naruto, at least tell us something before you.. Naruto? Hey!?" Kiba forgot his anger when the jinchuriki fell over.

"Poison," Karin hissed. The paled Hinata quickly opened her first aid kit, and injected Naruto with a mixture of antidotes which was used against most types of poisons.

* * *

Together, Hinata, Kiba, and Karin brought Naruto and team 7 to a nearby (bear-free) cave. Shino regained consciousness pretty soon, and Sakura was not really wounded, even though she was in a state of shock. Sasuke and Naruto, however, were in a worse condition. Even after a night sleeping, both boys suffered from fever.

Oddly, Sasuke had a strange mark in his neck. Sakura had claimed that the freak, who had called himself Orochimaru, had bitten him at that place.

* * *

By the end of the morning, Naruto woke up. Or so he thought.

"Disgusting," the fox said.

Naruto groaned, and realized he was pulled inwards again, to the Kyuubi's prison. "What's going on?" he asked, still somewhat confused.

"You got poisoned, you moron," the fox growled. "And you still let your opponent get away, despite wasting my chakra on him."

"Gheh, you proud bastard," Naruto smirked. "You're just soar you couldn't break free this time."

"Perhaps," the fox frowned upon seeing the boy's bravado. "But I also wanted to warn you."

"About what?" Naruto instantly was on guard. The fox hardly ever warned him, but if he did it was about their continued survival.

"That former teammate of yours, that Uchiha brat," the fox explained. "He got some kind of seal on his body, crammed with a disgusting sort of chakra. If that thing isn't locked, he will fall to it. Not that I would it mind if he died, but it would be annoying if he went rogue.."

"Which would mean you could lose your chance to get rid of the sharingan," Naruto deduced, guessing the reason for the fox's continuous hatred towards the Uchiha.

"That too," the fox admitted. "You know the basics of the evil sealing method, use that."

"I know how to draw it, but.."

"I'll tell you how the hand seals needed," the fox growled. "After you wake up, focus on healing yourself as quick as you can, and use the technique on the Uchiha brat once you have regained enough chakra… The amount you use to summon that large toad of yours should be sufficient."

* * *

Waking up in the real world was a bit more uncomfortable. His body still burned from the fever, and the poison disrupted the formation of chakra as well.

Naruto groaned as he opened his eyes and tried to get up. His body was weighed down by something else as well.

"What the.." Naruto whispered with his dry throat. A sleeping Akamaru was lying on top of the blanket which covered Naruto, and next to him, still holding his hand, Hinata had fallen asleep. She still held a wet cloth clenched in her other hand, and Naruto realized that she had been looking after him.

Looking at his other side, Naruto saw the restless Uchiha, who was still unconscious even though he groaned and moved as if he was trapped in a nightmare.

"You should sleep," Shino said softly, startling the blond genin who had not noticed him yet.

But Naruto wasn't able to sleep now he had finally woken up. "How long," he whispered.

"Seventeen hours," Shino whispered.

'_Damn.. That poison must've been quite something if it was able to take me down for such a period,'_ Naruto thought. He remained perfectly still, but was unable to sleep, so Naruto tried to mold some chakra. After what seemed hours to him, Naruto was finally able to create a small amount of chakra, and he started to speed up his recovery.

Shino rose up. "Hinata," he said, waking her up. "Quickly, there are people approaching". At the same time, Karin spurted in.

"There are… you already know?" she said. "They seem pretty capable, but nothing to really worry about. Shino-san, you should stay here, your leg.."

As the other went out, Naruto sat up. Though extremely tired, he could at least move now. "What happened to your leg?" he asked Shino.

"Broken," the mostly covered boy replied on a dry tone. But as the sounds of a fight arose, the impassive Aburame twitched, obviously wanting to join to help his teammates.

Naruto stood up, but was still wobbly. "Give me your hand." Supporting on each other, both genin moved towards the entrance of the small cave. Behind them, Sasuke's restlessness seemed to grow worse, and his groans turned into shouting, as if he was responding to the violence outside.

But that didn't really bother Naruto, he was worried about his teammates. He couldn't care less about Sasuke at this point. Actually, he believed that a little suffering might just be what the proud bastard needed.

Hinata and Sakura faced a girl from Otogakure, while two teammates from this girl kept Kiba, Akamaru and Karin occupied.

"Gatsuga!" Kiba shouted, and he and the now transformed Akamaru turned into miniature cyclones thrusting towards the long haired Oto genin.

Even though they hit their target, Kiba and Akamaru seemed disoriented. Their opponent was hurled away though, giving them some time to recover. Meanwhile, Shino ordered his insects to drain the other, spiky haired, sound genin.

Naruto was cursing at his own weakened condition, and forced as much chakra as he could through his system. Before he could recover, however, a large concentration of chakra erupted behind him, blowing him from his feet.

Disoriented again, he saw Sasuke, standing in front of the cave. But something was wrong, very wrong, as Naruto noticed that half of Sasuke's body was covered with strange flame-like glowing marks.

* * *

Sasuke smiled with contempt as he looked at the attackers from Otogakure. "All this power…" he whispered while looking down at his own hands. "This was his gift to me."

Sasuke's smile turned into a grimace of rage. "Was it you guys?" he whispered, as the marking spread over his entire body. "Who was it that hurt my team… who was it that dared to wake me?"

The sound shinobi started to look with fear, as they felt Sasuke's chakra surge. The Konoha genin and Karin were frozen, not knowing what was happening. In a blur, Sasuke vanished.

And the head of the spiky haired sound nin exploded, as Sasuke's fist had hit him with such force and speed that even Naruto cringed a little. The long haired sound nin tried a new strategy. "Here is our scroll," he said with a shaken voice. "Please do not kill us, we did not mean to.."

The shinobi never got to finish his sentence, as Sasuke drove a kunai into his neck.

"Mythical flower jutsu," Sasuke shouted at the last sound nin. She tried to dodge the seven balls of fire, but failed. The last one struck her back, and she fell down.

"No Sasuke!" Sakura shouted. But too late. Sasuke appeared next to the female shinobi who had the audacity to attack them, and knocked her out with a single strike.

Sakura jumped in to stop Sasuke from killing the girl. This time the pink-haired girl succeeded, and held the boy firmly. "Please… stop," she begged him.

As if he slowly realized where he was, Sasuke's rage left his face. And with it, the markings on his body withdrew to the point from which they originated.

When the chakra which had filled his body evaporated, Sasuke fell down to his knees, along with Sakura who still embraced him. "The power…" he whispered, looking bewildered. "What happened to…"

Naruto jumped down, and knocked him out cold.

"What the hell!" Sakura shouted at him. "Why did you!?"

"Step aside," Naruto growled, cutting her off. "Unless you want to see him die." Naruto pointed at Sasuke.

"Naruto, what are you doing this time?" Kiba demanded. But it was Hinata who spoke.

"That seal, it will consume him," she said, her voice revealing the pain she felt from the injuries she had collected in the previous fight.

Karin nodded. "I don't know what it was, but it was certainly something evil."

"Sakura," Shino called her over, because he had failed to limp towards her. "Please help me back to the cave." She tried to resist, but Shino stopped her. "Whenever it is about Sasuke, you always fail to see the logical solution, step away."

"I know a way to stop that seal from spreading," Naruto explained grimly. "But I am weakened now, so I can't have anyone around me to disturb me. Kiba, could you get me my ink and pencil from my pack? Hinata, Karin, please warn me if anyone else gets too close."

After Sakura sighed in defeat, she helped Shino back to the cave. Though she refused to go away from the entrance, as she wanted to keep an eye on what would happen to Sasuke. And she did not trust Naruto. Especially not after his display against Orochimaru.

Kiba returned with the ink and pencil, and removed Sasuke's shirt after Naruto asked him to.

"I can't draw the complete seal here, so make sure you take Sasuke to Kakashi-sensei. Either he or Jiraiya-sama should be capable to complete this sealing method. I don't have the chakra to do it myself, not right now," he said to Sakura.

Naruto started to draw a complex pattern on Sasuke's upper body, of which no one really knew what it meant.

"Does anyone have some food pills?" Naruto asked, somewhat annoyed that he still only had so little chakra.

"I got some," Hinata answered quickly, with a worried look on Naruto. It was the first time she ever saw him this exhausted or weakened, other than after what had happened in the ruins. How strong had that poison been?

"Thank you, Hinata-chan," Naruto smiled weakly. He swallowed the pill, and turned towards Sakura. "This sealing method will cause him some pain now, but do not intervene. Kiba, if she does, knock her out." Kiba nodded with a smile. Naruto knew well enough how Kiba thought about the fangirls in their old academy class.

"There isn't anyone close right now," Karin answered Naruto's look.

"All right.." he whispered. "Here we go.."

As he molded as much chakra as possible, Naruto also drew out as much of the Kyuubi's chakra as he deemed wisely at this moment. "This should be enough.."

He started to repeat what the fox said inside him. "Hare, snake, horse, ram, bird, tiger, hare, snake, horse, ram, bird, tiger, hare, snake, horse, ram, bird, dog, rat," Naruto mumbled while performing the said hand seals.

"Evil sealing method," Naruto growled, while he put his hand on Sasuke's source of corruption. All the patterns Naruto had drawn previously started to move towards, and encircled the accursed seal.

Sasuke woke up and screamed out of pain. Kiba twitched when Sakura seemed to move, but fortunately the girl was able to restrain herself.

After a few moments, the sealing method was completed. Sasuke had passed out again, and Naruto had fallen to the ground if Hinata hadn't darted forward to catch him.

With his face covered in sweat, Naruto gave her an exhausted smile. "Success," he whispered, before passing out.

* * *

When Naruto woke up again, he was back in the cave again. This time, Hinata was awake, and gave him something to drink, after she helped him sit upwards. "Thanks," Naruto said softly.

"How are you feeling?" she asked gently.

"Better, still tired but I think the poison is gone now. How is Sasuke?"

"Still unconscious," Sakura answered. "When will he wake up?"

"He should be fine, though it'll probably take a day, perhaps a bit more, depending on his own strength," Naruto answered. "Though I am not entirely sure, it might depend on the strength of that thing Orochimaru left on him. Plus, I didn't have the strength to execute the complete sealing method right now."

"What does that mean?" Shino asked.

"Like I said before: that you have to finish the exam as quickly as possible after Sasuke wakes up, and report this situation to Kakashi-sensei. Someone should either complete or replace the seal I placed on him, but it should keep Sasuke save during this stage."

"Are you saying Sasuke should give up after we complete this stage?"

"I do not know, Shino. But it is likely Kakashi-sensei would say something like that," Naruto nodded. "Though make sure he does not draw onto his chakra before his seal is finished. The seal I placed on him is not perfect, so it could break if he pushes himself too hard.."

"Here is another food pill, Naruto," Hinata gave him another pill, and more water to swallow it away. "You should rest for a bit longer."

"Yeah, you are a mess now," Kiba added. "No use in going after Gaara, in this condition."

Sakura and Shino looked sharply at him. Karin just said, "He is out of range anyway, I presume he entered the central tower already."

"We should report what happened as soon as we can," Hinata said. "If this Orochimaru really was who he said he was, he is the former teammate of Jiraiya-sama."

Naruto sighed, and admitted defeat. "All right, I'll do as you want.."

Kiba looked up. "I thought I remembered that name from somewhere."

"History lessons, Kiba," Naruto smirked. "You should have paid attention on the academy."

"Like you were ever awake during class," Kiba protested.

* * *

A few hours after, Naruto felt strong enough to complete the exam. They left Sakura and Shino behind, and wished them luck. With the death of the sound team, Team 7 now also possessed both scrolls they needed, and with Shino's ability they should be capable of avoiding any further trouble.

As team 8, still joined by Karin who seemed reluctant to leave their side, moved towards the tower, they met two other teams. The first simply fled when they saw Naruto, and the second was routed quickly after Kiba and Hinata ambushed them.

Arriving at the tower, they followed the instructions and opened their scrolls.

"Hi guys," Jiraiya said, though he was surprised to see a fourth genin. "Who.."

"She helped us during the mission, Jiraiya-sama," Hinata answered.

"We saved her after she lost her team," Kiba added, "But we would prefer it if her presence was kept a secret, so she can join Konoha after the exam is finished. We owe her that.."

Jiraiya frowned at the unusual request, and then shrugged. "I take it her teammates presume she died in the forest?"

"I left behind my backpack, head protector, and some blood to make it look real," Karin added. "Not that they would care if I live or die… please, I would rather stay here, instead of going back to Kusagakure again."

Jiraiya saw her look at Kiba and smiled widely. "Unusual place to pick up girlfriends," he smirked. As Kiba protested both Jiraiya and Naruto chuckled.

Only Hinata did not miss the blush on Karin's cheeks.

* * *

"Orochimaru…" Jiraiya whispered softly after they had finished their report. Karin had gotten a room in the tower, complete with enough resources and the facilities to last a month. She accepted her 'prison' stating that it would be worth it. Jiraiya place a temporary seal on the room so others could not accidentally enter. After that, he and team 8 had moved to the office at the top floor, where the Hokage had just arrived, and team 8 had started giving their report of the situation.

"Though I am glad you did not meet the other jinchuriki," Hiruzen said, "You three do seem to attract problems."

"Sarutobi-sensei, can you allow me to-"

"No, Jiraiya. Anko found the bodies of three genin from the hidden grass, and noticed that it was the work of Orochimaru. As she traced him, he showed himself to her. He said that he would destroy Konoha if we stopped the exam, or tried to capture him. And from what you three just told me, I take it that his 'special interest' in the exam has been Uchiha Sasuke."

"Now what?" Naruto asked. Naruto was still somewhat annoyed that Orochimaru had gotten away before he had the chance to execute a single offensive fuinjutsu.

"You three rest for the next three days. Naruto, I have asked Yugito-san if she could talk with you, and if possible teach you a few things. Jiraiya will stay close and observe you, while she teaches you."

"Should I trust her?"

"Yes," Jiraiya answered. "She owes me, and would not act against Konoha."

* * *

But first team 8 retreated to their specified rooms. Hinata was worried about Naruto, who was still tired due to the whole ordeal. Each team had access to a single shared living room, which was connected to three separate bedrooms and one bathroom.

She watched as Naruto rummaged around in their living room. "Are you alright, Naruto-kun?"

"Ehh? Yeah.. I mean no. That damned snake guy damaged my new clothes!" he said with outrage. "I have to find some way to apologize to your mother.."

"Mo-mother?" Hinata did not understand this at all. "Why would you..?"

"Yeah, your mother gave me a set of new clothes," he said with some pride in his voice. "But now one of the sleeves got damaged…" he frowned.

'_Why did mother give clothes to Naruto-kun?'_ Hinata wondered. "Perhaps I could repair it, I mean… just a quick fix… I-I am not t-that good…"

"Could you do that for me?" Naruto asked in outright amazement. "That would be great!" he cheered.

Her smile at his enthusiasm immediately changed into a furious blush, when Naruto handed her his shirt, now in his undressed torso. He had removed his mesh armour earlier.

Amazingly, Hinata could blush even more, after Naruto exclaimed that she was 'completely awesome,' after she had fixed his sleeve.

* * *

**A/N:** Where would Naruto without Hinata?

-Z-


	20. A Lesson

**Chunin Exams arc**

**A lesson**

* * *

"Let's start at the basics," Yugito said. "The demon inside you is one of a certain… class of demons. Ordinarily, demons do not reside in our world, or so I understand from the historic, scientific, and religious sources. The Bijuu are an exception. Each Bijuu has a number of tails, ranging from one till nine."

Naruto nodded. "Jiraiya-sama once told me something similar."

"Yes, though this is still fairly uncommon knowledge. There are nine bijuu, each with their own unique powers and appearances, and their own number of tails. Many consider the Bijuu not so much as animals or demons, but more as immense masses of chakra. This is also the origin of the fear which both ordinary humans and shinobi have towards the Bijuu, and as such also towards us jinchuriki."

"Power creates fear," Naruto answered. "The Kyuubi once told me something like that."

"Then you must understand that humans have hated and hunted the Bijuu for centuries. This is done because humans also see potential in the Bijuu's power. They wish to use it as a weapon. This is the desire which created _us_. We are at the crossroads between humanity and bijuu, capable of understanding both."

"Understanding?" Naruto frowned.

"How could you use a power you do not understand it?" Jiraiya replied.

"Wrong," Yugito cut him off. "The word 'use' is wrong. Naruto, you told me you would not want to be referred to as a tool, but why would do that very thing when it comes to the Kyuubi?"

Naruto's frown deepened. He could not counter this argument, nor was he sure he should even try. "It probably means I am wrong about him," Naruto concluded after a long silence.

"Partly, I cannot blame you for doing such when the Kyuubi only tries to torment you," Yugito admitted. "The Nibi was sealed in me when I was very young, and like you, I grew up with a monster inside me. Or at least, that is what I thought. I was young and did not fully understand what happened to me."

Yugito sighed. "At the same time, the Nibi was imprisoned, and tried desperately to regain her freedom… understand this, Naruto, the Nibi was hunted down, attacked, and captured by humans, and imprisoned in one as well. How would she have made a distinction between humans, when all treated her equally bad? She hated me as much as all the other humans. Eventually she even came close to breaking free, nearly destroying me. If it wasn't for Jiraiya-sama, I would have been dead, and the Nibi either free or trapped in another child that was unfortunate to be chosen.."

"I was simply at right place on the right time," Jiraiya shrugged, "But this also touches the political aspect of the Bijuu."

"Politic? Why politics?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"A jinchuriki who is capable of either using or cooperating with the Bijuu who was sealed within him or her, has powers which exceed that of any normal shinobi," Yugito explained. "Even a kage would think twice before facing a fully trained jinchuriki."

"Which means that the hidden villages have hidden competition: the one with the most jinchuriki has the advantage," Jiraiya added. "As such, there is a delicate balance in our world between the powers of our countries. If a Jinchuriki dies, that balance is disturbed, as it will take a nation quite some time before a new, fully trained, jinchuriki appears. And worse, if a jinchuriki dies, and the Bijuu either manages to escape, or gets stolen and sealed by another village, the balance could be destroyed."

"Which would create another shinobi world war," Naruto deduced.

"Exactly," Yugito agreed. "That is why jinchuriki are generally confined to their hidden villages, to avoid any risk of getting killed or stolen, while they prevent wars simply because others fear the threat that one of us might take action. They use us not so much as weapons, but also as something that terrifies the opponent. A lingering threat that makes any aggressor reconsider."

"So all the bijuu are spread over the five most powerful hidden villages?" Naruto asked.

"As far as we know, there are eight bijuu's captured," Jiraiya admitted. "The Rokubi's location is unknown."

Yugito frowned a bit. "I only knew of seven.. But back to our topic, this emphasizes the danger of someone killing Gaara. If Suna lost their only bijuu, it could create a new war."

"I know, and that is why you people cannot attack him," Naruto replied. "But I am doing the same exam, so if I killed him, it would be something ordinary."

"You are wrong," Jiraiya said. "The way in which this Gaara would die is of no importance, but the very fact that it would happen is enough to cause war. But this is beside the point, we were discussing the bijuu."

"Yes," Yugito continued. "As I said, the bijuu see us jinchuriki only as their prisons, and wish to break free. In my case, I used relied too much on the Nibi's chakra, and this corrupted me, until the seal which held her imprisoned nearly broke. After Jiraiya-sama repaired the seal, I focussed my training on increasing my own strength, while keeping out that of the Nibi."

"You needed strength to keep in control?" Naruto frowned, somewhat confused by the paradox of her story. "You talked about cooperation and now about submission?"

"Cooperation," Yugito answered with a slight smile. "But I was told I needed to become strong, so that the bijuu could respect me. Naruto, how could you consider a partner your equal on the battlefield when the other is completely helpless without you? With some help, I gained enough strength for the Nibi to recognize me, so that we could start working on a solution of our common imprisonment."

Naruto nodded. The Kyuubi had been imprisoned inside him, but that also caused Naruto to be trapped himself. Imprisoned by the village, and how people treated him. And as they had just explained, he was also imprisoned in the global political system with regard to the balance between the hidden villages.

"I won't say it has been an easy path," Yugito said with a gentle smile. "But as far as we know, it is the only path open to us. A jinchuriki could become strong enough to force a bijuu to submit, but a bijuu will never stop seeking a way out. Any moment of weakness would be fatal. Cooperation between the jinchuriki and the bijuu is the only viable path. And to tell you the truth, I have yet to reach the same level as my fellow jinchuriki from Kumo in this regard."

"Don't know how this is going to work out.. The Kyuubi seems to think this is quite amusing," Naruto frowned.

"Perhaps, but you are still weak," Jiraiya said with a smile. "Until now, you had little choice but to rely on its chakra, and you did not have the power hold it back. Now that you grow older, your development goes faster than any ordinary shinobi."

"It will pump as much of its chakra into your system," Yugito added. "The same thing happened to me: I was constantly overflowing with chakra, which caused my chakra system to grow with an incredible rate. Our bodies are forced to adapt to levels of chakra ordinary shinobi usually can hardly fathom. While normal shinobi have to train hard to gradually expand their capacity, we jinchuriki are in a constant struggle to keep up, both in capacity and skill, with the chakra the bijuu flood us with. Because if we can't, we will lose control and fall."

"So how do I get stronger?" Naruto asked hesitative.

"Training," Jiraiya answered. "I was planning to take some time off after the exams are finished to train you, perhaps I could teach you the basics of senjutsu."

Yugito's eyes widened a bit. "That would be helpful indeed… Naruto, you will need all the strength you can get, as the Kyuubi's strength is as exceptional as its hatred towards mankind is. Your struggle will be harder than mine was. You have to use the time you have left as efficiently as possible, as your seal will not last forever."

"It is breaking?" Naruto asked, somewhat alerted.

"No, no," Jiraiya sighed, putting his hands up to reassure Naruto. "But these kinds of seals have limitations. The seal which the Yondaime placed on you is exceptionally strong, but still: while the Kyuubi keeps trying to break free the seal will one day crumble. Nothing lasts forever."

"How much time do I have?"

"That depends on many things," Yugito answered on a sad tone. "I can only speak for myself, but one of things which caused my seal to nearly collapse, was that I used too much of the Nibi's chakra. This chakra influenced me, changed me, and weakened my will. So aside from the strength of you seal, you should also factor in the strength of your own will, and the rate at which you, willingly or not, use the Kyuubi's chakra. The corruption is a slow process, and you will likely not notice it at all."

"Thank you, Yugito-sama," Naruto changed the honorific to show his gratitude. This was information which would likely save his life.

"I would have liked to show you the various stages which the jinchuriki go through to transform in their bijuu, but sadly I have sworn an oath not to do such a thing outside my own village, unless my life is threatened."

"What is the Raikage's stance towards Konoha?" Jiraiya asked.

"There is a peace treaty," Yugito replied with confused frown.

"But, would he allow it if I took Naruto into your country, so that Naruto could train under either you or this other jinchuriki when he is ready?"

"I do not know," Yugito admitted. "Personally, I think it is the duty of one jinchuriki to help another, but I cannot speak for others. Especially when it could shift the balance of power between the countries."

"I will send the Raikage a request, after consulting Hokage-sama," Jiraiya said on a pensive tone. "This could be a good opportunity to strengthen the bonds between Konoha and Kumo."

Yugito nodded, seeing the wisdom of such a move. Naruto frowned, thinking about his team. Naruto realized he would dislike it if he got separated from his friends.

"But first, we will spend some time on your chakra control, Naruto," the woman continued. "There are some specific issues for jinchuriki which I would like to discuss."

* * *

'_Friends.. Do I really care this much about them? Could this be what Haku meant?'_ Naruto though, and in his mind he saw Hinata in that cave again, holding his hand as she slept, with the worried expression still on her face. 'C_ould she be a reason for me to become strong? And Kiba, Akamaru, and perhaps a few others as well.. Protecting them would feel like the right thing to do. Even if I have to spend my life apart from them, it would still be a noble goal._'

Naruto thought back at the time she had saved him from the orphanages. He had always believed the Hyuga only took him in to repay their debt towards him, as he had saved Hinata. And Naruto had felt obliged to repay his own debt.

'_But when was it that I forgot about my debts? When did I lose track of the logic I always followed…,'_ Naruto pondered._ 'And did someone like Hinata even think about such things to begin with?'_

As Naruto was lost in thought, he noticed had arrived at the mess hall. He saw that another few teams had arrived during the day, among which team 10. Naruto ordered some food and joined his teammates who sat at the same table as Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji. Naruto chuckled when he saw the mountain of food on Choji's platter.

"Seriously Choji, it has only been three days," Ino scolded her hungry teammate.

"Yeah. Three long days of nearly eating a thing," the Akimichi managed to say without slowing down the pace at which he consumed his food.

"You should've prepared food in advance," Kiba grinned.

"How could we know this training ground was this troublesome?" Shikamaru answered with a sleepy voice. "This forest was a nightmare.. Bears, tigers, insanely large insects…" Ino shuddered when she thought about the last. "Hi, Naruto," she changed the subject. "Where were you?"

"Hey guys," Naruto greeted them. "Ehm, I was delayed because someone wanted to lecture me a bit. I messed up a little..."

"What did you do wrong this time?" Shikamaru chuckled, though his eyes were unusually observant now.

"W.. We told them a little about the i-incident with team 7," Hinata said. Naruto knew enough, as the Hokage had ordered them to keep the whole Orochimaru-situation a secret.

"O, that's ok. Sasuke got wounded, and I used a sealing method to make sure the poison would not spread through his body. Don't worry, he'll live," he added upon seeing Ino's shocked look. "But I created a bit of a problem because I could only execute part of the seal because I was injured myself as well."

"Who poisoned him?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"Don't know," Naruto lied. "But the regular antidotes did not work, so I took more drastic measures."

Choji stopped his eating for a moment. "Very nice of you to help other teams, even if you don't have to, Naruto," the Akimichi smiled, his cheeks still filled with food.

"I suppose I could not stand by while he was dying," Naruto shrugged, before he attacked his ramen. '_Well.. Not with the others near, at least.._'

* * *

The remaining two days were quite relaxed for team 8. They talked, ate, and slept enough to recover from the previous days. Jiraiya even hopped by a few times, also to inform Naruto that the Hokage had agreed that Jiraiya could take Naruto as his formal apprentice. Though, Naruto decided to keep this information from his team for a while. Meanwhile, Naruto also had a few hours of training from Yugito each day.

"Ugh… I'm bored," Kiba groaned. Hinata looked up from the book she was reading. Apparently, she somehow brought a book along in her pack. Kiba wished he had done something similar. Not that he liked reading, like his teammates, but still.. It was better than nothing.

Naruto put down the scroll he was reading, and created a clone. "You continue reading, ok?" The clone shrugged, and picked up the scroll. "So, want to play cards or something?" Naruto looked at his bored teammate.

"Nehh…" Kiba answered. "How about something different. Let's see.. What do you think about our classmates?"

"Eh?"

"Well, you never really gave any opinion about others. Surely there must be some you like, right? I just want to know what you think, because you hardly ever talk about others.." Kiba grinned.

Hinata blushed a little when she heard the boys. '_How does Naruto-kun see me?'_ she though, both curious and very afraid of the answer.

"There isn't really much to say," Naruto tried to dodge the curious Inuzuka. "I mean, most people disliked me, whether they showed it openly or not, so I just went out of their way."

"With the exception of Shikamaru and Choji," Kiba pointed at the two boys who had usually sparred with Naruto during their classes on the academy.

"Yeah, they always were very friendly to me," Naruto agreed.

"So what do you think about them?"

Naruto sighed, knowing he would have to answer. "Choji is an extremely friendly guy. A bit insecure and perhaps a little bit too trusting and naïve, but he is equally loyal, especially towards Shikamaru. Shikamaru is extremely smart. He always tries to hide it with that lazy demeanour of his, but I know he is far more intelligent than I am."

"And I thought you turned out to be some kind of genius," Kiba frowned.

"I am not," Naruto laughed. "How did Kurenai-sensei say it… I am unable to plan, or look at the small details. She said I never really keep focussed on things, too focussed on my goals and forgetting to think about how to reach those goals.. Shikamaru is about the opposite of that: he can plan ahead and always pays a great deal of attention to every detail. Compared to him I'm merely a scatterbrain."

"So he's a bit like Hinata?"

"I-I am not t-that.." Hinata wanted to protest.

"Yeah," Naruto cut her off. "Hinata is a similar type I guess, also the one who plans for the entire team. The strategist, the brains of the team, so to say."

Hinata blushed.

"And the others?" Kiba continued. "How about your old team, team 7?"

"I never really got to know Shino. He never talked to me, and I never talked to him, so.. Well, and Sasuke is an arrogant bastard. Only able to focus on himself, ignoring everyone around him. That's why I feel a bit sorry for Sakura. She has her good sides, but she is blindly devoted to someone who doesn't answer her feelings. Or cannot answer them, if you take his clan's history into account."

"I thought you liked Sakura," Kiba grinned. "I mean, she is one of the few people who you tried to talk to, at the academy."

"I did. Once," Naruto shrugged. "She wanted to be acknowledged, and wanted to believe in herself... I could understand that. I could relate to her struggle. But it is quite obvious how she thinks about me, right?"

"W-Why is Sakura-san so afraid, Naruto-kun?"

"She saw me murder a lot of people," Naruto said plainly, looking at Hinata, who was worried by the uncaring tone at which he stated it. "And now she's terrified of me."

"Sakura was supposed to be the smartest of our class," Kiba frowned. "But it always seems as if she doesn't use that big brain of hers whenever she really needs it.."

"Well, she does suffer from the same kind of temper that Ino has," Naruto sighed. "Though Ino is a lot more annoying. Not that she hates me or something, but man… she'll never stop bothering you until she can satisfy her own curiosity. She's about as nosy as you are now, Kiba!" Naruto smirked.

"Thanks.. I guess," Kiba replied. He frowned. "And what about team Gai?"

"Neji is a stuck up idiot. Sorry about that Hinata, but he really is. He's far too proud of himself, quite similar to Sasuke if you ask me. Rock Lee is… well, he's unique, I'll give him that. But he is a good guy, despite his goofiness."

"And that chick?"

"Tenten? She is always very friendly. Though, she is quite strict. But she has to fight against a lot of prejudice, being both a kunoichi and clanless. People always doubt her ability, even though they do not know her.. But I'd say she is one of the most talented kunoichi I know, she'll definitely become a great ninja."

"And?"

"And what?" Naruto frowned.

"Well, I thought you quite liked her," Kiba smirked.

Naruto sighed. "Kiba… it doesn't matter what she thinks of me. Or what anyone thinks. None of these people know who and what I am."

"But.." Hinata started, but fell silent again. Both boys turned towards her, so she continued. "But even if they do not know.. They might not change if they found out.."

"Hinata.." Naruto's previous cheerful mood vanished. "When I was on mission with team seven, I though Sakura had changed her opinion about me a little.. But when she saw me… she did not have your eyes and your insight. Or Ero-sennin who threatened her," Naruto smiled a little, thinking back about how Kiba was 'convinced' not to be scared of Naruto.

"All these people.." he continued. "I do not have the illusion that everyone will accept me like you guys did. Perhaps they will when I become truly strong, but even then they will still be afraid of me."

"As optimistic as always," Kiba sighed. But Hinata could understand him a little. She saw how the people looked at him. The look of disgust that some had almost resembled the look many of her clan's elders had when they looked at her…

Naruto opened another scroll which had just unsealed. "I'd rather be a realist than a dreamer, Kiba. Containing that demon does not give me the opportunity to live otherwise. But things aren't all bad. Compared to a few months ago, I now have some friends, right?"

* * *

Team 8 was mostly restricted to their own room, whenever it wasn't time to eat. But they decided to slip out in order to visit Karin, as Naruto knew the sealing technique Jiraiya had used. "I use the same thing to protect my clan's books and scrolls," he shrugged. "It's a pretty simple seal actually."

When they opened the door, they saw Karin had already prepared drinks and snack. Even for Akamaru. "I sensed you," she explained when she saw them look. "Uzumaki-san is hard to miss anyway."

"And here I thought I was supressing most of my chakra," Naruto frowned. Karin snickered.

"Your suppressed state still is… noticeable," Hinata explained with a slight blush.

He sighed. "Guess I still suck at chakra control. Don't worry, Hinata," Naruto added when the latter tried to apologize for reasons he did not understand. "Ah well, these simple things are usually impossible to me anyway. How's your stay, Karin?"

"Great," Karin smiled. "I don't care about being locked up while all the chunin-candidates are around, as long as I can stay in Konoha its fine to me."

"Is your village so bad?" Kiba asked with some concern.

"I don't really like to be used as a tool. All that stuff about 'ninja way'.. I don't care about that crap if it is just an excuse to buy and exploit children."

Naruto frowned. "I can agree with that.. The existing shinobi world only seems to create troubles."

Kiba and Hinata looked a bit uncomfortable, realizing their friend's uncomfortable position. "It's not all that bad," Kiba tried. "I mean, Konoha still does pretty well, doesn't it?"

Naruto looked up. "Even so, Konoha is part of a system, I wonder what would be better.. Taking the entire system down, or allowing it to continue."

"Change it," Hinata said softly. "When you become Hokage, you could change Konoha, and the world will follow your example." Naruto wondered why the girl had so much faith in him, and was a little confused that it made him feel so happy. No one ever seemed to think much of his ambition. Not before Kurenai supported him. And now she said she believed in him too. But why?

"You want to become the next Hokage?" Karin asked with some excitement in her voice. "You certainly seem to possess the chakra capacity to do it. An orphan becoming Hokage… perhaps that would change all those self-conceited clans, hoarding all the wealth while the clanless struggle in poverty," she added with a growing anger.

"Sorry 'bout that," Kiba replied dryly. And Karin blushed when she realized she had also insulted her saviour.

Hinata frowned, thinking about Karin's words. "No, Kiba, Karin-san is probably right about this. Even within Konoha, the clans are too isolationistic and pre-occupied by traditions."

"Good thing I can make my own clan-laws when I'm old enough," Naruto joked. Not that he expected that he would really recreate the Uzumaki-clan. Becoming head of new clan required a lot of support from the other clans, which he doubted that he would ever get. "Equality would be the first rule, daily ramen a second."

"You and your ramen," Kiba sighed, but Akamaru barked happily.

* * *

**A/N**: Not really about the Chunin Exams, this chapter, but I wanted to explain the world a little better first. In the original story, jinchuriki are treated quite badly, but are still deemed to be important to their nations. No, Naruto needed to understand the problem that has arrived with Gaara.

One more chapter and then the prelims will begin!

-Z-

**Edited 22/02/15**


	21. Visitor

**Chunin Exams arc**

**Visitor**

* * *

"You really should not have eaten that much," Kiba scolded Akamaru. Karin had enjoyed feeding the young dog, and the latter had eaten so much Kiba had been forced to carry him on their way back to their rooms.

"Karin knows how much you care about Akamaru," Naruto smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Naruto said innocently, smiling at Hinata when Kiba looked away.

Hinata wanted to say something, but suddenly stopped. Knowing that they were in the same building as Gaara, Hinata had picked up the habit of regularly checking the environment with her byakugan. But now she saw something that wasn't right.

"Someone entered our room," she warned, and Naruto vanished.

* * *

"Gaara?" the blonde kunoichi asked. "You're not stupid enough to go here, are you?" she sighed.

Temari and her older brother Kankuro had lost sight of him again. Gaara had the annoying habit of vanishing, which she did not particularly mind when being at Sunagakure. Being close to him was rather dangerous after all. But to let him walk around freely here in Konoha..

She knew her younger brother was obsessed with that blond genin, who possessed chakra almost as monstrous as his. She was afraid that Gaara went after him, but their room was empty. "Damned brat," she cursed under her breath. "Where _are_ you.."

With a loud crash, and before she really noticed it, she was forced down on to the ground. A strong hand crushed her throat. Gasping for breath, she looked into the now crimson eyes of the blond boy who had dared to challenge her little brother.

"What are you doing here? Speak," the boy ordered, with a voice that did not belong to him. It was a deep voice, almost more growling than speaking, and his entire presence radiated an inhuman hatred and rage.

Temari could not speak. He really was like her brother, a monster! Her eyes wide open, filled with fear, she desperately tried to get away. But the boy's strength was far beyond her own.

"Why would a little mouse sneak around here? Planting traps?" the boy smirked, "Did you really think you could hurt _me_?"

* * *

"What are you doing?" Naruto demanded.

"Having some fun," the Kyuubi smirked. "And teaching you a little lesson. That stupid woman filling your head with ideas of controlling me."

The Kyuubi laughed. "Just look how I make you choke this girl. How much control do you have now, weakling?"

Naruto's anger grew. "Good, good," the Kyuubi smiled. "Your anger just gives me more strength. Too bad you didn't lose your temper while the white-eyed bitch was around."

* * *

"ENOUGH!" Naruto shouted.

Temari stopped her struggling, and looked at the boy's face. His eyes were still crimson, but his voice had gone back to normal. And the malice that leaked from him stopped as well. Still, the hand around her throat did not stop squeezing. And the grip had lost nothing of its strength.

"Naruto!" Hinata, closely followed by Kiba, charged in to the room. The Hyuga heiress flew forward, and using Naruto's distraction she landed a hit on his arm with a single senbon.

One poisoned senbon.

Kiba jumped in to drag Temari away. And though the kunoichi was still frozen in fear, he took care she did not escape. Kiba too, wanted to know what she was doing in their room. But Naruto was their first priority now. Their biggest threat.

"Naruto? Are you.." Hinata saw the two different types of chakra swirl. Her byakugan witnessed the struggle for control. For the first time since she met Naruto she saw his vulnerability.

"You really think a little poison is enough?" Naruto frowned, his crimson eyes showing the amusement the fox felt.

She swallowed her tears, this was not the time to be afraid, Naruto needed something to calm him down. "Naruto.. Please don't give up."

Hinata suppressed her shivering, when Naruto's eyes looked into hers. His gentle blue eyes had been replaced by fiery and bestial crimson eyes, which looked at her without mercy. With his left arm immobilized by the needle with the paralysis poison, he now struggled to lift his right arm.

"No.." Naruto said with an erratic voice. "N.. No.. Don.. Don't…"

Hinata couldn't think. His grimace and despair… his struggle. She stepped forwards, past his partly raised arm, and hugged him. "You never gave up, Naruto-kun. You will never lose. You can't."

When she touched him, Naruto froze. For a moment, his face showed only hatred, revealing how much his fangs had grown.

But this was merely for a moment. And after which his arm fell down, and the crimson colour in his eyes disappeared. As did all the chakra he had amassed. Hinata could feel his muscles relax, and the turmoil of chakra end.

"I told you that you would win," she whispered, smiled despite the tears now flowing from her cheeks.

* * *

The fox howled. "Curse you! Next time I will break out!"

Naruto smiled weakly when he saw the fox's rant. For the first in a long time, Naruto felt clear. The continuous tension had left along with the Kyuubi's chakra.

"Thank you, fox," Naruto said to his prisoner. "You only managed to show me how much influence you had on me.. And now I know what to look for."

The fox clawed at the bars of his prison, furious that he made such a mistake. His grand plan of breaking free, now suffered a setback like this because of his own impatience!

Naruto simply looked at the demon's tantrum. Not impressed, knowing that the demon could never get to him while the prison was intact. "Sad… I was almost starting to feel some sympathy for you. Don't look so surprised, just because you only expect the worst of others, doesn't mean I am only capable of hating you."

"We're both prisoners, fox," Naruto sighed, after the demon snarled at him. "Both of us are victims.. Neither of us asked for this."

* * *

"Thank you, Hinata," Naruto said with a weak but gentle voice, as she helped him to a nearby chair. "But you should not have taken such risk.."

Hinata looked at him, but shook her head in denial. "No, there was no risk, Naruto-kun."

They heard Kiba grumbled as he restrained the struggling Suna kunoichi. She stopped when Akamaru jumped on top of her and barked. Despite his size, his teeth were too close to her face..

"Sorry about that," Naruto said with a little more resolution, looking at the Suna kunoichi. "But what were you doing here?"

Temari looked up, and Naruto saw the pure fear in her eyes. "There is no reason to be afraid," Hinata said gently. "Naruto-kun had a lot of pressure on him the last few days, but he is not dangerous."

"Not dangerous?" the kunoichi responded with a near hysterical voice. "I _saw_ him. He spoke with _its_ voice! I grew up with such a monster near me. I know when I should be afraid and when not. I know when I am supposed to run for my life and when not!"

"Did your teammates send you here?" Kiba asked.

"No," Temari admitted. "We lost track of him.. Gaara… I was afraid that.. I thought he would be looking for you," she said while looking at Naruto.

"You grew up with him?" Hinata remarked.

Temari laughed softly. "He's my little brother, not that he would care about blood ties. To him I am just another target. Another piece of meat which he can squeeze the life out."

"Is he that bad?" Kiba asked while slowly letting her sit up. Despite her still obvious fear of Naruto, she had relaxed a little.

"He is a monster.. He hates everything that moves."

"He is not. He holds a monster inside him, but Gaara himself is no monster," Naruto said firmly. "What was he like when he was younger? Did he change?"

Temari blinked.

"Hell. That wasn't such a difficult question, was it, girl?" Kiba frowned.

"My _name_ is Temari," the girl said with some annoyance. She sighed. "I don't know what you want to hear.. When Gaara was younger, he already was unusually skilled. Father loved him for it. Until the accidents started to happen… people who got too close to Gaara always ended up getting hurt. Initially, this seemed to bother Gaara, as if it truly was an accident. But after he killed our uncle…"

Temari looked down, but she managed to regain her composure again. "After he killed uncle, Gaara changed. He began to enjoy killing. Right now.. To him, it is as easy as breathing."

"What kind of seal does he have?" Naruto asked. He had already sensed it, but Temari had just confirmed his suspicions. Naruto wondered if he could become like that as well.. What would have happened if he had not managed to push the Kyuubi back just now? How long would it take before his mind would crumble too?

"Naruto is the last descendant of the Uzumaki clan," Hinata explained upon seeing Temari's confusion. "He is very skilled in fuinjutsu."

"If Gaara hunts me as well, it is seems inevitable we will fight. If we do, and I could manage to defeat him without killing him, I might be able to strengthen Gaara's seal. Maybe that could give him a chance to regain his sanity," Naruto said softly. "It was not Gaara, who killed. I was the demon, trying to break free from the seal.."

"Is that… possible?" Temari uttered in disbelief.

"You just saw me," Naruto shrugged. "But seals are not flawless. The demons are far too strong for it. But because of the sealing technique that was used on me, I was able to fight back."

"But why would you.."

"Would you rather have me kill him?" Naruto frowned. "Would you rather have war between our countries?"

"No! No, but.."

"If Gaara dies, Suna weakens. If Suna weakens, there will inevitably be those who will try to exploit that weakness. Beyond that, if the demon got destroyed along with Gaara, it could destabilize the entire balance between the hidden villages, and lead to global warfare," Naruto explained, keeping his voice calm and controlled. "Though, I presume the same could be expected if Gaara would kill me." Hinata and Kiba looked at him.

"Listen, Temari of the sands," Naruto insisted. "This is your choice, either take it, or watch the world fall apart."

"I… I don't know much about his seal. I haven't really seen the seal that was put on Gaara for a long time.." Temari hesitated.

"And it is a secret?" Kiba deduced. "Chunin are supposed to be able to think and act for the good of their village, _girl_."

Temari grimaced, but managed to ignore the sneer. "Do you really think you could defeat Gaara, without killing him?"

"You just said that I'm a monster like he is, right?" Naruto shrugged. "So why not? Look, I know this is dangerous, but if there is a chance to avoid war, don't you think we should take it? Fuinjutsu is allowed during the exam, like any other jutsu, so technically I would not even break any of the exam's rules. But if any of the jonin are forced to interfere during the exam, we still risk an incident."

"We will not tell anyone about this," Hinata promised. "But please listen to Naruto-kun.."

Temari started to explain what she knew about the seal that Gaara had. Though his teammates did not understand, Naruto nodded a few times while Temari spoke. "I see.. This won't be easy, but with some preparation, it should not be impossible either.." Naruto frowned.

Naruto stood up from his chair, still shaky from the poison which was supposed to completely paralyse him. Naruto frowned, and considered the possibility that his resistance had improved due to Orochimaru's poisoning earlier. "Please do not tell Gaara or anyone else about this, Temari-san."

"Where are you going?" Kiba demanded. "Don't tell me you forgot that that Gaara is looking for you."

"Gaara is not near us, at the moment," Hinata replied, her byakugan activated. "He is at the third floor, talking with a tall man… a one-eyed man."

"That is our jonin-sensei. So Baki-sensei found him.." Temari sighed in relief. "Do you really know what you are doing?"

Naruto frowned a bit. "I have a good guess. Don't worry," he added when Temari opened her mouth to argue. "I will consult Jiraiya-sama first, the one who taught me about fuinjutsu. I do not know what will happen tomorrow, so I need to confirm a few things about the techniques I know." He turned around. "Listen, things will possibly become rather rough once we face each other. But I promise I will do whatever I can to avoid killing your little brother. Well, unless my survival depends on it.."

"Please don't worry too much, Temari-san," Hinata said after Naruto had left the room. "Naruto-kun made a promise, and he always keeps his promises."

"Why does he care so much? Why would he risk himself…" Temari was confused. And it wasn't helping she was now thinking about Gaara as her younger brother against, in contrast with the image of a monster she had of him the last few years.

"Naruto-kun was always alone," Hinata said gently. "Perhaps he sees Gaara as someone similar to himself. I don't think Gaara ever frightened Naruto-kun, but Naruto-kun is just unable not to worry about someone who is so similar to him. Perhaps he pities him, because he too could have become like Gaara.."

"He is too obsessed about this Gaara to joke about it anyway," Kiba added. "But we must thank you.. You gave him a way out, a path where he is not forced to kill Gaara."

Kiba's gratitude was extended by Akamaru, who licked Temari's hand.

* * *

**A/N:** I considered to let Gaara stay as a rather one-dimensional evil being, for Naruto to kill. But I thought the manga did a good job on portraying part 1 Gaara's complexity. The nearly lost struggle for his humanity.. I wonder how hard it must be if you cannot even trust your own sanity.

-Z-

**Edited 22/02/15**


	22. Preliminaries pt 1

**Chunin Exams arc**

**Preliminaries pt 1**

* * *

All the genin had gathered in the large arena at the basement of the tower. Naruto noticed that team 7 had also arrived, though only barely on time. Despite the low odds that rookies were supposed to have on passing in their first try, all three teams had made it.

Aside from them, Neji's team was also present, just as Gaara's team, and Haku's. Together with a genin team from Iwagakure, and another from Kumogakure, there were twenty-four genin present.

Naruto saw that there were a lot of jonin present, aside from those who taught the teams present. Team 8 had gotten a message from Kurenai the previous evening that she and many others had been busy because of Orochimaru's appearance. She had insisted that they should be careful, and told them she would meet them today.

"Hinata, how does Sasuke look to you?" Naruto whispered, ignoring Kiba. His teammate was (unsuccessfully) trying to calm down Akamaru, who jumped around the Inuzuka, unable to restrain his enthusiasm.

She activated her byakugan, and after a few moments, she whispered back: "The seal is still in place."

"It hasn't been replaced yet?" Naruto frowned. Hinata shook her head in denial. "What are those idiots doing…" he mumbled. But Hinata did not know. Though, she assumed that there had not been enough time to replace the seal.

Sasuke himself was oblivious to his onlookers. Not unreasonable, as Sakura and Ino were once again bickering about their 'right' to stand closest to their object of affections. _'Morons_,' Naruto smirked to himself._ 'They still don't realize he hates that.'_

All murmur silenced when the Hokage stepped forward. The old man turned towards the genin, with an examining look in his eyes. He briefly returned Naruto's smile, but Naruto saw his brow slightly twitch twice: first with Gaara, and the second time when he looked at Sasuke.

"Hokage-sama will now explain the third test, listen carefully!" Anko shouted, with an unusual respectful tone.

After nodding towards the jonin-sensei who were present, Sarutobi Hiruzen started to speak. "Congratulations for making it so far into the exams. But before I explain the third test, there is something I would to tell all of you. It concerns the true reason for this exam," Hiruzen tapped the hat which symbolized his position as the village's kage. "Why do we have all the countries taking the exam together?"

He paused for a second, and several genin frowned in confusion. "There are a lot of reasons which the villages teach, but I do not want you to be confused about the true meaning.. This exam is a replacement for war among our countries."

"What does that mean?" Tenten raised her voice among the murmur.

"The current allies were once enemies, who fought one another for the right to rule. The chunin selection exam originates from a time when the countries tried to end the wasteful fighting, yet still desired to demonstrate their strength. You fight for your land's prestige."

"Why do we have to risk our lives in battle for such a thing?" Kiba exclaimed.

"The strength of the country is the strength of the village," Hiruzen answered on a serious tone. "The strength of the village is the strength of the shinobi. This exam is a place to see each country's strength, and to show off your own strength. The third test is a life-risking battle, in which you show that strength to the world. Both to the representatives of other villages, and clients from the entire world, all of importance will be there to witness your fights."

"I don't care about that, old man," Gaara said with a bored voice. "Just tell us what that life-risking battle entails."

Gaara's insolence annoyed Naruto, but it only seemed to amuse his Hokage. "Before that, there is first a preliminary round. This man," the Hokage pointed at the sickly looking man who stood next to him, "is Gekkou Hayate, and he will be your referee."

The weak looking jonin coughed. "Good morning. Umm.. Before your third test, you first have to make it through this preliminary round."

"Preliminary?" Sakura asked dubiously.

"What do you mean, preliminary," Shikamaru lost his lazy attitude at the thought that he had to face another obstacle in this troublesome exam.

"Didn't we already make it through the second test?" Ino demanded.

"Umm… the first and second test may have been too easy this year," Hayate answered, barely seeming to care what the genin thought. "Too many people for the finals.." he added before coughing again.

"According to regulations, we must have a preliminary and reduce the number of participants first," he continued. "As Hokage-sama said earlier, there will be guests at the third test, so there is a limited amount of time for the fights. Anyway, those who don't want to continue, please join the other genin who have not made it through the second test," he pointed to the left, where a small number of genin stood.

"No one?" Hayate blinked once.

"Who the hell is going to give up after all this?" Kiba exclaimed angrily.

"These are individual battles. Anyone who gives up does not fail his or her team."

Naruto saw Sasuke and Sakura discussing, though they spoke too softly for him to hear what they were arguing about, he knew what it would be about. When Sakura tried to raise her hand, Sasuke stopped her. Whatever he said shocked her. She dropped her arm, but tears were flowing down her cheeks.

"Sasuke-san will not give up, do you think his seal will hold?" Hinata whispered, after following where Naruto was looking at. She got concerned when she saw Naruto shrug uncertainly.

"I hope so," Naruto said softly. "I hope his stupidity doesn't cause any problems.. That thing is too dangerous."

Meanwhile, Anko was also arguing. Though Kakashi stepped in and the Hokage finished their discussion. Naruto could only hear fragments of what they were saying, but his sharp ears clearly heard the word "Orochimaru" once.

Hayata looked around, and coughed again. "Um.. Now.. Let's begin. One on one fights, the names will be shown on the screen behind me. Those who have to wait for their turn go up there," he pointed to the stairs which led to the upper level surrounding the arena.

"Umm.. And we don't want to pointlessly increase the amount of corpses.. I'll jump in and stop things when I think necessary. Now, let's begin."

Behind Hayate, the first two names appeared. Tenten would have to face someone named Tadaoki.

"Good luck," Naruto said at her when he walked past her. "But don't show off too much," he smirked. Naruto had missed the morning training with her team. Gai and Lee seemed somewhat insane to Naruto, but Tenten had always been nice. And their training method was the only one that truly exhausted him. As much as he enjoyed his time with team 8, Kurenai never pushed her genin as far as Gai did.

"Don't worry, I won't humiliate anyone," the girl smiled back. "Except you, of course."

Hinata was somewhat surprised by the way the two genin talked to each other. Naruto hardly ever made jokes around other people.

As the others walked to the upper level, Tenten and one genin from the hidden stone, which had to be Tadaoki, remained with Hayate inside the arena. The Hokage went to his seat, and Jiraiya passed team 8, patting Naruto's head while he walked by, as the joined his formed sensei. Like the other jonin-sensei, Kurenai walked straight to her team.

"Congratulations on coming this far," she smiled proudly, and she hugged the timid looking Hinata. "I'm glad you managed to come this far, despite the troubles you faced."

Kiba and Akamaru were happy with the compliment, but Naruto looked at Sasuke. "How is he, sensei?" he nodded.

"Kakashi-senpai said that there was too little time to redo the sealing," Kurenai admitted. "But he was surprised how strong the seal was, despite it being incomplete. You really have grown much, Naruto."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed by the compliment.

"Now, please begin," they heard Hayate say. The genin and their sensei focussed on the arena now, studying those who they might have to face in the final round of the exams.

Tenten bowed slightly, but the stone genin seemingly ignored his opponent. Tadaoki had a sturdy physique, though the face, at least the visible part, as it was nearly completely covered by his spiky black hair, did not hint at an excess of intelligence.

When Tenten jumped back, she threw a barrage of kunai and shuriken. Tadaoki performed a few hand seals and created a stone barrier in front of him, blocking Tenten's weapons.

Tenten frowned a bit, and took out the two scrolls. Jumping up, she released both scrolls, which now spiralled around her. "Twin rising dragons," she exclaimed, as she unleashed a barrage of weapons which assaulted the stone genin from each direction.

Tadaoki repeated his initial tactic, and surrounded him with stone walls.

Tenten smirked when the explosive tags attached to the kunai she had thrown first, exploded.

Tadaoki tried to get out, but was to slow. He fell down, with dozens of shuriken and senbon stuck in his limbs. Though, Tenten had managed to avoid hitting any fatal spots.

Naruto swallowed. "That was some crazy amount of skill…" he said with respect. Not just about her aim, but mostly about the speed at which she drew her weapons from the sealing scrolls.

"She trained hard, Naruto-kun," an energetic voice replied. Naruto looked, and Rock Lee stood next to him. Unlike his teammate, Neji, Lee was a friendly and somewhat over-enthusiastic person. Naruto could never get used to his clothing, or his stupendous eyebrows, but really liked his fellow genin and former training partner. Lee was one of the few people who could avoid detection by Naruto's 'sense'.

He formed an especially strong contrast compared to the stoic and distant Neji. Though Naruto had often trained with his father, Hizashi, he never had spoken much with Neji. Nor did he feel like he wanted to, as Neji had the same behaviour as many within his clan: as if he was superior to all others. But Naruto knew that he, like many in the branch family, despised the main family of the Hyuga clan. Though, Naruto never came to understand why Neji extended that coldness to everyone else.

"I should've known," Naruto grinned, "The way you guys train, there was no way she did not improve a lot."

"We only grow if we challenge ourselves," their sensei. This man looked like an older (but identically strange) version of Lee. No, Naruto had to correct himself, the clothing looked even more bizarre on adults.

The jonin extended his hand. "It's been a while, Naruto-kun! But I have heard quite a few things about you lately. I'm looking forward to see if you progressed as much as my team!"

"I doubt much has changed, I was only target practice for Lee," Naruto laughed. "There is still no way that I would be able to keep up with that ridiculous speed in a pure taijutsu duel."

Her teammates turned their attention towards Tenten when she walked up. She smiled as they congratulated her.

"Great job, Tenten," Lee exclaimed.

"Glad I don't have to face you," Naruto remarked dryly. He bowed to Hinata. "Not that those explosive tags would hurt that much, but it would've wrecked my new clothes again," he whispered, in an attempt to cheer her up a little. The Hyuga girl seemed to be quite nervous now.

"I never realized you knew Neji-niisan's team that well, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, when Team Gai celebrated Tenten's victory on their own bizarre fashion. Neji kept failing in his attempts to create some distance between him and his sensei, and Tenten herself just stood there with a 'slightly' awkward face.

"While I was in team 7, I trained with Lee and Tenten each morning. Lee is as strange as Gai-sensei is, but Tenten is really nice. A bit direct, and if you mess up she can be quite harsh, but she is a very good person," Naruto replied. "They never bothered me because of the.. You know.. Well, and Tenten is also quite talented in the area of fuinjutsu."

Hinata felt a little jealous of the way Naruto described the girl. "And as for Lee…" Naruto shuddered a bit. "Taijutsu has never really been my strongest point, but I have never been able to keep up with Lee, even when he carries his weights. All I ever saw was a green blur. Though, I haven't sparred with him ever since I came to team 8."

"Damn.." Kiba distracted Naruto when he hissed and pointed at the screen. "Gaara's about to start. Against someone from Kirigakure."

Naruto looked down, not knowing what to feel or expect. Somewhere he realized he was happy he avoided facing Gaara now, but part of him also wanted to just get if over with.

Naruto saw Haku urge his teammate to give up, and even Zabuza, who was their sensei as Naruto had learned from Kurenai, seemed agitated. But the boy was stubborn and walked down.

Though, no one had expected the fight to be this short. Before Hayate could end the duel, Gaara grabbed his opponent using only sand. "Sabaku Kyu," Gaara said with a deceivingly calm voice, as he looked up towards Naruto. Using so much force that the young shinobi from the hidden mist died instantly.

Gaara barely paid attention to Hayate, who scolded him for using this much force, before he vanished and reappeared behind his brother and sister.

"That was to be expected," Kurenai said with a harsh tone. "They were warned and he still stepped into the fight. Such foolishness will get you killed, remember that well," she lectured her genin.

* * *

Haku looked at his opponent with some respect. The dark-skinned Omoi from Kumo seemed to have little difficulty with keeping up with him. And not many were capable such a feat. For a few minutes now, Haku had not been able to find an opening, while he himself had to dodge a few times.

"I am sorry," Haku apologized before he executed his jutsu. A limited amount of water flooded the arena.

"Now what is he planning," Omoi mused. "Or is he a she? If I mistook her for a man, she might be angry with me, but if she is a he then.."

"SHUT UP," his angry teammate shouted at him from the sidelines.

Omoi decided to paralyze his opponent, using raiton. But while he started his hand seals, he saw his opponent lifted one hand.

"I'm afraid I have to end our fight," Haku said with some regret. "I have no intention of ending this in a draw."

Omoi looked impressed when a number of ice mirrors appeared around him. An expression which quickly turned into dismay, as Haku vanished into the mirrors and needled rained from each direction.

* * *

Sasuke grimaced, reliving his defeat when he saw the ice mirrors appear. But now things would be different. Even if it was sealed right now, Sasuke knew he now had access to a power unlike anything he had before.

Even Naruto would be left in the dust, once he managed to unlock that power once again. Sasuke's anger grew again, when he remembered that it was Naruto who had sealed that power. '_He saw what I could do, and became afraid,'_ Sasuke smirked. _'He was just jealous, seeing that my potential surpasses his.'_

* * *

"If you face Haku, and he does that technique.. Just surrender," Naruto warned his teammates.

Team Gai and team 10, who now both flanked team 8, listened in. "How do you know about that technique?" Shikamaru asked.

"I met Haku during a mission," Naruto answered shortly. "Between that speed and those icy needles.. I'd say Haku is one of the strongest genin left in the exam."

Neji looked down. His byakugan saw the toll that jutsu had on Haku, and he smiled. If Naruto considered that to be strong..

After Haku walked up, and Omoi was carried away (after Haku had apologized again and promised that Omoi would recover within a day), the first member of team 10 had to go down.

"Good luck, Ino-san," Hinata said. Ino had drawn another genin from Kumo, named Karui.

Sadly, both kunoichi were rather short tempered, and Hayate barely had time to say "Begin," before both girls launched their attacks.

Like Omoi, Karui's skin had a dark tint. Her long red hair and bright yellow eyes gave her a rather spirited charisma. For the first time ever, Shikamaru saw a girl who was as 'troublesome' as his own teammate.

Karui relied, like Omoi, on kenjutsu. Unfortunately for her, Ino had the advantage in speed and flexibility. Despite only using a kunai, Ino had the upper hand against the Kumo girl's blade.

Something Ino did not fail to remark.

"You bitch!" Karui shouted after Ino had whispered something.

In her fury, Karui lunged forward. Ino dodged the strike, and used her left foot to bring her opponent out of balance.

Now having the initiative, Ino rushed forward and wrestled the slightly smaller kunoichi to the ground.

A few chaotic moments later, Karui stood up, while Ino remained on the ground. Unconscious.

The remaining genin from Kumo smiled from their higher position. Her smile turned into confusion when Karui raised her hand.

"I give up," Karui said on a calm tone.

Hayate looked at the redhead and blinked once. "Are you certain you want to surrender?"

"I, Karui, forfeit the match," Karui nodded, seemingly oblivious to Ino's unconscious body behind her.

"As you wish," Hayate shrugged. "Yamanaka Ino wins the match."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Karui suddenly shouted, looking around in confusion.

Hayate looked at her. "You just surrendered, so your opponent wins the match. Now, move back so the next match can start," he added on a bored tone.

"I told you, you had no chance at all," Ino smirked, as she stood up. "It's a secret," she added with deceivingly sweet voice, after Karui had demanded to know what had happened to her.

"Uzumaki Naruto versus Rock Lee," Hayate announced. "And you two continue outside the arena, your fight is over," he added, annoyed by the bickering girls.

"Owww crap," Naruto groaned. "Not bushy brows.."

But Lee smiled widely at him. "I've been looking forward to our next duel, Naruto-kun. Let's give it our all!"

"You should reconsider that," Kiba laughed. Not that Lee heard the warning, as he had already jumped down.

"Be careful, Naruto-kun," Hinata said softly. "I know you can do it."

"I hope you are right, Hinata-sama," Naruto replied, half joking with the honorific. "Though I had rather faced Gaara," he softly admitted to himself.

* * *

**A/N:** Before someone panics: no, I did not forget Kabuto. You might wish I did, though..

Next chapter tomorrow! Oh, and regarding Gaara: Naruto maybe wishes not to kill Gaara, but the Kyuubi does not have much love for the Ichibi..

-Z-

**Edit: 28/02/2015**


	23. Preliminaries pt 2: Lee vs Naruto

**Chunin Exams arc**

**Preliminaries pt 2: Naruto vs Lee**

* * *

"_Uzumaki Naruto versus Rock Lee," Hayate announced. "And you two continue outside the arena, your fight is over," he added, annoyed by the bickering girls._

"_Owww crap," Naruto groaned. "Not bushy brows.."_

_But Lee smiled widely at him. "I've been looking forward to our next duel, Naruto-kun. Let's give it our all!"_

"_You should reconsider that," Kiba laughed. Not that Lee heard the warning, as he had already jumped down._

"_Be careful, Naruto-kun," Hinata said softly. "I know you can do it."_

"_I hope you are right, Hinata-sama," Naruto replied, half joking with the honorific. "Though I had rather faced Gaara," he softly admitted to himself._

* * *

Naruto jumped down into the right, following Lee, and Hayate announced they should begin.

As Naruto had said, Lee was fast. But for some reason, not as fast as Naruto had expected him to be.

'_Is he holding back?'_ Naruto thought as he blocked another punch. _'Must be, compared to a year ago, his speed has only increased a little bit. He should have improved much more. Unless.. He isn't still carrying all of his weights, is he?'_

"As I guessed, a taijutsu-only duel with a specialist like you would be suicide," Naruto remarked. Though the fight had only started a minute ago, Naruto was still able to match Lee's speed and strength. "You shouldn't hold back though, I won't stick with just taijutsu. No way I am going to beat you on your speciality. I know very well that you ar too good to take such risks."

Lee smiled enthusiastically. "How did you realize I am holding back?"

"You should have grown a lot more, compared to our last match," Naruto smiled. He looked around and shrugged. "Tajuu kage bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed.

Lee's eyes widened (as far as it was possible) when he looked around. What must have been at least a hundred Naruto's, now filled the arena. "You've grown quite a bit yourself as well, Naruto-kun," Lee admitted, the awe still in his voice.

"Lee! Take them off," Gai shouted.

"But Gai-sensei, that is only for the times when I must protect.."

"Don't argue, Lee! I allow it for this duel. Take them off and show Naruto what you can do!" Gai's confident voice rang through the hall.

"All right then," Lee frowned, as he took of the weights he had attached to his limbs. "Are you ready, Naruto-kun?" he asked when he was finished, though he did not know which one was real.

"I was already waiting, bushy brow," the Naruto on his left smiled.

"Konoha senpu!" Lee exclaimed as he had thought Naruto had betrayed his position.

"Wow, these are damned heavy," Naruto said from the position where Lee had left his weights. Lee frowned, the Naruto he had just hit had disappeared in smoke, and now he saw another talking Naruto behind him, who struggled to lift one of his weights.

"What?" another Naruto spoke. "We are not ordinary bunshin. We are _kage_ bunshin, not those stupid things. I thought I told you that once before. Oh, and you should probably start being careful now, Lee-san."

Several Narutos smiled at the genin with the bowl-cut hairstyle.

Lee smiled back. "So it is a game of hide and seek?" he asked happily.

* * *

"What are they.." Sakura asked her sensei.

"Well, Lee is Gai's apprentice, so this is not really surprising," Kakashi said on an even tone. "Gai is called the greatest taijutsu specialist in Konoha for a reason, you know."

"But Naruto… how can he be this strong?" Sakura did not even notice how much her tone, which was somewhere between fear and admiration, annoyed the teammate she loved so much.

* * *

In a blur, Lee disappeared and popped at least twenty clones. Hinata activated her byakugan to keep up with the lightning-fast genin.

And saw the large formations of chakra that Naruto had created.

"Still not?" Lee said by himself, wondering why he already started to pant. By now, he had destroyed nearly half of the clones Naruto had created. "Why don't you fight back?" Lee frowned.

"Who said I don't?" two Narutos responded with a frown and a shrug. "But if you insist, we can throw in some extra effort," another added.

"Fuinjutsu: gravitation seal," several Narutos exclaimed.

Lee was thrown to the ground as he felt like he was suddenly crushed by the weight of a mountain. As he struggled to get up again, he felt the weight lessen, and finally disappear.

Seven clones had sacrificed their chakra supplies for that attack. "Guess I still need to keep this going for a bit, Lee-san. That seal's duration is a bit short, especially when you struggle like that."

* * *

"Lee.." Gai said with a worried tone. Neji frowned: Lee looked strange in the sight of his byakugan, while Naruto simply seemed to be waiting until Lee exhausted himself. What was the blond genin doing to Lee?

"Gai, I think you should consider letting Lee forfeit this match," Kakashi said softly. "He is already covered with seals," he added. "Naruto has already trapped him."

When Naruto created his kage bunshin army, Kakashi had uncovered his sharingan. Whatever Naruto was planning, Kakashi knew he needed the sharingan to see it coming. Or things would end up like the time Kakashi first tested him. And being embarrassed by a genin once was already one time too many, in his opinion.

"I realized Naruto was doing _something_," Gai said without a trace of his normal goofiness. "But this would surpass my expectation by quite a margin.."

"I know," Kakashi admitted. "He is capable of continuously surprising you, if you don't pay attention. That is why I warn you, up till now Naruto has only been holding back."

"But so is Lee," Gai said resolute. "Lee!" the jonin shouted. "Explode!"

Sasuke gritted his teeth.

* * *

Lee looked up at his shouting sensei, and nodded.

Naruto looked with surprise, as Lee suddenly increased his speed again. Within moments, the heavily browed genin had decimated his clone army. And still his speed did not go down.

Four bunshin created a barrier around the real Naruto, as Lee demolished the last five outside the barrier.

"Why are you hiding?" Lee asked with disappointment.

"So I get the time to warn you," Naruto shrugged. "Surrender while you still can bushy brows. Don't make me beat you up, I don't want to seriously harm you."

"I cannot surrender, Naruto-kun. You know why. I will never give up."

"As you wish," Naruto nodded.

"Cluster sealing technique, initiate," Naruto said, on a somewhat apologetic tone.

Tenten looked down, frowning at the curious name Naruto just used. She was considered to be talented in fuinjutsu, especially when it came to storage seals, but what Naruto now did.. And why was her sensei so worried? What did Kakashi, Sasuke, and Neji see that impressed them so much?

Aside from Hinata, Neji, and Sasuke, none of the genin understood what had just happened. To them, nothing changed, only that Lee was somehow incapable of standing up.

"What did you do?" Lee panted. "How.."

"Weight seals," Naruto explained. "Every bunshin you destroyed left another seal on your body. I estimate your body would weigh at least 8.000 pounds around now. More or less, I lost count."

"I see.."

"I am sorry for using such an underhanded tactic, Lee. But I'd rather do this than resort to something that might kill or maim you. And with your speed, I had no other option."

"No, it is a fair tactic," Lee said, smiling once again. "But that leaves me no other option either."

Naruto watched as his opponent suddenly seemed to radiate chakra. And Lee's skin turned red.

"The third.. Life gate.. OPEN!" Lee exclaimed.

The only warning Naruto got was the shattering of his barrier. Something heavy hit Naruto, and he felt his body fly upwards, while he tasted blood in his mouth.

Jiraiya gasped as he witnessed how Lee punched Naruto several times, before the genin caught his opponent with the bandages he had around his ams. "This is dangerous.." he whispered to his former sensei. "We should-"

"Not yet, Jiraiya," Hiruzen said.

Naruto could not stop Lee, as the latter made them spin with high speed as they crashed down towards the ground.

As Gai had taught him, Lee released his victim just before he reached the ground, in order to avoid crashing down himself as well.

But with a devious grin on his face, Naruto grabbed Lee's arm.

Kakashi stopped Gai just before the latter could jump down. Both genin had crashed into the floor of the arena. Gekko Hayate found himself lucky that he stood at some distance, but was still coughing from all the dust that was blown up due to the impact.

"These brats are insane.." he mumbled.

* * *

"Not again," Naruto grumbled at the demon inside him. "Kyuubi, quit it! Don't mess around with my fights!"

"Why.." the fox imitated an innocent tone. "I just help you in your fight.."

"This is just a duel, I have no intention of hurting Lee."

"Tsk.. These petty emotions of yours.. You used to never second guess your instinct, and just strike down whoever was attacking you. You're becoming weak," the Kyuubi frowned. "You used to kill without a second thought."

"Because of you, I sense the malice in others," Naruto retorted. "So unless you have completely lost it you know Lee does not mean to kill me. Hell, he barely even has any darkness in his heart at all!"

"Who cares.. He's just a human. That makes him scum by default. I thought you finally got yourself over those lousy sentiments."

"I don't care," Naruto said, grimly. "Even if I am different. Even if people do see me as a monster. I will not act like one! I will walk my own path, not what others will expect me to do. So keep out of my fight!"

* * *

The chakra from the Kyuubi had mostly shielded Naruto from the impact, and because of it Lee also got out with relatively little damage. In the short moment of distraction from Naruto, Lee had twisted them so that Naruto would fall first. Still, the crash left Lee dazed and confused, while Naruto quickly moved away. And with all the dust blinding him, he lost track of where Lee had gone.

As the dust settled down, the audience saw both boys still standing. Hinata had seen what Naruto had done, and briefly said to Kiba and Kurenai that Naruto was still all right. Even though her voice betrayed the fear she just felt.

But the impact had taken a heavy toll on Lee. No, not just the crash. The poor genin was out of breath, and his entire body hurt from both opening the third gate.

"Please stop Lee," Naruto said, as he saw his opponent getting up again. With the countless weight seals on his body still active, Lee was struggling to just move.

But he did not listen.

Naruto created five clones, and surrounded Lee.

Yet still he refused to give up. _'My reserves are too low.. But I have to risk it. If I lose now, I can't face Neji either,'_ the frustrated Lee thought. '_Why is there still such a difference? Why?'_

"Harm gate: open," Lee groaned.

Naruto watched as his opponent regained his ability to move, but also realized that whatever technique Lee was using, it also posed a danger to its user. There was no way that Lee had crashed hard enough to sustain enough damage to excuse his previous weakness.

"Futon: explosion," Naruto and his clones growled in unison, as they all pressed both hands against each other. '_I am sorry, but if I do not stop you now, you will kill yourself._'

Struck by shockwaves from each direction, Lee was unable to escape, and left on the verge of consciousness. "I.. Will not.. Stop.." he said weakly. "Never.."

Naruto frowned, and bit his right thumb. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu," he said, pressing his hand against Lee's back.

Lee fell down to ground, as a toad appeared on his back.

A very absent-looking toad, as big as a horse, and with a silvery skin that reflected his advanced age. "Eh.. What? Where am I? Naruto-chan?" the toad asked confused, completely surprised by the sudden change of environment.

"Hi Gamazu-san, I apologize for disturbing you, but could you please restrain him for a moment?"

Gamazu looked down, surprised to find out that he was sitting on top of someone. Jiraiya almost suffocated from supressing his laughter seeing the irony of the situation. This was the only toad that had an aversion against fighting. To a degree that he had even sworn an oath to never use violence. Gamazu was more or less a professor amongst the toads, never interested in fights, and always researching some crazy new theory.

'_Fukasaku mentioned a few times that Gamazu was very interested in Naruto's fuinjutsu, so perhaps he could forgive Naruto for this_,' Jiraiya thought, knowing better than most how proud and stubborn the toads were once they felt insulted.

"You want me to fight?" Gamazu asked, with both surprise and distaste.

"No," Naruto smiled. "I don't want either of us to fight, but this guy just won't give up. So if you hold him down, he is forced to give up, and the duel ends without violence."

Gamazu looked thoughtfully. "I guess sitting on top of someone does not count as a violation of my vows," the toad said with a dubious voice. "Though, I'd prefer it if you only summon me when you have issues with that fuinjutsu of yours, Naruto-chan."

Naruto bowed to the older toad. "I promise to do so next time, Gamazu-san."

* * *

Gai's jaw dropped. "Naruto has a summoning contract as well?" he asked Kakashi.

"Yeah," his rival shrugged. "Like I said, he is surprising."

"But.."

"Jiraiya-sama taught him more than just fuinjutsu," the copy ninja explained.

Gai looked shocked at this revelation, and jumped down, walking towards his student.

"Lee, you have fought well, but you are outmatched.." the jonin said with a soft voice.

Hayate nodded. "Rock Lee is incapable of continuing the fight, Uzumaki Naruto is the winner."

* * *

"Wait," Naruto said as Gai lifted up Lee. Gamazu had been confused when the fight was ended, and had returned to his home again. "Let me dispel the seals first, that way Lee-san should be able to watch the remaining fights, if he wishes to do so."

He did not add that he was surprised that Gai lifted the genin so easily.

Gai blinked, and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Naruto-kun. You have been far kinder to Lee than you should have been, considering the circumstances."

"I know," Naruto shrugged. "But exams or not, I am not inclined to hurt the few around me who treated me well. Lee has always been nice to me, so how could I have fought him with the intent to kill him?"

"Be careful that others don't exploit such kindness, Naruto," Gai warned, as the trio walked out of the arena. "And in the finals you cannot afford to hold back. It is in Konoha's best interest to show strength, while kindness will be seen as weakness in the eyes of foreign shinobi."

Naruto looked into the jonin's eyes. "People already see me as a monster, but I refuse to be a monster. I will walk my own path, with my own nindo."

* * *

"Wow…," Shikamaru for once did not seem lazy. Even Ino had forgotten her dislike of Naruto, as was clear by her looks of amazement.

"How much were you guys holding back, last time," Shikamaru asked Kiba.

Kiba shrugged. "It's not like I even know what that idiot's limits are…"

"Damn, between that insane chakra of his, and this display of skill… I wonder if even my dad.." Shikamaru frowned.

"Strength and skill alone are not enough to be promoted," Asuma assured his genin. "But I do admit I had not expected Naruto to be this skilled…"

"I tried to tell you," Kurenai smirked at her fellow jonin. Who now knew he was about to regret his new bet..

* * *

When Gai, Lee, and Naruto left the arena, they went through the doors that led towards the infirmary.

"Just put him down here," Naruto said. "It'll take me a few minutes to remove all the seals though."

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," Lee grimaced weakly. Lee seemed barely aware of his surroundings, but at least was not completely unconscious.

"Just stay still, Lee," Gai said with a worried voice. "Opening the fourth gate while being exhausted.. What were you thinking," the jonin added, mumbling.

As he said, it took Naruto nearly ten minutes before he removed the last of the seals. "That's it, Lee-san. Now take some rest.. I am sorry that you can't beat Neji during the exam."

"It is all right, Naruto-kun," Lee grinned weakly. "Neji could not have given me such a fight. I will train, and beat you next time! I promise!"

* * *

**A/N:** I had this fight in my mind the first time I thought about Naruto being a fuinjutsu master. Well, I hope you like it! I'm not too much of a fan of extended descriptions of fights, so I tried to keep it as much 'to the point' as possible. I tried to blend the original Naruto's skills and tactics in, even though this Naruto is quite different. Please let me know what you think about it. I could probably use some feedback!

Naruto's struggle with the Kyuubi is also a point of interest. Naruto will have to make a choice soon, whether he is ready for it or not..

-Z-


	24. Preliminaries pt 3: Hinata's predicament

**Chunin Exams arc**

**Preliminaries pt 3: Hinata's predicament**

* * *

To his disappointment, Naruto noticed he had at least missed one fight. When he entered the arena again, he saw two medics carrying Sakura away. With Ino quickly following after them. Sakura's opponent, the last Kumo genin, walked to the upper level. Naruto quickly joined his team, a bit uncomfortable under the curious looks all the others gave him.

"Shino defeated a stone genin, after you left," Kiba informed Naruto. "And after that, Temari defeated Choji."

"I would not like to face her in the finals," Shikamaru said with an agitated voice. "Though Choji should not have allowed himself to be tricked that easily.."

"Yeah," Kiba frowned. Akamaru moved a bit uncomfortable on the genin's head. "Though, her futon jutsus certainly gave her the advantage, even if Choji had not fallen for her feint."

"Taking away her fan seems a viable strategy if you have to fight her," Shikamaru mused.

"Last fight was a short one, between Samui from Kumo, and Sakura-san," Hinata added. "Samui uses kenjutsu like her teammates, and is fast."

"Not as fast as Lee though, that was rather insane," Kiba said with an impressed tone. "Though Samui had her 'advantages' as well," Kiba smirked, before he groaned when Kurenai hit him.

"Sorry sensei," Kiba smiled, not regretting a word. Naruto looked around and saw the blonde girl next to Yugito. Naruto immediately knew what Kiba meant, when he saw the genin who was rather well developed, even more so than her sensei.

"Damn," Shikamaru grumbled, when his name appeared. The others wished him good luck.

As Shikamaru trudged down to the arena, Tenten moved towards Naruto. "How is Lee doing?"

"Lee is exhausted," Naruto admitted. "But he should be fine after taking some rest. It just took me some time to remove all the seals I used on him."

"Your fuinjutsu was incredible!" Tenten said with more than a little awe in her voice. "Where did you learn all that?"

"The archive from my clan," Naruto explained. "The Uzumaki clan was known for their fuinjutsu, but after their disappearance, most of it is lost. But some of their books and scrolls were left in Konoha. Though perhaps we could exchange a jutsu or two after the exam? I saw your storage seal during your fight, and it was rather impressive," Naruto admitted.

Tenten nodded, and blushed a bit at the compliment, knowing full well that Naruto was way out of her league when it came to fuinjutsu. Hinata looked a bit worried, and hoped Naruto would be willing to teach her as well. Though, she did not know if she would have the courage to ask him.

"Begin," the heard Hayate say from below. As both Shikamaru and the genin from the hidden mist, named Chojuro, were ready to start.

* * *

Shikamaru frowned. _'Hidden mist is supposed to be ruthless place.. This guy doesn't fit in.. What is he hiding?_'

Chojuro had drawn a large sword, and had taken a stance like he was expecting Shikamaru to attack first. Not that Shimaru would do such a reckless thing.

'_Let's see. Blue hair, pointy shark like teeth, huge blade. If he didn't pull such a wimpy face, he'd look rather fearsome. But apparently he does not have the disposition to be a shinobi.. Or is it a trick?'_ Shikamaru mused, while he jumped back.

The sudden move startled the tensed genin, and he nearly took a step back. He heard his sensei growl, and looked ashamed. "I have to do it… I have to," Chojuro mumbled, as he leaped forward.

But Shikamaru saw him coming, and dodged. Chojuro wondered why his opponent smirked like that, until he tried to step back.

"You really should not charge in when you don't know what your opponent can do," Shikamaru remarked on a lazy tone. "Now then.."

Chojuro felt his arm rise, mimicking the movements of his opponent. "How.."

Shikamaru looked down at the ground, allowing his opponent to see the shadow that connected them. "I caught you, and now you lose."

Chojuro felt that he rose up his blade, and brought it down on his own head. Shikamaru, of course, did not hold a blade so the movements did not harm him. But Chojuro fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Nara Shikamaru, winner by knock-out," Hayate coughed.

* * *

"That was quite good," Kiba frowned. "Didn't think that lazy bastard had it in him.."

"His laziness can be used, with the right arguments," Asuma remarked. "Just threaten him with some training, or extra missions, and he has all the motivation he needs to pass the exams."

Kurenai looked at him. "Could you not find another way to motivate him?"

"Shikamaru? No. Choji is easy, just promise him some food. Ino is the one who has all the motivation in the team," Asuma laughed. "Too much, if you ask me. She's almost worse than… O, damn."

Asuma added that last bit when he looked at the screen.

Hinata paled when she saw she had to fight her cousin.

Naruto swallowed away his dismay. "You can do this Hinata. Show them how good you are! I believe in you.." he smiled.

She nodded, not that she seemed very convinced. Kurenai put her hand on the genin's shoulder. "Don't doubt yourself Hinata, but please be careful," she said softly.

As Hinata walked down, Kiba looked at Naruto and Kurenai. "How good is this Neji?"

"He was the top of his class," Kurenai said with a worried face. "And counted as a genius, even among the Hyuga."

"Yeah.. Lee trained very hard to surpass Neji, but until now he never managed to win a single time," Naruto added. "But that isn't the biggest problem.."

Kiba frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?" Kurenai looked at Naruto as well.

"Neji.. Neji is a product of the Hyuga clan. I fear he hates the main family, as many of his family do.."

"Neji is Hinata's cousin, right?"

"Yes, Kiba.. He is. But it doesn't work like that. Neji's father is the younger brother of Hinata's father. And while she is the heir of their clan, Neji was born into the branch family, the servants of the main family."

"How serious is it?" Kurenai demanded.

Naruto sighed. "There is a lot of unrest within the clan. Some of the branch abhor the rules of the clan, and feel trapped and enslaved. In response to the unrest, the main family tries to strengthen its position."

"And increases the problems," Kurenai deduced.

Naruto grabbed the railing. "And Hinata is caught in the middle. She hates the way the branch is treated just as much, but people like Neji only look at her and see her father. Kurenai-sensei.. If Neji goes too far.. Stop him."

Naruto looked at Hinata, who now was waiting next to Hayate. Neji was taking his time, confidently walking over to them. "Or I will.." Naruto mumbled darkly.

* * *

"Remember the rules of this match. You will stop attacking when I say the match has ended," Hayate repeated. Both Hyuga nodded. "Begin," Hayate called.

"I never thought I'd be fighting you.. Hinata-sama," Neji said coldly. Though Hinata had dropped into her fighting stance, Neji did not move a muscle. As if he was completely unconcerned.

"… Neji-niisan."

Hayate coughed, urging them to begin.

"Before we begin," Neji ignored the jonin."I would like to ask you to forfeit now. You are not fit to be a shinobi. Your lack of confidence is clear to my eyes. You only entered this exam because of your teammates, am I wrong?"

Hinata looked away, uneasy under Neji's gaze. "N.. No. I just.. Just wanted to change.. Do it myself.. To prove.."

Neji smirked. "As I thought, just another spoiled fool of the main house.. No, even worse. Your ability is below of that of your sister. Look at your reality. Losers are losers. People cannot change their personality or strength!"

Kiba looked as he heard the railing, which was slowly being bent by Naruto's fists.

"Looks, brains, ability, size, personality.. Everyone judges and is judged on these values. Values which do not change. It does not matter what a person wishes or dreams, these foolish thoughts only cause suffering and pain. Why don't you drop your act?"

"No.. No.. I will.. W-Will.." Hinata stuttered. She started fidgeting when Neji activated his byakugan.

"You can't fool my eyes," Neji added coldly. "Memories.. Fear of losing.. You are just struggling not to run away, because you _know_ that I am right."

Hinata got tears in her eyes. "Haven't you already realized?" Neji smirked. "Forfeit."

That was the limit.

"Shut up!" Naruto roared, unable to take this any longer. "Stop your retarded speech, you idiot! Hinata! Kick that idiot out of the ring!"

Hinata looked at her angry teammate. Had she already disappointed him? "Kick that arrogant bastard down!" Kiba joined. Akamaru barked frantically. "You've always kept us going, so have some faith in yourself!"

Neji looked back, with an annoyed face. "Typical.. Another dumb Inuzuka and the main family's dog.."

If it was not so much the encouragement of Naruto and Kiba, it had been Neji's disdain of her teammates. Hinata looked at him, and activated her own byakugan.

'_It doesn't matter what people say about me.. But they will not insult my friends!'_

"So you won't forfeit? Fine, but that is your responsibility," Neji remarked, somewhat annoyed that Hinata had found her focus again. Neji dropped into his fighting stance as well.

"I no longer.. Want to run away," Hinata said, softly but resolute. She jumped forward, and initiated a barrage of hits, which Neji all blocked or dodged.

Neji stepped back, and took the offensive. But this moment gave Hinata the opportunity to slip through and land her first hit on Neji's chest.

Brought slightly out of balance, Neji was on the defensive. Hinata continued her attack, and managed to land another few attacks. '_Seems like she got faster… But how?'_ Neji mused, somewhat surprised to see how much she, the failure of their clan, had improved herself like this.

"Yes!" Kiba smiled, "Way to go." But he noticed Naruto's serious look, and his fists squeezing the railing.

Hinata landed another hit on her opponent. At least, that is what Kiba thought, because Neji was turned away from them, obstructing their view.

"No.. What the.." Kiba exclaimed, as Neji stepped back, and Kiba saw the blood that Hinata coughed out.

"So this is what the main house can do," Neji said with his impassive voice. But he could not mask his cold fury any longer. "What a _disappointment_."

When Hinata tried to attack again, Neji simply grabbed her first and hit her arm a few times with his other hand.

As Neji stepped back, Hinata's arm was paralyzed. "No way.. You.. The tenketsu.." Hinata said with shock, as she realized the level of mastery it took to close the tenketsu so precisely.

Neji grimaced as he punched Hinata away. "Do you now see the difference? You are a loser, too blind to accept my offer to forfeit before you embarrassed yourself."

But whatever Neji wanted to say after that, he silenced when Hinata stood up again. "I will not go back.. I will never give up," she looked up, at Naruto. "I will never let my team down," she smiled weakly.

But despite her bravado, she coughed up another mouthful of blood. Neji's face was twisted from anger, and the fight became completely one sided.

No matter how hard Hinata tried, she could neither block nor dodge, and took one hit after another.

"You should have listened," Neji growled, as he hit Hinata in her face.

"I did," Hinata panted. "I heard your pain. I heard your suffering. When did you give up on _your_ dreams, cousin?"

"Stop!" Hayate shouted, as he saw Neji snap and move in with lethal intensions. But Neji was too close, and blood rained down on his khaki shirt as he lashed out with all his might…

…And Kiba caught Hinata, who now stood next to him.

Neji looked straight into Naruto's face.

Naruto had used the substitution jutsu to get Hinata out of peril. It had been his only concern.

Blood ran down his chin, but it did not matter to him. Nothing mattered any more. He felt nothing but rage. Nothing but a blinding, numbing, deafening desire to obliterate the white-eyed boy.

"How predictable, the main house's dog stepped in," Neji taunted, as he recovered from his surprise.

Naruto's arm flashed forward, and grabbed Neji by his throat.

"Maybe death will cure you of your blindness," Naruto said, as his eyes got a crimson colour, and his voice reduced to a low growl. He lifted Neji, who was now choking as Naruto's hand squeezed. Squeezed hard. "Now die… _human!_"

Neji tried to struggle out of the jinchuriki's grasp, but he was powerless. He felt his throat being crushed and frantically tried to break free. But somehow, the blond boy's tenketsu would not close. The boy's chakra was too strong for the Hyuga to block.

The only thing that saved Neji was that Hayate and Kakashi stepped in to halt Naruto's rampage.

"Naruto, calm down," Kakashi urged. "Now."

Naruto threw Neji away, like a ragdoll, but did not avert his eyes from the Hyuga.

"Stop this right now, Naruto-kun," Hayate said, no longer sounding sickly. "Or I _will_ disqualify you for interfering with the match of another."

Naruto still did not avert his eyes from Neji, and ignore the two adults. "You talked about fate.. But know this: your fate will be death," Naruto said with an intensity that made Neji shiver. "And not even this slow referee or this pathetic excuse of a sensei will be able to save you."

'_What was that?'_ Neji thought confused, as Naruto turned away. '_Was he still holding back against Lee?! And why didn't the juken work? What was that monsterous chakra?_'

Not that Naruto paid any attention to Neji's grimace, as he hurried to the stairs. Kurenai and Asuma carried down Hinata, who had lost her consciousness.

* * *

"Naruto, I will wait here," Kurenai said as they stood by the doors of the infirmary. The medics had moved with haste when they noticed that Neji had damaged Hinata's organs to such an extent that her heartbeat had become erratic. "Kiba will have his match, support him. I will wait here in case the medics have any news."

"Kurenai-sensei.."

"And control your temper," Kurenai added sharply. "I understand why you did it, but Hayate could have disqualified you for interfering with another's duel."

Naruto nodded, and though he was reluctant to do so, he walked back to the arena.

* * *

"Kankuro from Suna versus Isane from Iwa," Kiba said abruptly. "How is she?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"They said she will survive, but there is a lot of damage.." Naruto said, while he tried to supress his rage.

"And you?"

"Healed," Naruto said, indifferent about his own injuries.

Tenten and Neji had moved away, keeping some distance from Naruto. Neji still felt his throat ache from the force which Naruto had used while choking him. Gaara was staring at Naruto from across the arena, barely able to keep his insanity from reaching the surface. Temari and their jonin-sensei looked very uncomfortable standing next to him. Similarly, Sasuke was staring at the jinchuriki, and Kakashi could not blame him. Naruto still radiated a killing intent which would have scared of most shinobi, regardless of their ranks.

Naruto was still too angry to properly pay attention, but he saw that Kankuro used a puppet to defeat his opponent.

Or better: Isane attacked the person who she thought was Kankuro. The moment she came close, 'Kankuro' grabbed her, and revealed that he was the puppet, while the real Kankuro emerged from the package the puppet had initially carried.

No matter how Isane struggled, she could not break free. Finally, she yielded, too exhausted to continue trying. Shikamaru noticed that Kankuro was not looking very happy, as the puppet moved with a lot of difficulty. Though Kankuro proceeded, there was no happiness to be seen.

* * *

The moment the match had ended, Kiba and Akamaru jumped down. There were only two genin left: he had to face Sasuke. Sasuke seemed as impatient as Kiba was. "You sure about that dog?"

"What is wrong with Akamaru being here?" Kiba asked aggressively.

"If you care about it, you should have left it behind," Sasuke shrugged.

Hayate shook his head. "If you two can controls your tempers, we can start, ok?"

"Fine," Kiba growled.

"Let the last match begin," the coughing jonin sighed.

Kiba was already angered because of what Neji had done, and now Sasuke had the gall to look down on Akamaru. "Here."

Sasuke watched as Akamaru swallowed a food pill. "What the.."

"He's named Akamaru for a reason," Kiba smirked. "Here we go, Akamaru."

The now red (and wild) looking dog jumped on Kiba's back as the latter crouched. "Beast effect ninpou!" Kiba growled, while Akamaru barked at the same time.

Sasuke activated his sharingan, when he saw two Kiba's standing on top of each other. Under the effect of the beast human bunshin, Akamaru and Kiba looked identical. Sasuke saw the chakra swirl around both the Inuzuka.

"Quadruped no jutsu!" Kiba shouted, as they both lunged forward.

With his sharingan active, it was easy to see where he had to go in order to dodge, block, or counter the attack. But the sheer speed that the Inuzuka displayed left only the first option open.

Naruto frowned, he had seen Kiba fight seriously a few times, but the quadruped no jutsu was new to him. But the speed was not sufficient to defeat the Uchiha, and Naruto doubted it would be a sound strategy to try to tire out Sasuke, as Kiba's jutsu seemed to consume a lot of chakra.

This was something Kiba also recognized. "Gatsuga!"

The Uchiha groaned when he was hit by one of the two tornado-like attacks.

As Kiba landed, he looked back to figure out where Akamaru had gone to, and where the Uchiha had fallen. Despite the beast effect jutsu's improvements in his senses, the Gatsuga always left him disoriented for a few seconds.

The moment where Kiba failed to keep the initiative gave Sasuke the chance he needed. With his sharingan, he looked one of the two Kibas in the eyes, and knocked him out.

'_Fifty per cent chance I get the right one. Not that it matters much.. If I only have to fight one, I can dodge and outlast him,' _Sasuke thought. Though, it frustrated him that he, a genius from the mighty Uchiha clan, had to resort to such tactics to beat a loser like Kiba. But in his current condition, he had no other choice. And he _had_ to win.

Naruto sighed, as he saw his comrade fall to the ground. Sasuke's gamble had paid off, and he was lucky to have aimed it at the real Kiba. If had been Akamaru, Kiba could have taken Sasuke down because the latter had his guard down while he used the sharingan.

"Uchiha Sasuke wins," Hayate proclaimed. Akamaru reverted to his real form and ran towards Kiba.

"I'll take him to the infirmary," Naruto said, as he landed next to his unconscious teammate. Sasuke looked at him. The person who had taken away that power he had enjoyed for a short while..

"Wait a moment," Hayate said. "To all contenders who have earned the right to compete in the third round of the exams: congratulation on passing the preliminary round! Hokage-sama," Hayate bowed to give the word to Hiruzen, who had just appeared next to him.

"The finals will be in one month," Hiruzen announced. "In front of everyone present at the central arena of Konoha, you will each show the strength of your countries. Use this one month break to heal your bodies, and train with diligence to prepare yourselves to face the opponents you have seen today. As for the matchups, these will be announced on the start of the finals."

Hiruzen nodded at Naruto, so that he could take Kiba to the infirmary. "I wish you all good luck, and look forward to see your efforts," Hiruzen concluded." He looked at Kakashi, who would have to use this time to redo the sealing technique on Sasuke.

* * *

"What happened?" Kurenai demanded, as she saw Akamaru and Naruto come close, and the latter carrying the unconscious Kiba.

"Sasuke. Kiba had to fight him in the final match, and Sasuke used a genjutsu on him to knock him out."

"I see.. I can fix that.." she said. "Release."

Kiba groaned as he opened his eyes. "What the.. Where am I?" he asked weakly.

"You lost, buddy," Naruto said softly. "Sasuke knocked you out with a genjutsu."

"Illusion? Damn.. That's cheap. Sorry, sensei," he added, realizing her speciality.

"It worked," Naruto shrugged. Kurenai had fetched a medic.

"Take him with you and give him some time to rest and recover."

"Yes, Kurenai-sama," the medic replied.

As Kiba and Akamaru left, Naruto turned towards his sensei. "Anything on Hinata?" he asked with worry.

"Not yet.." Kurenai sighed.

* * *

After a few hours, finally a medic came to them. Strangely, Jiraiya walked next to the medic.

"Kurenai-sama," the medic bowed slightly. "We have stabilized the situation for now, but lady Hyuga will need to remain in the Konoha hospital for some time, to recover from her injuries."

"Is she awake?" Naruto asked. "How bad is it?"

"She sleeps. The damage to her organs, especially her heart, was extensive," the medic frowned, not happy to be interrupted by the genin. Jiraiya nodded to the medic, who had looked at him for approval. "Though it is early to say, as it will depend on her recovery, but we doubt if she can remain functioning as a shinobi."

"What?" Naruto exclaimed weakly. Kurenai looked sad.

"Is this true, Jiraiya-sama?" she asked.

Jiraiya bowed his head slightly, and spoke with a soft and careful tone. "It is the damage to her heart, that worries me.. I'm no specialist.. But from what I see, I expect that she can live a normal live after this, but if she ever pushed her body to her limits again… It might become fatal."

"No.." Naruto whispered. "Not like this.. She gave it all she had, and this is how it ends up?" he said angrily.

Jiraiya nodded. "Though it is sad, this is how the world works, Naruto. Neji was far too strong for her. But what is worse, is that she must have seen the damage herself.. And she still continued."

Kurenai put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, stopping him from responding. "Is there no doctor who can heal her?" she asked.

"Not in Konoha," the medic admitted. "There is one who might be able to do it, but she left our village years ago.."

"That is why I came.." Jiraiya added. "Naruto, the situation in Konoha is currently dangerous for you, with both foreign and Konoha shinobi who have been startled by your growth. They will try to use this month to dispose of the threat they see in you, while the greater audience is still unaware of you, to avoid a larger incident that could happen at a later time."

"What do I care," Naruto responded angrily. "Let them come.. I will kill all of them…"

"That is why I will take you with me, to retrieve the only person who can heal your teammate," Jiraiya countered.

"Jiraiya-sama.. Do you mean…" Kurenai realized.

"Yeah, she is the only one who can do such a thing," Jiraiya shrugged. "I'd rather leave her be, but this situation should be dealt with. And knowing her money issues.. She might cooperate."

Naruto looked at the both of them. "We will leave tomorrow at noon. I'll first escort you back to the Hyuga estate, gather your stuff and prepare for a one month journey," Jiraiya said.

"But.."

"We will visit your friend before we leave," he said kindly.

"Don't worry Naruto," Kurenai added. "Both Kiba and I will stay close."

"Lady Hyuga will be transported to the hospital this evening," the medic had looked a bit out of place, but decided to add something as well. "Her live will not be in danger, and we will make sure she will not exhaust herself."

Naruto sighed in defeat. "All right ero-sennin.. For Hinata's sake, I will come with you."

"Don't look like that, it's not like I won't be training you during the time," Jiraiya frowned.

* * *

All packed, and ready for his journey, Naruto left the Hyuga estate. Haruki and Ako were shocked to hear about Hinata's injuries, and how she got them. Even the normally calm and collected Haruki was visibly annoyed that one of the branch did such a thing.

"Coward," Haruki had said, his eyes angry even though his voice was calm. "That boy is a year older, and can boast a talent which the clan has not seen in decades.. And this is what he does with it?"

Ako had tried to calm him down, knowing that all this excitement was bad for Haruki's health. "No Ako, this is not something I can keep quiet about. This will only increase the dissention between the main and the branch. Even if the main clan does not particularly care about Hinata-sama, they will still see it as an insult."

Naruto frowned when he thought back at those words. Why was the main family always so unsatisfied with Hinata? Why did everyone seem to be against her? Naruto always saw his teammate train. She never complained, no matter what endeavour she had to take, she did it. On top of it, she was kind and gentle, traits that any leader should have. Just like the third Hokage.

In Naruto's eyes, she was the strongest kunoichi of his generation, though he expected that she would never believe it if he told her that.

* * *

So occupied with his thoughts, Naruto failed to spot the larger youth who just walked out of a building Naruto passed.

"Hey, look out where you walk, runt!" the young man exclaimed, after Naruto almost bumped him over.

"Sorry," Naruto said with a soft and absent-sounding voice.

"What?" the larger male stood closely to Naruto. "Apologize properly, you moron."

Just what he needed. "Get lost," Naruto growled, not in the mood to be annoyed by someone older. He already struggled to keep his anger contained after what Neji had done, and now this guy reminded him of how he used to be bullied when he was little.

The young man must have been seventeen or eighteen years old, and had a broad physique for someone of his age. Yet, despite his build, he was no shinobi. At least, Naruto did not see a head protector, nor did the young man seem to move like a shinobi.

Still, he grabbed Naruto's shoulder when the latter tried to walk on. "What's this? When did I say you could leave?" he added with a loud voice, trying to push him back. "No respect for someone without a clan?"

The young man saw that Naruto was a shinobi, and he knew that genin were not allowed to act against civilians. The young man smirked, and lashed out with his right fist.

And screamed in pain when Naruto grabbed that fist.

"I told you to get lost.." Naruto growled. He turned away, as he wanted to go to Hinata while he still got the chance.

"I suggest that you stop trying to do that," a feminine voice commanded.

Naruto turned back and saw that the bully had drawn a knife, but Hyuga Hitomi stood next to him, along with two of her guards.

"Attacking shinobi of the leaf is a crime," she added softly but firm. "You should walk away now, or I will have you brought to justice."

The young man looked at her white eyes, saw her unmarked forehead, and knew of the Hyuga's reputation for strictness. He decided to get away while he had the chance.

"You could have dealt with that in a better way," Hitomi lightly scolded Naruto.

"I apologize, Hitomi-sama," he bowed.

"I assume you wanted to visit my daughter?" Hitomi asked kindly. "She has not yet woken up though." They continued walking to the hospital, the two guards at a respectful distance.

"I know," Naruto replied. "But I have to leave today, so I just wanted.. Wanted to visit her while I can."

"I heard you are going to travel with Jiraiya-sama?"

Naruto blinked. "Haruki-san keeps me informed regarding your missions and development," she explained.

"Jiraiya-sama asked me to join him on a search for some woman he knew who would be able to heal Hinata.." Naruto frowned.

"And he wishes to take you away from Konoha," Hitomi guessed, after looking at his face. "I cannot blame him, it seems you startled my cousin quite a bit. Not to mention the rest of our clan. As well as many others in Konoha. Even the main branch is in turmoil that you found a way to block our juken."

"I don't care about them," Naruto replied, some of his anger returning to his voice. "I will make Neji pay for what he did to Hinata."

"Control your emotions, Naruto," Hitomi said with strict voice. "Though I understand your position, you should never forget who you are…"

Naruto looked down, reminded of the Kyuubi's lingering threat. But his anger was more powerful than the worry for his own life, something which Hitomi could see clearly.

"Why does it bother you so much what Neji did?"

Naruto frowned. "He was like that guy from just now. Tormenting Hinata for things she could not help. He took out his own weakness on her… he would've killed her if I did not-"

"Naruto," Hitomi warned him when the ground itself seemed to tremble due to the amounts of chakra the boy generated. "Calm down. If you cannot control yourself, I cannot allow you to enter the hospital. Such outbursts of chakra are not allowed there." Naruto's shoulders slumped. "Is it because he injured Hinata?" she asked, convinced that her tone would sound innocent to his untrained ears.

"I guess," Naruto admitted. "She is my teammate. My friend. One of the very few who know what I am and despite that she still accepted me."

"Do you feel like you owe her?"

"I once did," Naruto wondered if she could really read him that easily. "Because of her, I got out of that hellish environment. Because of her, the Hyuga clan took me in, trained me, taught me.. I sometimes wonder what I would have been like if I had not been able to escape the orphanages. Weak and stupid I guess."

"And poorly fed," Hitomi softly chuckled. "With your preference for ramen.."

"Yeah, Haruki often told me I would be the smallest kid of my age if I only ate bad food," Naruto grinned weakly. "So that would've made me weak, stupid, and short?"

"You would never have been truly weak." Hitomi looked at him, as the boy looked around him with some wonder on his face. She could see he reconsidered his own life. "Yet this is not something you owe the Hyuga, or Hinata," she said. "You saved my daughter, more than once, and I will always remain thankful because of that. And Haruki often says you have more than earned your place in the clan, with all the work you do."

"I just did what I thought was right," Naruto shrugged.

"When it comes to Hinata, I think you go beyond just that," she remarked. They had arrived at the hospital, and though the nurse did not seem pleased with Naruto's presence, she could hardly argue against the wife of the Hyuga's clan leader.

* * *

Naruto was shocked to see how small and fragile Hinata looked, as she was lying in her bed, asleep and connected to multiple instruments which monitored her health.

"She has not woken up yet, Hyuga-sama," the nurse said before she left Hitomi and Naruto alone. "But her condition is stable and will improve quickly, Hyuga-sama. Our only concern is the damage to Hinata-sama's heart."

The nurse bowed and left, and the guards closed the door and took their positions outside of the room.

"My poor daughter," Hitomi allowed herself a moment of weakness, as she wiped a strand of hair out of Hinata's face.

Naruto felt too sad to say anything. Not that he knew what to say in the first place. He silently vowed to make Neji pay, before he killed him.

"I promise I will find someone who can completely heal Hinata again," Naruto finally managed.

Hitomi nodded, grateful. '_And that would be that third time you saved the life of my daughter.. No, if what Haruki said is true, it would be the fourth time. And that is not even considering everything else you did for us_,' she pondered. '_Any other person would not have kept it to himself, but had boasted about it. Any other person would be crushed by your burdens… I wish I knew how to repay you…'_

They remained in silence, Naruto took a chair, while Hitomi sat on the edge of Hinata's bed. Then Naruto suddenly stood up, drawing Hitomi's attention away from Hinata as he walked towards the window and opened it.

"I'll be right back," Naruto said softly, as he jumped out of the window of the third floor.

True to his word, he returned a few seconds later, with a pale-faced Konohamaru on his back. Chie quickly followed after them.

"I sent out a clone to fetch some flowers," Naruto explained. "The nurse would not let it in, because of her," he pointed at the cat. "The clone then met Konohamaru outside, and decided to give the flowers to him, and dispel so I would know about the situation."

"I am sorry to enter like this, Hyuga-sama," the boy bowed quickly. "I will leave immediately."

"Please stay," Hitomi smiled gently. "I heard about you before, from Hinata."

Konohamaru mustered the courage to properly look at the unconscious Hinata, and his pale face got a tint of green on it as well.

"I.. I.." he stumbled.

"Hinata will heal," Hitomi assured the pale boy.

Konohamaru gave her the flowers. And nodded to Naruto, who gave him a purse filled with coins when Hitomi turned away to put the flowers into a vase. Outside, the clone had asked Konohamaru if he would be willing to make sure the flowers on Hinata's room would be refreshed regularly. '_Naruto-niichan can't do it himself, when he is on a mission, so I will do my duty_,' the determined boy thought. '_It'll be my first mission!'_

A little while after, one of the guards knocked at the door. "Hitomi-sama, Jiraiya-sama has arrived and wishes to enter."

"It is all right, let him in," she ordered. "Jiraiya-sama," Hitomi bowed.

"Hitomi-sama," Jiraiya bowed back, somewhat embarrassed that a Hyuga would act so humbly towards another, especially one of her standing. "Naruto, are you ready to go? And what are you doing here, squirt?" he added, frowning when he saw Konohamaru.

"Konohamaru helped me to smuggle some flowers in," Naruto shrugged. "And yes.." he sighed, "I am ready to leave."

"Good," Jiraiya added on a grim tone. "Hitomi-sama, we will return within the month. Please make sure Hinata does not get stressed too much. I've arranged that Hinata's sensei and teammate will keep an eye out for her safety as well. Kiba will be brought to the room next to us, under the pretence that he received injury during the exams as well."

"I'll stick around too.." Chie mumbled softly.

"And the other.. Issue?" Naruto asked. He did not want to mention Gaara to the others.

"Several jonin have been called back to Konoha, and Yugito has also sworn to help defending Konoha regarding this case," Jiraiya replied. "Konoha will be guarded during our absence."

"Do you think Tsunade-sama will remain in Konoha, after you brought her here?" Hitomi asked.

Jiraiya blinked. Though he figured he should not have been surprised, as she had always been exceedingly sharp. "I do not know what my former teammate is planning, but I hope that she is willing to stay during the remainder of the exam."

Hitomi nodded, understanding that, even if she would not be willing to take action, the presence of two of the sannin would be enough to scare of most attackers. Hitomi had seen an unusual degree of agitation due to the exams, though she did not completely know what was going on, it seemed like there was a plot involving the last of the sannin. "Then I wish the two of you good luck. For the sake of Konoha.. But even more for the sake of my daughter."

"We will make sure of it," Naruto promised with a harsh voice. "Even if we have to drag her back to Konoha, she _will_ heal Hinata."

Chie jumped up on Naruto's shoulder, and whispered. "Don't worry about your girl, two-leg. I'll stay and guard her. No treacherous two-leg will get near her, this I swear."

"Thanks, Chie," he petted her on her head.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, Tsunade will return sooner than expected. Might have some different effects as well, for how the storyline will deviate from the manga. I did not, however, want to change too much about the Neji vs Hinata fight, as these results of this will come to play a more important role later on.

Thank you all for your reviews, they certainly make writing feel rewarding!

-Z-


	25. Tsunade retrieval

**Chunin Exams arc**

**Tsunade retrieval**

* * *

"So.. Ero-sennin, who is this woman we are looking for? Not just some genius doctor, I take it?" Naruto asked when he and Jiriaya had left Konoha.

"Ahh.. How should I answer that one.." Jiriaya frowned. "She was my teammate, all the way back from when I was a genin."

"Just like that snake?"

"Yes, Orochimaru was our teammate. And Hokage-sama was our sensei," Jiraiya nodded. "Eventually the three of us grew out to become quite strong and our fame grew along. There were wars going on in that time.. That's when we got our nickname."

Jiraiya smiled when he thought back at those times. "As for Tsunade.. Her strength is comparable to my own. Besides that, she is known as the world's best medical-nin. Some say she cheats death," he laughed.

"She is that good?"

"No, unfortunately people will always die, Naruto," Jiraiya sighed. "But she can do far more than any other doctor in Konoha. She will be able to heal Hinata, if we can get her back."

"Why did she abandon Konoha?"

"Some people died.. She could not save them, and became frustrated. Traumatized," Jiraiya answered, carefully. "Though she did not actually abandon Konoha as a missing-nin, she did get permission to take an extended leave. For a period as long as she wanted, on several conditions. Which basically means that she is on retirement."

"So how do we convince her to go back? And how do we even find her?"

"Well, one of the conditions was that she should stay in the country of Fire. Though, I do not intend our search to cover the entire nation. It is not necessary, as I have a general idea of where she is. I am known for my information network, you know?"

"I thought that only covered your perverted activities, like those poorly written books of yours," Naruto frowned.

"There will be a day when you realize my genius writing skills," Jiraiya replied with some faked outrage. "And then I will not give you a signed copy."

Naruto laughed. "Just tell me where to go, o Almighty Pervert."

* * *

"A break already?" Naruto frowned. "We just left an hour ago."

"I arranged a third team member for this mission, and we will meet on this spot," Jiraiya replied. "So while we wait… how did you training go? Gamakichi said you struggled with the third step now."

Jiraiya sat down on a log. Apparently, a large storm had hit this area earlier that year, as many tries in that part of the forest were uprooted.

"Second phase was a bit odd, because I had to move the air inside the ball, instead of the water. But with some help from Hinata I managed to blow up that ball as well. Actually, the rotation was more difficult than applying to force needed to burst it," Naruto added.

"And the third step?"

"Well.. It is more difficult, because it constantly blows up. Or if I don't put in enough chakra, it dissolves," Naruto admitted. "Keeping a balance between power and stability seems to be the trick, but I did not have enough time to practice, with the chunin-exams coming up."

Jiraiya nodded thoughtfully, though he did not want to reveal how impressed he was with the genin's progress, he decided it was best to inform Naruto. "These exercises are the basic of a A-rank jutsu, developed by the fourth Hokage," Jiraiya said. "He named it the rasengan."

"The Yondaime?" Naruto frowned. "Why did you-"

"The Yondaime Hokage was my student," Jiraiya cut him off. "And he taught me that jutsu."

"Why the face?" Jiraiya added when he looked at Naruto.

"You thought that bastard fuinjutsu too?" Naruto scowled.

Jiraiya sighed. "You still blame him for what he did to you?"

"This," Naruto pointed at his stomach. "Is pretty hard to ignore, isn't it?"

"I told you, the fourth had no other option.." Jiraiya said softly. "He was about the most kind and gentle person I've known.. Not the kind who did something like that without reason. I've explained how you were the only person around who was capable of the task, right?"

Though reluctant, Naruto nodded. "Well then, just continue with the third step for now," Jiraiya changed subjects on a clear tone. "And how is your study in fuinjutsu going?"

"Basically, pretty good," Naruto said with some pride. "I've improved the infernal seal, and found new ways to attach seals to other people by using kage bunshin."

"I saw that," Jiraiya said with some enthusiasm. "You embedded those weight seals in the bunshin, and when Lee touched them, the seal got stuck to him."

"Yeah, that's the basics of it. The moment the bunshin is hit, it puts all of its remaining chakra into the area which is hit and applies the seal on whatever hits it. So it only works with taijutsu. And I can only do this with simple seals, because of the response time."

"Every jutsu has its limitations," Jiraiya said, "But still, it is a pretty impressive combination."

"There are a few harder ones.. I know I have wind and fire affinities, so I focus on the fuinjutsu requiring either those or pure chakra," Naruto frowned. "But this one is still virtually impossible for me: the flying thunder god, or hiraishin no jutsu as the notes called it. The description and theory from the book say that it is an awesome jutsu. But even though I have spent a lot of time on training it, I just can't get it right."

Silence.

"Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked in surprise, when he, after a moment of silence, noticed the perplexed look on Jiraiya's face.

"You tried to learn the hiraishin no jutsu? How?" Jiraiya managed to say.

"One of the scrolls had a book sealed inside it. I found it last year or so. Really complex seal, but even though I know for sure I created it the right way, it is still extremely inaccurate.."

"Was it hard for you to create that seal?"

Naruto thought deeply. "Yeah.. At first it was nearly impossible, how so?"

"Naruto.. The basics of that jutsu.. It requires raiton mastery. It requires a certain mastery over the lightning element."

"Lightning? But the book-"

"It was a notebook, not meant for teaching others, was it?" Jiraiya guessed. "Well.. A lot of the Uzumaki scrolls are a mess, so it isn't really surprising that you didn't notice the difference. Seems like you inherited that lack of systematic thinking from your clan.."

"A notebook? But wait.. Does that mean I messed up the seal because I put ordinary chakra in it, instead of lightning?"

"The jutsu works with regular chakra, but the creation of those seals can only be done with raiton. That is why you were inaccurate, Naruto. To be honest, you should not even have been able to do that."

"Ehh.." Naruto scratched the back of his head. "So I eh.. I was training my third element or something?" he guessed.

Jiraiya rummage in his pockets, and after some grumbling in his pack as well. "Here," he finally said, handing Naruto a handful of chakra papers. "Charge it with the same kind of chakra as you use for the hiraishin seals."

The first attempts only split or burned the papers, but the eleventh piece of paper wrinkled.

Jiraiya whistled, impressed. "You sure are one crazy kid."

"What?" Naruto failed to understand, and thought Jiraiya ridiculed him.

"Even most jonin have trouble enough with mastering two nature transformations.." Jiraiya said, his amazement now obvious to Naruto. "And you.. You unknowingly were training for a third!"

"I.. Eh.." Naruto was too embarrassed by the praise to know what to reply.

"I was thinking of helping you train the rasengan.. But I guess training your lightning nature would be easier to do while travelling. Just grab some leaves, and try to repeat what you just did with the piece of chakra paper. Can I have those back, by the way?" Jiraiya pointed at the remaining pieces of chakra paper. "Those things a rather expensive, and not to mention quite useful too."

'_Impossible! To think he is starting to learn both of Minato's signature moves at this age. No wonder that Hyuga guardian of his has such respect of him. Stupid raw talent like this is a rare thing to see_,' Jiraiya thought. '_Even without proper education Naruto would have been a remarkable shinobi. And the Hyuga only made him stronger. That Haruki was right: teaching him to control that power would be enough to make him a monster, literally, without even taking his jutsus into account.'_

* * *

While waiting for their contact to appear, Naruto dispatched a dozen clones to gather leaves and start practicing. Meanwhile, he summoned Gamazu. The wrinkly silver-skinned toad was as absent-minded as always, and it took him a few seconds before he realized he was summoned.

"Naruto-chan?" the horse-sized toad asked. "Ah, and Jiraiya-chan too?"

"Good morning, Gamazu-san," Naruto bowed. Jiraiya nodded with a smile, keeping silent because he knew the overly serious toad did not particularly like him.

"Why was I summoned?" Gamazu asked curiously.

"Jiraiya-sensei figured out why my hiraishin seals were inaccurate!"

"Ah, right, those things should have worked according to theory.. So what was the problem?"

"Well, they required raiton-mastery."

"Lightning.. Hmm let's see.." the toad mused. "That would make sense now you think about it. Use lightning to connect two points, and set up a pathway to travel on.."

Naruto could not understand what the elder toad was mumbling about, as usual Gamazu was lost on his own train of thoughts.

"But wait," the toad suddenly opened his eyes. "That would mean you were using a third element already?"

"Jiraiya-sensei says so," Naruto shrugged.

"And he didn't even know," Jiraiya smirked.

"Very interesting.. Highly impressive for a youngster like yourself," Gamazu complimented Naruto. "That would also mean you could learn the raiton-based fuinjutsu.. Perhaps I should tell Fukasaku-sama and Shima-sama about your progress…" the toad looked at Jiraiya.

"That would be a good idea," Jiraiya agreed. "We are getting way ahead of schedule now, so perhaps we could start the plan a year earlier."

"I am sure they will be pleased to hear about Naruto-chan's progress," Gamazu nodded. "That would mean we would welcome you to Myobokuzan soon."

"Mount what?" Naruto asked Jiraiya after the toad cancelled his summoning.

"Mount Myoboku is the sacred place where the toads live," Jiraiya explained. "The land of the toads. In time, you will be training there, so you can learn senjutsu."

Naruto frowned. "That is what you talked about when Yugito-san spoke about ways to keep the Kyuubi under control, right?" Naruto remembered.

"Senjutsu is the reason why the Sannin are known throughout the world," Jiraiya admitted. "If you are capable of learning it, your power should expand quite a bit. But I warn you: it is extremely difficult to gather and control sage chakra. Not to mention that it is very dangerous. But that will be explained to you when the time is right. For now, we should welcome our companion. She is getting close now."

And indeed, after a minute or so, a cloaked figure appeared at the clearing where Naruto and Jiraiya were waiting.

"How did it go?" Jiraiya asked.

"I got delayed a bit," the cloaked figure answered. "Anko-san ordered me to take a detour in order to make sure I did not meet anyone else." Karin removed her cloak. "But after that, it was pretty easy to find the two of you. You both have quite a noticeable amount of chakra," she added.

"Karin!" Naruto exclaimed. Then he laughed. "Finding that Tsunade woman will be easy now!"

"Finding her is not the hard part of this mission, Naruto," Jiraiya remembered him. "The part where we convince her to go with us is.."

* * *

She was bored. So very, very bored. Her teammates were gone, training either with their sensei, or with their clan. And she, the one who failed the exam, was left behind. Alone, as even her parents were busy with their jobs.

"Typically for me to fail when I have to fight," Sakura grumbled, while she kicked a pebble away. She wandered through town, tired of her parents' patronizing. But even though her wounded body had healed, her pride had yet a long way to go.

"Hey, Billboard Brow!" someone called her.

Sakura looked behind her, and found that she had passed the Yamanaka flower shop without even looking. "What, Ino-pig?" Sakura replied, not completely unfriendly.

"Is everything alright?" Ino asked with a worried face.

Sakura sighed. "I'm fine, just bored.. Sasuke has left with Kakashi, and they didn't say a word. Shino does not talk much either, but he at least said that he would be training with his own clan. So.."

'_So I'd almost long back to the times I still had Naruto around…'_

"No training or mission, while pretty much everyone else is busy?" Ino deduced. "Yeah.. That must be boring. You know, I'll ask Asuma-sensei if you can join us. Choji helps training Shikamaru and me as well," she explained.

"Are you sure that.."

"I need a target to practice my jutsu anyways," Ino cut her off. "Him again?" she frowned.

"What?" Sakura looked at the boy who had walked towards the flower shop.

"For the last two weeks, he buys flowers every other day," Ino explained. "Hey, kid, buying flowers for your girlfriend again?" she asked loudly.

Konohamaru shrugged at the elder girl's words. "No, why should I?" he remarked. "This is my duty to niichan," he added with some pride.

"You buy flowers for you brother?" Sakura wondered.

"No," Konohamaru sighed, as if he was amazed the older girls were so stupid. "Niichan asked me to make sure she has fresh flowers," he held up a small frog shaped wallet.

"That is Naruto's wallet," Sakura recognized Gama-chan.

"You know niichan as well?" Konohamaru became more enthusiastic.

"We were his classmates at the academy," Ino explained, before Sakura would have to explain that she had been his teammate for a while.

Konohamaru nodded. "Why would Naruto ask you to buy flowers? And for who?" Sakura wondered.

"Hinata-sama is injured," Konohamaru said softly. "And fresh flowers keep that hospital stench from her room. Niichan said she loves flowers, so he asked me to take care of it, while he is out on his mission!"

Ino and Sakura watched as the boy bought a bouquet of flowers, even haggling off some of the price, something which seemed to amuse Ino's mother who helped him. The boy happily said goodbye, and sprinted off towards the hospital, though careful not to spoil the flowers.

"Konohamaru-chan sure is becoming as dependable as his grandfather," Ino's mother smiled.

"Who?" Ino asked bluntly.

"Konohamaru is the hokage's grandson," she explained.

Ino looked at the surprised Sakura. "Well, I have this morning off, why don't we visit Hinata as well?" Ino asked Sakura. "I'm sure she must be as bored then we are.."

* * *

"Wow, so many visitors for me?" Kiba smirked, when he saw the two kunoichi in the hallway. Akamaru spurted towards them, barking happily.

"What are you doing here?" Ino frowned. "Asuma-sensei told me you lost, but not that you were wounded like that.."

Kiba pointed the bandages covering his chest and left arm. "I had a little accident," he said, though he didn't seem to take it very seriously. "So I am not that lucky?"

"We brought these for Hinata," Sakura admitted, holding the flowers they brought along.

Kiba smiled. "She'll be happy with those. Did the nurse tell you how she is doing?"

"No, all she said was that we should keep it short and that we should not upset her," Ino said.

"Right, I'll go with you, but we should wait a little. Her mother and Kurenai-sensei are with her right now," Kiba said. "And the brat just left after delivering new flowers. I should have trained my sis to do such things," he laughed.

"Don't worry, we'll wait till they leave, Ko-san," Kiba said against the Hyuga guard who stood outside of Hinata's room.

"What's with the guard?" Sakura asked.

"Hinata is heir to the Hyuga clan, and her mother is it's leader's wife.. So security is to be expected, right?" Kiba shrugged.

After a few minutes, Kurenai and Hitomi left Hinata's room. "Don't worry, sensei, we will keep it short," Kiba promised, after bowing to Hitomi.

Sakura wondered how the older Hyuga woman managed to get such respect from Kiba, who normally barely paid any attention to formalities, just like the rest of his clan.

"Sakura! Ino!" Hinata said happily, though her voice was still weak.

"Hinata…" Sakura could not keep the surprise out of her voice. "How.. How are you doing?"

"I.. Em…"

"Hinata has improved a great deal, but she still needs time to heal," Kiba answered for her. "That rotten bastard caused quite some damage.."

"Please.." Hinata pleaded. "I'll be fine, Kurenai-sensei told me I was recovering faster than the doctor had expected."

"We brought some flowers for you," Ino tried to lighten the mood.

Hinata smiled weakly, and thanked Ino as the latter put the flowers in a vase, next to the new flowers Konohamaru had brought earlier.

"So.. Tell us how you got Naruto to give you flowers like that," Ino smirked.

The pale Hyuga blushed as much as she could under the current conditions. "I.. I.. I don't know," she squeaked weakly. "N-Naruto-kun had already left Konoha when I woke up, and Konohamaru-chan says he is just following orders, but never said who..."

"So he makes sure you get flowers but does not visit you? I knew he was shy, but that is a bit extreme," Ino said disappointed that she did not find a new scoop. "Though Konohamaru-chan said something about a mission?"

"Naruto left Konoha for training," Kiba said, somewhat annoyed by the prodding of the eternally inquisitive blonde.

"Him too?" Sakura grumbled. "Men and their training.. They could at least stick with their team a bit.. Wait, Kurenai-sensei was just here, who is Naruto training with?"

"Kurenai-sensei told me that he is trained by Jiraiya-sama now," Hinata smiled faintly. "I am sure Naruto-kun will return stronger than ever. How is your training going, Ino-san?"

After a detailed description of Ino's 'suffering' with her training regime, they discussed the performance of all the others. They agreed that the genin from Suna were particularly scary, Gaara especially. "Though Naruto impressed me most," Ino admitted. "That Rock Lee was incredibly fast..But Naruto still seemed to be holding back. I really wonder where his limits lie.. It's as if he has become a completely different person," she smiled faintly.

"What?" she added, upon the look of the others.

"Naruto is.." Sakura started. "Naruto is rather exceptional as a shinobi. I always thought Sasuke was the top of our class. But it looks like Naruto has never been serious."

"Naruto-kun trains very hard," Hinata added.

"Yeah, unlike that stuck-up Uchiha teme, Naruto was not gifted with special powers, but he works harder than any other. And now… aside from Gaara, I doubt there is anyone capable of fighting him on equal terms," Kiba remarked, proud of his teammate. Proud enough to risk two near-deathly glares.

"Which is all the more reason for Sasuke to train even harder," Sakura sighed. "He seems to be obsessed with Naruto, especially after his defeat."

"Defeat?" Ino asked sharply. "Is that rumour true? About the reason why Naruto left team 7? Did he really attack Sasuke-kun?"

"It was the other way around," Kiba grumbled. "Naruto doesn't attack people without being provoked.."

Sakura nodded reluctantly, and Hinata remained silent in her hospital bed. "Why?" Ino asked softly.

"Sasuke-kun.. Sasuke-kun is dreaming to become the strongest.. And Naruto just seemed to surpass him with such ease," Sakura said carefully. "It infuriated Sasuke-kun. During our mission in the land of waves, Naruto defeated someone, but for some odd reason he refused to kill that person. Sasuke wanted to do what Naruto refused, to finish the job, and he attacked even though Naruto stood in between."

"Pretty stupid," Kiba remarked. "If you ask me, that Uchiha's pride is out of control. He was always acting like he was superior to everyone. Calling me the 'dead last' all of the time.." he added darkly, never forgetting his grudge.

A nurse opened the door, and looked annoyed. "Hyuga-sama needs to take her rest. Return tomorrow if you want, but not more than three visitors at a time."

Under the gaze of the stern-looking woman, the genin quickly left after saying goodbye to Hinata. Kiba returned to his own room, though Sakura wondered why he was there. Kiba did not move like he was injured at all.

"Ino! Sakura!" another female voice called them just after the left the hospital. Tenten walked towards them. "You've visited someone too?"

"Yes, we have just been to Hinata," Ino said. "And you?"

"I just visited Lee with Gai-sensei," the tomboyish kunoichi said. "Though Lee should be able to leave the hospital in a few days," she added with a smile. "Thank god, because now that I'm all alone, Gai-sensei is focusing the training schedule completely on me, and training has become hell on earth!"

"What about Neji-san?" Sakura frowned.

Tenten stopped smiling. "He is training with his father, at the Hyuga estate. Gai-sensei… Neji promised Gai-sensei not to lose his head over the stuff between the main and branch families. Gai-sensei was pretty disappointed after… well, you know.." she gestured in the direction from where Sakura and Ino came.

Sakura and Ino nodded. "So I guess sensei doesn't really mind that Neji trains on his own," Tenten concluded. "Even if he would never admit such a thing. It wouldn't be 'youthful', I suppose."

"Well, I sure as hell hope I don't have to face Neji in the finals," Ino remarked, shuddering lightly.

"I think that Gaara is worse," Tenten frowned. "Or Naruto… I have never seen Lee move like that, and still Naruto outmatched him like that. Petty sad that Lee, even after he overburdened his own body like that, still lost. But I just can't believe _how_ Naruto defeated him. It was just.. Awesome," Tenten could not hold her admiration out of her voice.

"We can't all win," Sakura said, half to herself.

Tenten smiled. "Yeah, you are right! Well, I must go now, got to fetch some weapons from my dad's place before I resume training again. I don't want Gai-sensei to go looking for me again.."

* * *

"Ughh.. I wish Kiba-kun was here," Karin complained, not for the first time. "All you two can do is train, train, and train... oh, and let's not forget that you also train. It's infuriating!"

"Do you miss Kiba that badly?" Jiraiya smirked, before getting another hit from the embarrassed kunoichi. Jiraiya had quickly found out that Karin was sensitive to jokes involving Kiba or Akamaru.

The joke was not detected by Naruto, who usually pestered Karin just as much as the old man did. Something which amused Jiraiya a great deal, because the genin himself was totally blind towards the affections others had to him.

"It still doesn't work," Naruto said with some frustration.

Even after Jiraiya had given him hints on how to improve the third step of his training for the rasengan, Naruto still kept losing control of his chakra. Jiraiya noticed that the Kyuubi's influence had been the root of the problem, and focussed the training on the mastery of Naruto's lightning release. Jiraiya suspected that Naruto first had to resolve the whole situation with Neji, before he could complete the rasengan.

Luckily, Naruto had more success with the lightning release, now being able to quickly wrinkle leaves within seconds, while the splitting or burning of leaves by accident occurred less frequent now, indicating that his control was improving with leaps and bounds.

"Well, be happy that things don't go easy," Jiraiya said cheerfully. "The more work you put into it, the greater the satisfaction will be once you have success!"

"Crazy old goat," Karin grumbled. "Well, this town doesn't seem to have any shinobi in it that possesses a similar level of chakra as you do."

Jiraiya frowned. "Are you sure? My sources said that she was supposed to be here."

"Well, the only person who is noticeable has chakra at the level of low jonin, maybe high chunin," Karin replied. "The others are all too weak."

Jiraiya scratched his chin. "Well, perhaps we should see that person. I might be possible that Tsunade is suppressing or masking her power in order to avoid detection."

"To do that continuously ever since we arrived here last night? That would be impossible," Karin frowned. "That jonin-level person also tries to hide, but still slips up from time to time. Everyone does that."

Jiraiya remembered that Tsunade was being followed by Shizune. "I know Tsunade had one person close to her, she might have been trained by Tsunade, and be the one with that jonin-level chakra."

"Then we must seek her out," Naruto remarked dryly. "Besides, getting into a town, after over two weeks of living in the wild, would be nice as well."

Though it was against Jiraiya's nature, as he loved a little comfort, the trio had stayed out of the towns they had passed on their journey. Jiraiya thought it would be better to avoid detection. Despite the measures they had taken, Jiraiya agreed with his sensei's wish to not make their location public knowledge. With the threats that Konoha was facing, it would be better if no one knew about their exact location.

But Jiraiya believed that this was the place where Tsunade should be, the other two places had been empty, so they had to be here. No choice but to enter the town, and follow Karin's lead. The latter was very serious about it, as Jiraiya had promised that he would arrange it that she could stay in Konoha if the mission was successful. And she was quite determined to stick close to Kiba..

* * *

"Are you sure we should be eating like this, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune hesitated.

"Sure, why not?"

"Well.. We do have a lot of debts at the moment," Shizune whispered, looking around at the expensive restaurant.

"Mehh, I finally won something, so what's wrong with a little celebration? Usually bad things happen when I win, right?"

Shizune nodded. "But today was fine," Tsunade continued. "Now I am just going to drink it all away, and we leave this town tomorrow, alright?"

Even Tonton was a bit distressed by Tsunade's attitude. Even the pig recognized the woman's unrest. Even though Shizune had always been a level-headed and a rational thinker, she tended to agree with the pig.

"Tsunade-sama, why are you so agitated?"

Tsunade frowned. "Drink! You are always so serious, you should drink a little! Come on! Drink!"

Shizune shook her head, but before she could respond, Tsunade's head jerked up, and the elder woman stared at the entrance of the restaurant.

"What.."

* * *

"From this distance, I can sense two chakras, though one is masked so well I can hardly recognize it."

"Good work, Karin-chan," Jiraiya said. "Now, let's go inside before she runs."

"I hope she is worth the effort," Naruto frowned, upon hearing that the target would try to flee. Jiraiya knew how Naruto thought about running away.

"She is a great ninja," Jiraiya replied. "And a great beauty as well!"

"Ugh, if she's your age…"

The three of them entered, and found that the restaurant was quite luxurious. As it neared the time where even the establishments of this reputation would close, the restaurant was mostly empty. In the back, two women and a pig sat a table.

One looked at the door, and her face turned from a look of surprise into one of annoyance.

"Tsunade-hime!" Jiraiya called out towards the blonde haired woman. Naruto was somewhat surprised that the woman, who was supposed to be of Jiraiya's age, actually looked like she was in her early thirties. The light-skinned woman had brown eyes, and straight blonde hair. Naruto smirked that for once, Jiraiya's exaggeration was not as bad as usual. Though, this appearance was obviously not how she really looked like.

"Jiraiya," the woman replied sour.

"And Shizune is here as well, I barely recognized you!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "That little girl I once knew really changed into a beautiful young woman."

The slender woman with black eyes and hair blushed slightly at the compliment, and bowed her head. "Jiraiya-sama."

Compared to Tsunade's extremely large bust, Naruto thought that Shizune looked a little more 'normal'. Besides, the alerted look in her eyes, along with the warning from Karin earlier, gave Naruto the impression that the fair-skinned woman was dangerous.

"Keep your flattering to yourself," Tsunade snarled. "Why are you here? And why did you bring _that_ along with you?" she looked at Naruto.

Karin frowned. "Are you always that rude, or only when you are drunk?"

Jiraiya tried to laugh it off, knowing Tsunade's temper was especially perilous when a large quantity of alcohol was mixed in. "He is Uzumaki Naruto," he said, putting emphasis on the 'he'. "And this is Karin, a girl gifted with a sensory ability, who we picked up while we were searching for you," he lied.

"Who cares," the big breasted drunk said bluntly. "Why are you here?"

"Me?" Jiraiya asked. "No particular reason, I'm here because Naruto needs you."

"You help him," she said, not interested. "Or sensei, or whoever. I am done."

"Someone got hurt badly during the exams," Jiraiya explained, not listening to her refusal. "And you are the only one capable of completely healing her."

"I have long stopped doing those things," she shrugged. "Not interested, just get out."

"Perhaps we should," Naruto cutting off Jiraiya, who wanted to continue in his attempt to convince Tsunade. "Jiraiya-sensei, did we really waste all that time on this old hag? She seems like a useless drunk to me. Completely worthless."

"You just shut up, you little brat," Tsunade threatened Naruto. "Or I will do it for you."

Naruto shrugged. "You're probably too drunk to even hit me.." he said with a cold voice. "Besides, you're running away.. Why would anyone fear a coward like you?"

Jiraiya sighed. "Naruto, calm down. Tsunade… the girl who got injured is Hyuga Hinata, the heir of her clan. If you save her, I'm sure they could help you a bit with your… financial issues."

Shizune looked hopeful, but Tsunade scoffed. "Think you can buy me off, Jiraiya? And then what, when I fix one person, everyone will chase me again. I told you, I have had enough. I have seen too much."

Jiraiya rubbed his forehead, knowing Tsunade's history better than most. But Naruto was oblivious to that, not that Jiraiya thought that Naruto would have cared if he did know.

"So you just run away? And this is one of the great Sannin?" Naruto sneered. "Pitiful. Even that Orochimaru was more of shinobi then this old Baachan is, sensei."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "What would you know about us, brat?"

"Naruto met Orochimaru during the same exam," Jiraiya cut her off. "Sensei is worried about his presence, as well as the presence of an unstable jinchuriki from Suna. Though Hinata is our prime reason we came, we also hoped that-"

"Then you thought wrong!" Tsunade exclaimed. "I told you, and that old goat himself as well, that I was done with healing, and done with fighting. Get out, and don't make me warn you again."

Suddenly she released an amount of chakra which startled Karin, Shizune, and Tonton the pig. But Naruto laughed at her. As if her chakra was a joke to him. In fact, it was actually funny to him. Then again, no one had ever tried to scare him with such methods before.

"Really, Baachan?" Naruto mocked her. "Trying to scare us with a tiny bit of chakra? Are you really that senile?"

"Naruto," Jiraiya said sharply. "Stop provoking her."

"You damned brat," Tsunade was too drunk and agitated to restrain her anger any longer. "You could not even make me serious, even if you are a monster."

"An old woman who is too busy to run away from her regrets?" Naruto smirked.

"What do you know about regret," Tsunade growled as she stood up and grabbed Naruto by his shirt.

Though she nearly lifted him from the ground, Naruto just looked her in her eyes. "If you know what I am, you retard, you should know I have my fair share of regrets as well," he said coldly.

"Tsunade-sama, don't.. Not here.." Shizune tried to interfere. Tsunade noticed the waiter, who was too scared to speak up.

"Fine, we'll take this outside. Now," she said as she dropped Naruto back on his feet.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama, please don't-" Shizune pleaded.

Jiraiya put his hand on the young woman's shoulder, shaking his head. "It is no use at this point, trust me. Tsunade, I don't mind you having a little duel with Naruto. But I will not allow you to endanger his life. So keep it together, unless you want to fight me as well," he added darkly.

Tsunade knew enough about her old teammate that he was not the type to make baseless threats. She nodded once, acknowledging his conditions.

"Don't worry sensei," Naruto said indifferently. "All I have to do is make the old bat go serious, right? You better come with us when you do," he added, looking at Tsunade.

"You really are a stupid brat, aren't you?" Tsunade grumbled. "Fine then, but if you lose, you pay me 250.000 ryo!" Shizune grimaced as she saw Tsunade's reckless gambling abilities kick in again.

In the empty alley behind the restaurant, Tsunade and Naruto stood, facing each other. Jiraiya stood next to the backdoor, while Karin and Shizune, who tightly squeezed Tonton in her arms, stood in the doorway.

"I'd rather be a stupid brat, than a coward," Naruto goaded her. Successfully, as Tsunade punched the ground in front of her, creating a large fissure in the ground.

That surprised Naruto a little. '_Impressive physical strength.. Way beyond that of Gai-sensei… Got to keep out of her hands, though she does not seem very quick_,' Naruto analysed the situation.

"You know, all I ask is you saving my friend's life," Naruto said casually, wanting to create the impression that he was not impressed at all. "No need to risk your life for something like that, right?"

"What do I care about some retarded noble?!"

Jiraiya slapped his own face.

Insulting Hinata was the last thing she should have done..

Naruto lost any pretence of restraint. No one would insult his friends and get away with it. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" he growled.

Tsunade was somewhat surprised that a genin of his age could create such a large fireball, but she just smacked it away with her chakra-imbued hand.

"Futon: renkudan," the boy followed up, before Tsunade could lauch a counter-attack. Contrary to the rather blunt fire based attack, this jutsu fired a barrage of razorsharp bullets of wind chakra.

Tsunade dodged, and saw the attack was strong enough to damage the street substantially. Though not to the extent as the gap she just made, but she was impressed that the boy was capable of two elements at his age.

"Katon and futon?" she asked Jiraiya, looking away for a moment.

"Raiton: wave of paralysis," Naruto replied.

"Impressive, but still not enough," Tsunade shrugged, when the attack failed to reach her. Though, she noticed that she had become more careful now. '_Three elements is insane for mere genin.. What has Jiraiya been doing with him?' _she mused,_ 'Wait.. Uzumaki… No way, he couldn't be that brat's-'_

Naruto was a little disappointed that his jutsu had failed, but it was just distraction anyway.

"Fire barrier," he said calmly, activating the four corners he had just created.

Tsunade looked around. "And fuinjutsu as well," she whispered to herself. "Let's see how strong.."

To her surprise, it took her five hits to shatter the barrier, while she had to heal her own hand due to the burns she sustained. "But still not enough," she said to the frowning boy.

"Perhaps you don't really care about that girl of yours?" she taunted him.

"Infernal seal," Naruto said, jumping away from Tsunade without performing any hand seals.

But not before she saw the boy's crimson eyes. This distracted her for a precious moment. Somehow, there was a seal on Tsunade's hand, the one she just broke the barrier with. With a single move of Naruto's hand, the seal exploded, creating a small crater in the alley.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune shouted, wanting to step forward. But Jiraiya stopped her.

"She is fine," he assured her.

Despite the moment of distraction, Tsunade had noticed the seal right before it exploded. But it had cost her a significant amount of chakra to shield herself from the flames.

* * *

"She's not taking you seriously," the fox smirked.

"Shut up," Naruto shouted. "Don't distract me now, or do you want to get killed?"

"Idiot. You challenged her, but you are too weak to do it. Do you want that white-eyed fool to die, because you failed here? You should know you are no match for her, or that old pervert that acts as your teacher now. Not without _my_ chakra.."

"I won't fail, so get lost."

"Such anger," the fox smirked. "Perhaps I should help you a little.."

'_And with a little help, you might actually kill that big breasted cow, and fall into despair after you realize what you have just done_,' the fox thought by himself. '_And taking revenge on those Senju would also be amusing.'_

* * *

Tsunade had to admit she was impressed that the brat had forced her to use that much chakra. This certainly was not a simple game anymore. She had wanted to use the boy's petulance to avoid the lecture Jiraiya had prepared for her. Of the latter she had no doubt. He always did love to lecture others. But she started to wonder if this course of action led her to more trouble than a stupid lecture.

"What the.." Tsunade whispered. As the smoke from the explosion lifted, she saw the boy standing in front of her, surrounded by a cloak made from an ominous crimson chakra.

Naruto howled as he jumped forwards, dodging Tsunade's fist, and smacking her into the wall of the restaurant.

"These levels of chakra," a somewhat dazed Tsunade mumbled. As much as she hated it, she would have to get serious. Or she might get really injured.

Naruto, now completely clad in crimson chakra, tried to hit her again.

This time, Tsunade was not holding back, and dodged the genin's fist. Catching his arm, she wanted to return him a few favours, but Jiraiya stepped in.

Jiraiya smacked Naruto on the head, while he held a piece paper in his hand. As the red chakra disappeared, Naruto fell down to the ground, unconscious.

"He is fine," Jiraiya said to Karin, who ran forwards after the fight had ended. "I only knocked him out. But I guess we should leave this place, after what you two idiots did here.." he looked at the ruined building behind Tsunade.

* * *

"How dangerous is he?" Tsunade asked. Shizune and Karin looked after Naruto, trying to speed up his recovery.

"Let's see.." Jiraiya smiled. "Large amounts of chakra, and equally great stamina. He has the determination and talent to learn fast, and had two nature affinities, and trains a third element. I'd say he is already close to the level of jonin, in terms of ability. But the origin of his strength is also a danger.."

"My grandmother was like him," Tsunade whispered. "But even she always said that it was a constant struggle to keep control."

"Yes," Jiraiya admitted, happy that his old teammate had sobered up a little. "Naruto had a rough life, and had enough reason to lose control and give into the demon's hatred.. But he did not. He has a very strong personality. Hell, I'd say he would make a great leader if he manages to shake off the anger he tries to hide."

"You're quite proud of him, aren't you?"

"Well of course. After Minato, I have never seen someone with talent like this."

"Though Minato had a better temper.."

"But even Minato was not at his level. Not at this age…" Jiraiya countered. "Naruto has been through a lot, but also grew because of all those hardships. But when he was young, he accidentally saved the heir of the Hyuga clan. They took him in, and gave him a safe place to live, despite the hatred he got from the rest of the village. I'd say that saved the kid from a far worse fate."

"The same Hyuga as.."

"Yes, Hyuga Hinata," Jiraiya nodded. "I suspect that Naruto holds a lot of gratitude towards her, and sees her as the one who saved him, rather than the other way around. In the end, they were put in the same genin team, and their bond only got stronger.."

"So that is why he went so far? I mean, he risked using its chakra.."

"Yes. Hinata suffered injuries to her heart. Though not directly lethal, it would mean the end of her future as a shinobi, as well as her position in her clan. Naruto was desperate, because I told him you are the only one capable of saving her. Desperate enough to engage an opponent of who he knew was superior to him."

Tsunade sighed, and rubbed her forehead. "Fine then.. I guess I lost that bet anyway."

"I know you swore you would stop," Jiraiya said. "And I do not ask you to fight, but your presence alone would be enough to make any opponent reconsider an attack on Konoha."

Tsunade nodded, though she did not know how to tell Jiraiya that it wasn't so much that she swore to quit, but rather that she could not fight in earnest anymore. Not since Dan… she would not be able to deal with more death and destruction.

* * *

"What is it, kid," Tsunade sighed, after she saw Naruto looking at her again. He hadn't spoken a word since they left. He had slept the entire night, and woke up early in the morning. She had the impression that he was depressed because of something, but could not understand why.

After a few moments of silence, "I must apologize, baachan," he said.

She narrowed her eyes, and Shizune quickly moved in between them. "Then why don't you stop calling me that?" she asked sharply.

Naruto shrugged, smiling faintly. "That nothing I want to apologize for. No, I lost control for a moment.. I…"

"Like I said, it was not enough to put me in danger," Tsunade boasted. "I admit that I had to take you seriously, but it wasn't like you could have killed me."

Naruto did not look very convinced. "Tsunade-sama is one of the Sannin," Shizune scolded him gently. "She is one of the strongest shinobi in the world."

"I am not stupid enough to fail to see that she was playing with me," Naruto replied pointedly. "But still, she is only a shinobi. A mere human. If the Kyuubi broke out, what chance does one human have? You are too fragile."

Karin exhaled sharply. So that was the secret behind Naruto's strange chakra? The legendary monster was somehow locked inside him?

"This is of course a secret," Jiraiya said looking at her. "Do not tell anyone, unless you want to risk execution.. Though you can talk about this with Kiba and Hinata if you want, they know about it as well."

"Naruto.." Karin did not know what to say. Though the boy had a chakra that scared her more than anything else had ever done, he was rather friendly, even though he distanced himself from others.

"And Naruto," Jiraiya continued. "You should not overestimate the situation. With Tsunade and myself around, we will be more than able to stop the Kyuubi before he can break free."

"You still have a lot of things to learn before you can beat us, brat," Tsunade agreed. Though Tsunade did not dare to guess how long it would take for Naruto to reach their level. Probably years, instead of decades..

* * *

With Shizune carrying Tonton, the group travelled fast. Within days, they reached the vicinity of Konoha.

They decided to put up camp for the night. Karin and Shizune prepared dinner. Tsunade noticed that the two had grown pretty close in these last few days. Something which amused her a lot, as she saw the differences between the calm and reasonable older kunoichi, and the hot-headed and straightforward genin.

She took another sip from her bottle of sake, and looked at the other side of the clearing where they had stopped. Jiraiya was instructing Naruto, as the latter tried to improve his mastery of the lighting style. Naruto seemed rather frustrated that his attempted jutsu had failed during the match with her.

At first, she had been surprised about it, but after a few days she got used to the casual way the boy used the kage bunshin no jutsu. As usual, Jiraiya instructed his real body, while about a dozen clones were busy trying to wrinkle their leaves as quick as they could. The boy had claimed he could create more clones for this, but that he did not take the risk to be discovered. As if he thought she would be disappointed that he created 'so few' bunshin for this.. The look Jiraiya gave her said enough: Naruto was not even aware that this method of training would likely only be possible for a jinchuriki like him. Still, his opinion of her did not seem to change much, and he could barely muster the proper respect when speaking to her.

"So, how do you think you will do in the finals?" she asked one of the clones near her.

The clone shrugged. "I think there is only one who is equal to me in terms of power."

"That Gaara of the desert," she concluded. Jiraiya had told her about the other jinchuriki who had entered the exams. As if one was not worse enough for the other candidates, had her first thought been when she heard about it. "And that Neji you talked about yesterday?"

The clone grimaced, and then smirked. "I will allow him to think that he can fight, for a while. Fools like him need to be humiliated before they die."

"You really care about that girl, don't you," she teased the clone.

"I.. eh.."

"Don't be shy," she smirked. "Just admit it!"

"It is not like that," he said resolutely. "I owe Hinata-sama my life," he added with a formal tone. "If I had not met her, I would have remained in orphanages. Or perhaps I could have gotten a room in the barracks when I got a little older. But because of her, I have at least had some happiness.. She is one of the few friends I have. And I will never forgive those who hurt my friends."

The undercurrent of pure rage was clear to her. Jiraiya had told her about how this Neji had beaten Hinata.. She wondered if Neji would survive, or if that boy was smart enough to forfeit before the fight started. Though a Hyuga would definitely be too proud to do the latter, she guessed.

* * *

**A/N:** Quite a long chapter. And I apologize to all the Tsunade-fans, considering that I did not particularly hold back against her. I believe the transition from drunk gambler who spends her time running away from reality to Hokage in the manga was a bit too much, so I changed things a bit. Of course, Jiraiya told Naruto a thing or two about her past, but Naruto doesn't care... Not when... Well, I guess it wouldn't be too much of a spoiler if I said that Naruto is rather protective.

And as always: please leave some thoughts regarding my story.

-Z-

**Edited: 28/02/2015**


	26. Recovery

**Chunin Exams arc**

**Recovery**

* * *

Waking up after having a happy dream was always the worst thing that could happen early in the morning. Opening her eyes to the darkness of night, she remembered where she was, and why. Even though several doctors had ensured her that she was doing fine, Hinata still felt weak. Her mother had forbidden her to use chakra. And the doctors kept their troubled looks whenever they thought she wasn't looking at them.

Even getting out of bed, and walking towards the chair, which stood barely two meters from her, was exhausting.

In her dreams, she remembered what had happened when Naruto started to live at the Hyuga estate. How Haruki, who had resigned from his position as a shinobi a few months before, now was struggling to keep Naruto under control. How he had laboured to teach Naruto proper manners.

Hinata remembered how foreign Naruto had seemed to her. An entity which stood free from all the rules and pressure people put on him. A silent and withdrawn little boy, who stood independent of all others, who faced his loneliness with more bravery than anyone she knew. For someone like her, who always clamped onto her mother, and was too shy to speak her mind, the way Naruto lived in solitude was a small wonder.

How quick had it been before she had noticed she admired him. Not because her father told her that Naruto had saved her, but because Naruto had the will and mental strength that she lacked. In the years where she had been a constant disappointment to her clan, Naruto stood alone and cultivated the strength she could now see in her teammate. How long had it been since that admiration changed into something stronger?

Hitomi had tried, more than once, to get both the children to grow closer. But Hinata recalled how she was too shy, while Naruto had remained formal, even a bit distant; doing what Haruki had taught him to do when someone of the main family was near. And the more she got to know him, the harder it became for her to act naturally to him.

But now that she thought back, Hinata recollected that Naruto had never been comfortable around people of his own age. He had eventually accepted Haruki, just as he had done with Jiraiya and the Hokage himself. But most of the time, Naruto had just kept his distance.

From everyone.

Hinata sighed. '_And I never dared to get close either, always failing because I was too embarrassed. Just like the coward others say I am…'_

And the longer she had kept her distance from Naruto, the harder it had become for her to step forward. Until she thought he would abandon Konoha, that was. And now Naruto had left to train, or so Kiba and Hitomi had told her. Why was there always some reason that kept them apart?

She sighed. '_Not that it would matter.. Even if Naruto-kun saw me..'_ she blushed at the thought, '_Even if, it would be impossible… I'm expect to marry someone important, father would never even consider someone who is barely more than a clanless man.'_

She expected that her clan would be in turmoil, now that she had failed against Neji, the main family's reputation was at stake. And it could not use that the clan's honoured guest had just threatened the branch's 'champion,' and defied the fighting style that the Hyuga had cultivated for centuries.

Even though Hinata knew that she was useless, she was not stupid. Her mother visited her every day, but neither her father nor her little sister had taken the trouble to come see her. She had embarrassed her father, and he would likely follow the main family's stance that she was unfit to be heir..

Hinata closed her eyes again. She wanted to sleep, to dream about the time her team headed out for those ruins. She wanted to see the enthusiasm from Kiba and Akamaru, who only looked worried recently, no matter how hard they tried to hide that. She wanted to relive the cautious acceptance from Naruto towards them, and his unyielding determination. She wanted to see her sensei without a worried face, and see her as she was when she was scolding Jiraiya for insinuating something that wasn't proper. She wanted them to return to how they were on their last mission outside Konoha.

'_I wish I was someone else_,' her last thoughts were, before she fell asleep again.

* * *

"Sensei," Tsunade bowed slightly when she saw the Hokage. Hiruzen had been notified they would come through the main gate, and despite the early hour, he was already waiting.

"Tsunade," the old man smiled. "I am glad to see you return to Konoha once again."

"Don't get too happy," she warned. "I am only here for a few days. After the exam, I am gone."

Hiruzen nodded, not showing his disappointment. "So you still.."

"Some wounds cannot be healed, sensei. You know that. But those are not the wounds why I am here."

"I see.. So you two had success. Is that.. Shizune?" Hiruzen eyes widened a bit. "Last time I saw you barely reached my shoulder! And now it's the other way around. I have surely grown old," he laughed.

"Hokage-sama," Shizune said politely, as she bowed. Even Tonton bowed her head, something which amused Hiruzen.

"And who is this?" he added, looking at Karin.

"We found her while we were looking for Tsunade," Jiraiya told the lie they had prepared. "Karin has some unusual sensory abilities, perhaps she hails from some lesser known bloodline. She helped us locate Tsunade, and in return I promised her she could enter Konoha. I think she would make quite a good shinobi. Shizune even thinks Karin has the aptitude to learn the mystical palm technique, and that she has talent to become a fine healer."

"I see," Hiruzen slowly spoke, recognizing that not everything was told. "Well, if you say she can be trusted, I will trust you." He knew full well that Jiraiya was not the fool he usually pretended to be, and combined with Naruto's 'other' sense, it would have been nearly impossible for a young girl to fool them.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Karin said, relieved.

"Genma," the hokage called his guard to him. "You ensure Karin gets a place in to live, and that her skills and knowledge is assessed before she is either allowed into the academy or assigned to active duty."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Genma bowed slightly, and led Karin away.

"Now, shall we go?" Hiruzen gestured at the direction of the hospital.

* * *

When Hinata woke, she still felt exhausted. Though dreamless, her night had not given her much rest. Though Kiba, Akamaru, and her other visitors, tried to cheer her up, Hinata felt like she was locked away. Imprisoned. Like a caged bird. Unwilling to open her eyes to another long day wherein she could do nothing but look at all the flowers, she turned to her side and decided to sleep another few hours. In this hopeless world only the flowers seemed to have some colour, still, the tranquillity of dreams was preferable.

But something was different this morning. There was a smell of food, mixed with the smell of the hospital and the flowers. The latter was still a mystery to her, Konohamaru brought new flowers every few days, but refused to tell her why, aside from mentioning that it was his 'mission'. And she refused to believe Ino's gossip. She didn't dare to hope for such a thing. And somewhat annoyingly, Kiba seemed to find the whole situation rather amusing.

Her half-conscious mind started to figure out why it she could smell food, and she noticed the soft sounds of someone eating.

Hinata groaned a little, as she turned around to look at the source of the sound. She spurred open her eyes. "Naruto?" she whispered with a hoarse and dry voice. "Naruto?" he looked up from his dish when she called him for the second time.

Her green-clad teammate had a small box with food from Ichiraku's with him. Hinata smiled at the sight.

"Hinata," Naruto put the box on the table, and moved towards her. "How are you?"

"I.. I'm fine."

"Not really," he said with a wry smile. "But you will be," he promised.

"Naruto?"

"I'm sorry I was away for all this time," Naruto apologized, but before she could answer, he continued. "But at least my mission was successful. Jiriaya, Karin, and I, we retrieved someone who can completely heal you," he smiled.

"So you finally came back?" Kiba opened the door. Akamaru jumped towards Naruto, demanding attention. "And why do you smell like pig?" Kiba frowned, noticing the smell.

"Ah, that would be Tonton.. Her pig. And yeah, it took a bit longer than expected, but she agreed to come to Konoha," Naruto smiled while patting Akamaru. "Tsunade-baasan is still downstairs, discussing with the doc. And with Hitomi-sama, who also knew we had returned, somehow. Seriously, are mothers all-knowing?"

"Probably," Kiba smirked. "Outsmarting them is impossible. Not to mention dangerous," he shivered a bit.

Hinata had somewhat recovered from the unexpected situation. "Tsunade-sama, the Sannin?" she realized.

"Yup," Naruto sat down and finished what was left of his food. "She's the pervert's old teammate, and they say she's the best healer in the world. In addition to being a short-tempered drunk," he laughed. "And a damn coward."

Hinata looked a little puzzled, so Kiba decided to tell. "There is some damage that the doctors could not treat, Hinata."

"Wait, you didn't tell her?" Naruto asked.

"What damage?" Hinata sounded a bit worried. "Is it.."

"There is nothing to worry about now, Hinata," Naruto ensured her. "That bastard of a Neji damaged your heart.. But now that we have retrieved Tsunade-baasan, you will be fine!"

"That's right," Kiba added. "Though I'm sorry we kept it a secret. But we did not tell you because it is bad for you to worry too much.."

"But.. Naruto-kun… Your training.. You should not have wasted you time on.."

"I trained while travelling. Kiba is right, you know. You really do worry too much.. Relax a little. I know we are pretty much lost without you, I mean: Kiba has too much energy focus on anything, and I am even worse. But we'll manage."

Hinata smiled weakly while Kiba protested. "You are the eyes and brains of our team, Hinata-sama," Naruto added, deliberately using the honorific to make sure she knew he was scolding her. "But even so, you don't have to worry about us. Let us worry about you for a change."

"But.."

"No objections," Kiba smirked. "For once I agree with Naruto, so you lose the vote. How I love democracy in these situations!"

"You focus on your recovery," Naruto chuckled, "I'll focus on putting that Neji down."

"If he doesn't forfeit first," Kiba laughed softly.

"Why would Neji-niisan forfeit?"

"Because I nearly killed him last time," Naruto shrugged, before adding darkly, "He was lucky that those jonin interfered. But he won't forfeit, he's far too stupid to do such a thing. At least, I hope so.."

Hinata was startled when Kiba told her all the details of what had happened. How Naruto had pulled Hinata out of the fight, and how he had nearly choked Neji to death. What surprised her was how Naruto laconically described how Neji's juuken had struck his chest, like he hardly took it seriously. Sure, Kurenai had hinted at Naruto's actions, telling her he saved her, but this..

She knew Naruto was far stronger than she was, yet she still wanted to warn him not to underestimate Neji.

"Don't waste your breath on trying to lecture that brat, he will never listen," Tsunade grimaced as she barged into the room. "Nor does he care about who he is fighting."

"Baa-san.." Naruto protested, though Hinata could see he was not serious.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me like that!" the blonde woman started to protest, the bulging vein on her forehead obvious to all.

"Told you she was short-tempered," Naruto said to Kiba. "So, will you help Hinata like you promised?" he continued with a serious and cold voice. _'Because I'll kill you if you don't..'_ he added in thought.

"I made a promise," Tsunade narrowed her eyes, noticing Naruto's sudden change in demeanour. "And I don't treat lives like I treat money. I never go back on the bets I make, brat."

Shizune couldn't help but sigh. "Will you two ever stop your ceaseless bickering?" she said, before she walked towards Hinata. "You will make a full recovery, Hinata-sama," she promised the girl.

"Yeah, I was shocked those doctors couldn't even treat it themselves," Tsunade scoffed. "Perhaps it is not so bad to return here for a little while.. Those amateurs certainly need some training. Could give us a nice amount of ryo too," she mused. "I bet they would be pretty desperate for a good teacher here."

"You three get out of here," Tsunade looked at the two genin and the dog. "Just go to the waiting room, this should only take an hour or so.."

* * *

"Jiraiya-sama," Kurenai bowed. She was somewhat surprised to find one of the Sannin on her doorstep, at this time in the morning. Good thing she always got up early.

"Kurenai," Jiraiya said with serious face. "We just returned this morning, and Tsunade is going to heal Hinata today."

"That is great," Kurenai replied, relieved that they had succeeded in their mission. "But why are you here?"

"I need to leave Konoha for a few days, something I need to check. I would like you to look after Naruto these last five days before the exam. He says he still wants to test something, so training him will probably won't be much of an effort, but I would like it if you took him in for these days. Keep him safe."

"What? Is this because of the Hyuga clan?"

"I don't know the details, but it seems there is a little unrest within their clan. Hitomi asked me to keep Naruto with me for these days, but that would be a bit difficult now," Jiraiya sighed. "So I would like to ask you to take over from me."

"It is no problem, Jiraiya-sama. Naruto is my student, after all. I could take him to the edge of Konoha for a few days, under the cover of him not wanting to be disturbed while training."

Jiraiya nodded. "Good plan. But don't get too far from Konoha.. And don't let the brat do anything stupid, like overexerting himself right before the exam.."

Kurenai smiled. "Don't worry. I'll keep him under control. Even if I have to resort to genjutsu to do it."

"Thank you," Jiraiya bowed slightly. "And be careful. Also for Naruto himself.. His anger.. I pity that Hyuga brat who pissed him off," Jiraiya frowned. '_Angry enough to charge at someone like Tsunade. Sure, she may be far past her prime, but she is still one formidable adversary. Yet he didn't even flinch before attacking her. And it wasn't like he was unaware of what he was getting himself in to either._'

* * *

"Thank you, Naruto," Hitomi bowed to the surprised genin. When he, Kiba, and Akamaru entered the waiting room, they saw that she was already waiting for them.

"A.. T-There is no need to thank me," Naruto said while he scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "I mean, Jiraiya-sensei and Karin-chan did most of the work."

"But you were the one to convince Tsunade-sama to go with you," she countered. "And what Tsunade-sama told me about the bet was quite impressive. She even refused my offer to compensate her, because she lost that bet."

"What bet did you make?" Kiba frowned.

"Ehh.. Nothing much, only that I could make her fight me seriously," Naruto said casually, not waiting to sound like he bragged about it.

"You fought one of the Sannin?!"

"Well, it was just a little duel.."

"It was more than 'little,'" Hitomi remarked. "At least, Tsunade-sama acknowledged you forced her to take you seriously."

"They should just give you an exemption from the finals," Kiba laughed, "Would make it fairer to the others as well, if they just promoted you right now."

"Then who would stop Gaara?"

They chattered on for a little while, but mostly waited in silence. Neither of the genin was capable of completely hiding their concern, despite their bravado. Hitomi was glad her daughter found such teammates.

* * *

"Are you sure this is far enough? This is still a training ground," Kurenai said when Naruto stopped.

"Nehh, I didn't plan to go too far from Konoha. This open space should be enough, especially for the first few tests."

They had walked towards the edge of Konoha, and Naruto had more or less told her what he needed for his test. Though she did not particularly liked his restraint regarding what it was he wanted to test. "You will see, sensei," he had told her.

"Sensei, I will create two bunshin and start my first attempt. I think it would be smart to keep a little distance. In case something goes wrong," he scratched his chin. "Don't worry, fire doesn't hurt me, remember?" he added after seeing her look. "But it might be a bit destructive if it goes wrong. Though I did all the math, and it should work properly."

She moved back a little, and looked on as Naruto and two of his clones sat down on the ground. They formed a triangle, with a few meters distance between them.

When Kurenai had explained her plans to him, after Hinata had woken up half a day after the surgery, Naruto had first objected. Even after she had convinced him, with a little push from Tsunade helping her, he was still adamant about not wanting to go too far away. On their way to the training area, Naruto had told her why: he wanted to visit Hinata. "Hinata-chan always worries about everything, and never trusts herself. I think her defeat only made that worse. What kind of teammate would I be if I ignored her and just continued training?" he had said.

While Kurenai was lost in thoughts, waiting until Naruto would do something, Naruto had created some kind of fiery pattern on the ground. When he stood up, Kurenai shifted all her attention towards the sight. Flames rose from the lines that formed the pattern.

"Fuinjutsu: Ennetsu Jigoku," Naruto said firmly. His bunshin vanished, and his face grimaced in concentration. The flames dwindled for a moment, and a fire spread within the circular form of the seal.

Kurenai almost fell over when the small fire suddenly ignited into a raging pillar of flames. The pillar was at least as tall as a five-story building, and a few meter in diameter. The flames roared, as if the demonic voices from hell itself called out to her.

"These levels of chakra.." Kurenai whispered. "A fitting name.. Ennetsu Jigoku: the flames of hell."

Then she noticed something… something urgent.

"Naruto, end the technique!" she shouted. Naruto frowned, and struggled for a few seconds before the pillar of fire quenched.

Though he was covered in sweat, and looked exhausted from the strain the seal had put on him, Naruto was still somewhat surprised at her outburst.

"Why, sensei?"

"These levels of chakra are far too dangerous," she scolded him. "Don't be so reckless!"

Naruto shrugged. "Sure, it isn't easy, but I knew that.. Though my calculations were a little off, I guess I need to alter the seal a little to reduce the strain a bit.." Naruto scratched his chin, concentrated on the problem he just seemed to have noticed, while Kurenai was still shocked about something else.

"That is not the issue here-" she started.

"It has no escape mechanism," Naruto didn't seem to listen to his sensei. "But if I altered that part a bit, it should be easier to stop the technique.. Or would it reduce the output as well? No, not if I expanded the left quadrant, and widened the chakra conductors.."

Kurenai rubbed her head. At least Naruto was aware of the danger of the technique. Not that she understood how he managed to cancel a technique which had lacked the option to bail out..

* * *

Kurenai was surprised at the ease at which Naruto managed to tweak seals. After a few small attempts, he had created three more pillars of fire, before the genin was too exhausted to continue for the day.

"At least the last one worked properly," Naruto smiled. "The escape mechanism doesn't reduce the power anymore. But it is a bit harder to create now."

"So that is why you added another bunshin?" Kurenai guessed.

"Yeah.. Sometimes that is the only way. Focussing on four things at once is harder than spreading my chakra over some bunshin who each focus on one or two things," Naruto shrugged. He sat down on the ground, wiping the sweat from his head. He took off the shirt, which was also soaked.

"So, how did your training with Jiraiya-sama go?" she asked, noticing the exceptional quality of the mesh armour he wore underneath his shirt.

"Could've been better,' Naruto admitted. "Still haven't completed the jutsu the pervert wanted to teach me. Rasengan he called it. My chakra control still isn't good enough for it. Not yet at least. He said I was still to angry to focus properly. But at least the raiton training was reasonably successful."

"Lightning?" Kurenai's eyes widened in shocked, after hearing him casually talk about several crazy things that should have been impossible for a mere genin. '_Hell, even most jonin would not be able to do the fourth's jutsu.._'

"Yeah, seems like I messed up while I was working on one of my seals, and it turned out accidentally was training to use raiton.. Well, it is still harder than katon or futon, but at least it works now."

"Do you realize.. Three elements…"

"I was told that the fire affinity is due to my guest. Wind is my own, and lightning is something I have trained for a while now, even though I was not aware of it. I'm still bad at it though. I tried to create a seal, but the notes didn't say it was raiton-based, so it took a lot of work before it worked to some degree," he added after seeing his sensei's confusion.

"If you continue like this, you should ask Kakashi-senpai to teach you some new jutsu.."

"Neh, don't need it much," Naruto shrugged. "Tsunade-baasan taught me a new one, because the jutsu I tried to use before was too complex for starters."

"What jutsu did she teach you?"

"It's called 'numbing hands,' and basically works similar to how the juuken does: focus raiton to the hands, and it numbs the person you touch."

"That would be quite useful to support your taijutsu."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, that is still a bit of my weak point. Along with genjutsu.."

Naruto lacked the precise chakra control which was needed for genjutsu, which was something Kurenai had figured out the first time she had seen him.

* * *

"Gai! Keep your distance!"

Gai, Lee, and Tenten looked confused as Kurenai rushed towards them, screaming. "What.." the green-clad jonin started.

A gigantic pillar of fire erupted a short distance from where they stood. Whatever Kurenai said, it was unintelligible due to the roaring sound of the inferno. Kurenai had seen the display of Naruto's jutsu when he used his full power a few times now, and could understand the trio's awe.

Half a minute later, the pillar got smaller, and eventually dwindled down until it could not be seen behind the bushes that stood between the shinobi and whatever the source of the fire had been.

"Naruto is testing something," Kurenai explained dryly. "Which is a bit dangerous, that's why we went to this remote place.."

"What.. What was that… that thing, Kurenai?" Gai asked, no trace of his usual bravado to be heard.

"Was that fuinjutsu?" Tenten asked, with a perplexed expression.

Kurenai nodded at the younger kunoichi. "You saw it anyway, so just come along, though I would ask you to keep this knowledge to yourselves."

* * *

Naruto released the jutsu, and fell backwards onto the grass. Thirty four seconds, while trying to use none of the Kyuubi's chakra. "Still too weak," he grumbled, sweating despite having taken off his shirt and mesh armour. And though his pants were fireproof, there were some spots that looked charred.

"You call that weak?!" Tenten exclaimed. "Are you completely nuts?"

Surprised, Naruto rolled over a bit to look behind him. "Well, it didn't last very long, did it?"

"You… what would you…"

"Don't worry, I won't use the Ennetsu Jigoku seal against you," Naruto smiled. "Though, I would like it if you don't tell anyone."

"Do you plan to kill Neji?" Lee asked worried.

"He isn't going to live if I am lucky enough to meet him," Naruto admitted coldly. "But that wouldn't require such a jutsu," he shrugged. "Why did you guys come here?"

* * *

"Kurenai, what are you doing with him?" Gai asked after his two students had ran off towards Naruto.

"I did not teach him something like this. I doubt I could even teach him anything about fuinjutsu," Kurenai admitted. "He works very hard, and there is enough he has yet to learn. But that is not just it.. Naruto is simply a prodigy when it comes to fuinjutsu."

"I.. See.." Gai hesitated. "I will believe that, after witnessing the way defeated Lee, without using any jutsu that could have put Lee in danger."

Kurenai saw the look his face. "Naruto did not want to harm Lee, Gai. It was not because he did not take Lee seriously. Besides, you should know that he has to hold back most of his power."

"What does Naruto-kun plan to do with Neji? Despite his actions, Neji is still my student."

"I do not know Gai.. I begged him not to give in to hatred, but I do not know whether my words, Jiraiya's words, or even the Hokage's words will reach him."

Gai looked downcast. "Listen, Gai.." Kurenai started.

* * *

"I know what Neji did was cruel and wrong," Tenten tried. "But killing him? What good would that do?"

Naruto frowned. "As much as his attempt to kill Hinata," he replied darkly. "I do not care about what people do to me, but I will not tolerate them hurting my friends."

Lee sighed, recognizing his fellow genin's resolve. He put a hand on Tenten's shoulder, stopping her from speaking against it. "Naruto-san, if you try to kill Neji, you will only create more problems. But I doubt anyone could change your mind."

"We came here because of the promise you made," he continued. "You promised Tenten to teach her a little about fuinjutsu. And I wanted to talk about our fight," he admitted.

Naruto blinked, having forgotten the promise he had made. "Ah yes.. I totally forgot that one, sorry Tenten.. What did you want to learn?"

"Ehm.. I do not know how difficult your seals are," Tenten hesitated somewhat. "But the technique you used to defeat Lee.."

"The weight seals? They are pretty doable. The seal itself it easy, but proper usage during fights is a bit complex."

Lee watched on, not understanding a thing of what Naruto explained to his teammate, but the heavily browed boy could see the amount of effort it would have taken to learn such techniques from books and scrolls. '_So Naruto-kun is also a genius of hard work_,' he concluded with a smile.

* * *

"So it you have used that seal to weigh me down?" Lee frowned. "But how did you.."

"My kage bunshin. Every clone you popped added a seal on you."

"You said something like that before," Tenten remarked, "But timing it would be impossible!"

"There was a small window between Lee touching the clone, and the clone getting destroyed. Each clone used that fragment of a second to transfer all of its chakra onto whatever hits them. Basically, I programmed them in such a way that they can only do that jutsu properly. Those bunshin are pretty weak in whatever else they do."

"That's.. Pretty smart," Tenten said, impressed.

"Nehh, it was just a thing I used because I can't figure out the gravitation seal. And I did not want to use anything too dangerous. I mean, Lee never did anything bad to me, so why would I have to burn him down, only because of some stupid exam?"

"You restrained yourself.. While I… I went too far," Lee said with a sorrowful voice.

"Well, I always knew you were fast, but those gates really caught me off guard," Naruto admitted. "But that move also caused damage to your own body, didn't it?"

"Lee has already paid the price for his mistake," Gai said, as he and Kurenai joined them. "And will train even harder to pay you back, don't you?"

"Hai Sensei!" Lee smiled.

"So.. About that storage seal…" Naruto turned towards Tenten. The kunoichi now was a bit uncomfortable to explain her seal to Naruto, whose knowledge seemed to surpass her's by quite a large margin.

And the end of her explanation, including a small demonstration, Naruto frowned. "So the lower parts… They are used to quickly draw the weapon from the seal?"

When Tenten nodded, Naruto took off his left hand guard, and drew the seal on it. Putting a few kunai in them, Naruto finished the seal. "I guess this seal will be quite useful! Thanks, Tenten. This really makes my old storage seal look stupid," he laughed.

Tenten blushed a little. "Could I.. Would you be willing to teach me more about fuinjutsu?"

"Eh?" Naruto frowned, not sure if the girl was serious. "Teach you? Erm.. Well, fine, I guess. Though there are several jutsu which belong to the Uzumaki clan, I guess that it does not matter much, seeing how I am the last of my clan."

Gai looked with some surprise at Kurenai. Not that the older kunoichi had seen this turn of events coming, and looked equally stunned.

"I guess teaching you just some seals won't work though.. Better deal with the basics first," Naruto said thoughtfully. "The basic knowledge in Konoha seems to suck compared to what I've learned from the Uzumaki-scrolls. No offence," he quickly added. "Why don't we strike a deal: I teach you something about fuinjutsu, and you help me training to use weapons. Hell, even the others can join in, for all I care."

Lee looked confused. "Naruto-san, I can't.."

"Everyone would benefit from learning the basic theory," Gai agreed. "And having a sparring partner would benefit you as well, Tenten."

"Hai, sensei!" Lee bowed, though not entirely convinced that someone like him, incapable of performing jutsu, could learn much about fuinjutsu.

Tenten looked thoughtfully. "What sort of weapon do you want to master, Naruto?"

"Spears or pole arms," Naruto smiled thinking of how he planned to eventually use the Gekihoko which was sealed in his right hand. "Tridents always seemed pretty interesting to me.. And seeing how you pretty much mastered every weapon that exists…"

Tenten blushed at the compliment. "Well… I don't often use spears, and never used a trident, but we'll work it out," she smiled.

"I take it that would be after the exams?" Kurenai said.

"Hmm… yeah, it would be a bit pointless to work on learning new fuinjutsu right now.. Perhaps I should ask if Hinata and Kiba want to join in as well.." Naruto mused. "Though, I should warn you guys that most of the seals require considerable amounts of chakra. So the more advanced jutsu will probably be impossible."

Tenten and Lee nodded, and Gai put up his thumb. "A wonderfully youthful promise, Naruto-kun!"

* * *

"You already look a lot stronger than yesterday," Naruto smiled. Hinata blushed weakly when he had looked at her inquisitively. "Do you want me to bring you some proper food tomorrow?"

"Ah.. I.. You don't need to.."

"Nonsense, the rubbish they call food in this hospital only makes people feel even worse," he smiled her protests away. "Though I should have thought about that earlier.. I could've made Konohamaru bring you some decent food as well."

"You really were the one who.." Hinata blushed, the shade of red now approximating her usual colour. "You made Konohamaru-chan buy those flowers?"

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, I wanted to do something, but to go out of Konoha as well. Konohamaru agreed to help you, so I lent him Gama-chan."

"Th.. Thank you," Hinata bowed her head, still annoyed she was forbidden to get out of the hospital bed.

"No problem," he smiled. "I've been in this place a few times when I still lived in the orphanage, and it almost stinks as much as the orphanages themselves. I thought some flowers would make it a bit better.. And you I thought that you once said you liked flowers," he added, somewhat uncertain.

"I.. I do! I.." she stuttered.

"Calm down," he laughed at her. "Baachan said you should be able to walk a bit tomorrow, but that you should still keep calm today."

"So fast?"

"Why not? I mean, you don't want to miss the finals, do you?"

Hinata looked downcast.

"Though if you don't want to, you should do what you want, alright?" Naruto said, thinking Hinata was still sad about her loss.

"No… Neji.. What will you do if you have to face Neji-niisan?"

Naruto frowned a bit. "Depends on what he will say, and do," he decided to be honest. "Though I suspect he is too proud to forfeit, or apologize for what he did to you…"

"Please don't be too harsh on him.. Neji.. The entire branch family, they suffer because.."

"I don't care how righteous the source of their rage is, if they take it out on someone who has nothing to do with it, I will end them," Naruto said resolutely. "If those idiots from the branch used their famous eyes for once, they would see that you would be the ideal clan leader to them."

Naruto frowned and looked away. "And this friendship thing.. No one harms my friends and gets away with it."

Though, when Naruto left, half an hour later, his resolve had dwindled a little. Hinata pleaded him not to make the situation worse. Naruto could understand that executing vengeance would only increase the problems within the clan, but he could not fathom how Hinata seemingly forgave Neji for what he had done. Or even worried about her cousin's wellbeing.

'_Perhaps I should instead admire Hinata's strength,' _he mused when sprinting back to the training ground._ 'People always say Hinata is too gentle, and call it weakness… But weak people would hate the ones that hurt them. True strength is more about someone's character than it is about their actual fighting ability..' _Naruto realized, frowning when he considered how weak _he_ was.

* * *

"Getting the two of them to fight each other in the first round would be too conspicuous," Jiraiya warned the Hokage. "We don't want to offend the Kazekage, at least not before we know what he plans to do."

"You are right.." Hiruzen mused. "Perhaps it would be better to switch Gaara from the fourth to the first place?"

"So that Naruto would face him in the second round? And.." Jiraiya chuckled a bit when he saw what his sensei had done. "I am sure he would appreciate it if you gave Naruto the chance to fight _him_ in the first round."

"It is a test," Hiruzen explained. "A test to see whether we can depend on Naruto, even when he hates his opponent. If he desires to take my position one day, he will have to show the restraint and wisdom needed."

Jiraiya nodded. His sensei may have lost some of his strength on his age, but his wisdom only seemed to grow. At times, the old man was still capable of giving Jiraiya the feeling of when he was that fresh genin who had just left the academy.

Though that was also the reason Hiruzen had been able to keep the position for so long..

* * *

"Naruto!" a voice called up from behind him.

Naruto had just visited Hinata. Like Tsunade had promised, Hinata had been able to walk a little yesterday, and today Tsunade would test her, though Shizune had given away that Hinata's recovery was ahead of schedule.

On his way back to the training ground, now was halted by Haku.

"Haku! And Zabuza-'sensei' too?" Naruto smirked. Zabuza never seemed to like it when Naruto joked about his new occupation.

But the woman who stood behind them was unfamiliar. Two green eyes looked at his face, revealing a lot of curiosity. Wearing a somewhat revealing blue dress over mesh armour, Naruto thought she looked quite attractive for a woman of her age. Not that she was old, but Naruto had become a bit weary of people who looked like they were in their early thirties. Something he had to thank Tsunade for.

"Mizukage-sama, this is Uzumaki Naruto," Haku introduced him to the woman. "Naruto, this is Terumi Mei, Godaime Mizukage of Kirigakure."

After a moment of surprise, Naruto bowed to the woman. "My apologies, Mizukage-sama."

"Please, no formalities," she said with a gentle voice. "So you are the genin who defeated Haku?"

"Yes, madam. Though I hope you don't want to take revenge on his behalf?" he added with a grin.

"No," the woman laughed, shaking her long auburn hair. "I came here to restore diplomatic relations, not to create more problems."

"Mizukage-sama has recently been appointed," Zabuza added. "That's why Haku and I went back.. I couldn't stand the old ways, and our new kage agreed with that. OW!"

Mei had smacked Zabuza on the back of his head. '_He can't stand my ways?'_ she thought, completely mishearing him. Zabuza looked quite surprised, while Haku struggled not to chuckle.

"It is rather impressive that you managed to defeat Haku," Mei continued. "Were you not using your mirrors, Haku?"

"I was at full strength, my lady," Haku replied politely.

"Well, that Gato-guy had angered me," Naruto tried to explain, "So it wasn't really fair."

Mei looked curiously. Power was not related to emotion, at least not to the extent that he could defeat Haku as smoothly as was described to her earlier. And the boy felt.. Unusual. "I see.. So I should thank you for that as well.. The shipping magnate Gato also held great influence in our country. With his demise I could solidify my position."

"He was scum, so there is no need to thank me," Naruto replied dryly.

"But I thank you nevertheless," she chuckled. "But if I may ask.. You and your sensei could have beaten Zabuza, why did you not do that?"

"Why would I?" Naruto shrugged. "His employer died, so his battle was lost anyway. If he had tried to avenge Gato, things might have gone differently. Right then, there was no reason to murder Zabuza."

Mei nodded. "I agree, Naruto-san. I wish you success in the finals, though of course not against our Haku," she chuckled.

"Thank you, Miss Mizukage," Naruto smiled. "I hope Haku and I do not meet before the final round."

Naruto bowed, and continued his path towards the training grounds.

"Interesting boy," Mei said, pleased with her title of 'Miss Mizukage'. "I think your guess is correct Zabuza."

"I highly doubt any genin would stand a chance against someone like him," he replied. "And there is another as well.."

"Do I have to forfeit against Naruto, just as I have to do when I have to face Gaara?" Haku asked.

"This Naruto is very different from what you told about Gaara…" Mei said slowly. "Naruto has his sanity, so even though a fight is probably futile, he is not as dangerous as the other one."

"You haven't seen him angry, Mizukage-sama," Haku remarked dryly, before he bowed and they continued their path. The Mizukage had to meet with the Hokage first, something she had looked forward at for quite some time.

* * *

"Sensei?" Jiraiya asked, somewhat surprised that the Hokage had called for him.

"Jiraiya," Hiruzen nodded. "Please take a seat, I wanted you to be here when our guest arrived."

"Guest? You mean the new Mizukage?"

"Yes, she arrived in Konoha today, and I figured we had several things to discuss… and I wanted your input on these matters as well."

Jiraiya nodded, and the two waited until one of the guards knocked on the door. "Hokage-sama, Mizukage-sama has arrived, and wishes to enter."

"It's fine Genma, I told you that earlier," Hiruzen sighed. "Welcome Mizukage-dono," he bowed his head to the new arrival.

"Zabuza, Haku, you two wait outside," Mei ordered.

"But, my lady.." Zabuza wanted to argue, looking at Jiraiya and not wanting to leave the Mizukage alone without protection.

"Outside," Mei repeated, with a frown.

"Yes, Mizukage-sama," Zabuza and Haku bowed and left.

"Guards.. So annoying," Mei sighed. "You mind if I skip the formalities, Hokage-dono?"

"Not at all," Hiruzen smiled. "Please, take a seat."

"Thank you. Well now, might I ask why you requested me to come to Konoha earlier?" Mei asked. Hiruzen sighed and gestured to Jiraiya.

"Well.. You want me to tell her the entire situation?" Jiraiya frowned, and waited till the Hokage nodded. "Well, we are currently facing a potential dangerous situation. One of the most powerful missing nins of Konoha, Orochimaru, recently attacked a few genin during the second stage of the Chunin Exams."

"What?"

"He claimed to have a special interest in the exams, but that is not the only thing that worries us. Orochimaru alone is strong enough to face the Hokage by himself, but we recently received information that seems to point out that he joined a band of mercenaries, named the Akatsuki. If Orochimaru acted on his own, it would have been a problem, but not something we could not handle… but him being a mercenary-"

"The worst case scenario," Hiruzen continued. "Is that he has been hired by Sunagakure."

"What?! Why would Suna break their treaty with Konoha, while their relation with Iwagakure is so strained right now?"

"We do not know either," Jiraiya admitted. "But we know that the Kazekage sent a single team to the exams, with a very unstable jinchuriki being one of the genin in that team. As said, this is the worst case scenario, but if you add things up.. A ticking time bomb being sent into the exams, a mercenary with a long history of hatred against Konoha suddenly popping up, and like you yourself just said: their relations with Iwa. I suspect that the Kazekage would figure that declaring war on Konoha would only improve their relations with Iwa, seeing how much Iwa hates us.. It would make us the common enemy."

"And a sudden attack could be the start of a war which would spread through the world.." Mei massaged her forehead. "Shit! Why does everyone also want war?"

"This is why I decided to share this information with you, Mizukage-dono," Hiruzen answered on a formal tone. "You declared you had intentions to repair the relations between Konoha and Kiri. Our previous correspondence gave me the hope that we could perhaps work together to avoid another war."

"I.. I understand," Mei frowned. "Yes, it certainly is my desire to make Kirigakure part with its past and its former nickname of 'the bloody mist'. But I admit I had not expected a situation like this coming up.. May I ask, how did you prepare for the possibility of an invasion?"

"We strengthened our defences, and changed most of our older protocols as a precaution. We gathered nearly every chunin and jonin, so we will be at full strength if an attack would come. Beyond that, we have our own trump card to face Suna's jinchuriki," Hiruzen explained.

"And Senju Tsunade agreed to return to Konoha," Jiraiya added. "Though, she will not be present at the finals itself, she will be reinforcing our defences. So you don't have to worry that you bet on a lost cause," he sneered.

Mei laughed. "Sorry, but I had to be that blunt, I cannot carelessly risk the existence of my village."

"We understand," Hiruzen smiled. "But I would like to ask what your position in this will be. The representative from Kumo agreed to help us in case she feels threatened or if someone attacks her."

Mei chuckled. "I think I can answer your question pretty easily." She presented them a scroll. "This is my offer, Hokage-dono. Though I had written it before being aware of this situation, I promise you nothing about this offer will change, no matter the outcome of this possible invasion. As for direct aid, both me and my jonin guards will assist Konoha, and consider any attack on Konoha during the exams as a breach of the treaty between the five nations regarding the Chunin Exams."

Hiruzen stood up and bowed as he received the scroll with the Mizukage's proposal. "I thank you, Mizukage-dono."

* * *

Kurenai looked down upon the exhausted Naruto. "So, this was a success?"

"Yeah.." Naruto panted. "This time, the seal functioned properly, and managed to keep it up for over forty seconds without the Kyuubi's chakra, while the output was still on its highest."

"Without…" Kurenai started. "So you succeeded in telling the difference between your own chakra, and that of the Kyuubi now? Can you contain it?"

"I must. I've been able to tell the difference for a while now, but the hard part is that I still seem to draw it in whenever I get angry. It's actually just too easy.."

"So can you promise me to keep calm?"

Naruto smiled. "Probably, but I won't make promises that I cannot keep."

"How do you plan to fight Neji?" she knew he wanted to fight the Hyuga most of all. "You know many people will look at you tomorrow."

"Neji is not the problem. The only one who is a threat to me is Gaara. Well, perhaps Sasuke would be tricky, but after you taught me the basics on dispelling genjutsu.. Well, I hope that will be enough."

Kurenai remembered how quickly Naruto had picked it up, and nodded. "Performing genjutsu will probably still be impossible for you. And remember: do not look directly into the sharingan.." Kurenai knew that Naruto used the Kyuubi's chakra to disturb his own, when she tried to use genjutsu against him.

She sighed. "And Gaara? Do you plan to use this Ennetsu Jigoku against him?"

Naruto sat up, and looked seriously. "I guess it would be best if anything I do against Gaara is kept within the boundaries of the exam, but telling my sensei will probably not be a violation of any treaty between Konoha and Suna.." Naruto mused. The woman had been very kind these last few days. In all senses of the word, she was actually his teacher. Much more than Kakashi, who had only left his students to fend for themselves, this woman actually cares for her genin. Even for him. Naruto was not one to easily trust someone, but she certainly had made an impression on him.

Kurenai frowned. "I guess not.. Why?"

"We spoke to Gaara's teammate, his sister," Naruto explained. "She told us that Gaara is only the way he is because his demon's influence is too strong. The seal which should keep the demon in check is far too weak, and that's why the demon corrupted him. She also described the seal which was placed on him, after I had promised her to do everything I can to help him."

"Help him?" Kurenai exclaimed. "How? Are you out of your mind?!"

"Well.. If I could do something besides killing him, it would probably avoid a lot of trouble right? Even war.. I can think of two methods… First: I repair or reinforce his seal, but that will probably be quite difficult to do during the match. The second option would be for me to reduce the influence his demon has on him."

"How is that possible?"

"Basically, I experienced the same thing. After the Kyuubi exhausted a large amount of its chakra, it needed some time to restore from that. Seems that, because of the sealing, their recovery is somewhat slower. If I do something similar to Gaara, he should be able to regain control."

"So you.."

"I have never met someone like myself, at least not before the exams started. I don't plan on killing Gaara if I have the chance to avoid it."

"And yet you trained using this hellfire seal?"

"I do not know what Gaara's demon is capable of," Naruto shrugged. "So I need to have some kind of countermeasure if it seems to go wrong."

Kurenai could see that Naruto had thought this true, but was worried none the less. "You realize what the implications of Gaara's death would be, don't you?"

"War," Naruto said with on an even tone. "And that's why I will try to save him. But on the other hand, Sunagakure sent Gaara into this exam, knowing the risk that he might die."

Naruto stood up and gathered his things, but Kurenai noticed that her student kept a serious grimace.

"Sensei… I wanted to ask something.." he started. "I.. How would you define strength?"

"What do you mean, define?" Kurenai frowned.

"Haku.. When I talked with him, Haku talked about strength. How people need a reason, like someone or something, to be strong for."

"That sounds similar to the Will of Fire.. I think Haku would be right about it: only if people have a good reason, they can truly become strong. That is why all the kages are strong, because they fight for an entire village."

"So they fight to protect?" Naruto wondered.

"They serve their village, and act to protect the people they serve."

"And yet people think that shinobi are similar to tools?"

Kurenai nodded. "It is expected of us, that we give our lives to those why have sworn to serve. But it goes beyond just an oath. Everyone have people they care about, who they love. We fight for our families, our friends, our loved ones."

Naruto remained silent for a moment, consumed by his thoughts. "So that is why the fourth did that to me… And because of him, I became a weapon that is expected to protect a village which hardly cares about me."

"Is there no one you care about?" Kurenai said, trying to suppress the sorrow she felt.

Naruto blinked. "The old man himself, and Jiraiya. Haruki, Ako-san, Hitomi-sama and some of the Hyuga… Hinata, of course. And Kiba, Akamaru, and you, sensei. I guess those are my reasons to fight."

Kurenai smiled a bit, happy that her student was not as heartless as she had initially feared. Though, heartless.. _'How can I blame him from distancing himself from all the others, when all he got was the scorn of the people?'_

When he had first joined team 8, Naruto had felt rejected because he was put into another team. The fact that he had started to trust others a little, and then got rejected again had made him even more cautious of others. But slowly, and with help from Hinata, he felt that he changed again. '_Perhaps I really could lay down my life for them.. Perhaps strength is indeed about more than just fighting for myself. And dying for my friends would at least be a meaningful death. Rather that, than being consumed by that fox,'_ Naruto mused. He felt the fox's unease while he thought that, and smiled. To the demon that ruined his life, the least he could do is to take his enemy down with him.

"Sensei, would you forgive someone who hurts you, someone who tried to kill you?"

"I take it you refer to Hinata and Neji?" Kurenai said. "Well, Hinata is aware of the laws within her clan, and the effect that those laws have on people like Neji. I cannot say if I would do the same thing, but I do believe that understanding another's pain is the first step to forgiveness. And forgiving people is the first step to ending hatred."

Naruto nodded, and turned away to continue collecting his things so that they could travel back to Konoha. '_Even if I cannot forgive Neji, I guess I will do it for Hinata.. At least, if Neji apologizes for what he has done. If he doesn't.. I'll make sure he never forgets he lesson..'_

* * *

**A/N:** "Let the carnage begin!"

Let's say that one of the central things of the Chunin Exams is Naruto's struggle with his own hatred. Well, his own, _and_ that of the Kyuubi. His actual 'darkness' has yet to be revealed. Hell, I'm even wondering if I'm not making the story too dark..

Yeah, long chapter this time. Had most of it written previously, considering I had planned out several of the politically important things that I threw into the chapter. So adding and rewriting some of the parts went pretty easily, despite the shortage of time. Still, there are a few things I've had my doubts about. **So, please leave you thoughts!**

I suppose that every writer loves to receive reviews! I'm certainly not an exception in that area ^^

-Z-

**Edited: 01/03/2015**


	27. Finals

**Chunin Exams arc**

**Finals**

* * *

In the end, Tsunade had agreed to let Hinata return home the day before the finals started. Her mother had told Hinata that Hiashi had been disappointed with the outcome, and that with the current situation in the clan, he thought it would be best if she did not join her parents and sister in the arena. In fact, he thought it would have been better that she stayed home, but Hitomi arranged that she could still come, even though she would have different places at the arena.

Early in the morning, Ako had come to Hinata's room to help her get prepared for the day. Though Hinata had mostly recovered, she still tired easily. "Thank you, Ako-san," Hinata said after Ako had handed her the clothes she wanted to wear today. "But why are you.."

"Hitomi-sama asked me to take you to the finals today, Hinata-sama," the brown-haired girl responded politely. "Both Haruki-san and I also wished to see Naruto's progress, so Hitomi-sama asked Hizashi-sama to arrange some seats for us."

"I… I see," Hinata said, surprised.

"Not really, Hinata-sama," the older girl smiled. "Even if I was not allowed to see, I would still have come to help you."

"Why?" Hinata frowned a bit.

Ako looked up, and both sets of white eyes looked at each other. "Because of Naruto, of course."

"Na- Naruto-kun? Wha.. Why?"

"You managed to help Naruto, so that is why I owe you. Naruto's path is.. Difficult," Ako added upon seeing Hinata's response. "He distanced himself from others, and only seemed to care about very few people. I… I know about his.. Burden. I think you are one of the reasons he could maintain his humanity."

"I- I am? Bu… But why?"

"Haruki-san once said that you have great influence on him, Hinata-sama. Naruto sees you as the one who saved him."

Hinata had difficulty understanding it. "Naruto always seems so… Strong. Like he does not need anyone, no matter what obstacle he meets."

"No person can live alone, Hinata-sama. Especially not when burdened like Naruto is. Don't be mistaken about his strength."

When Ako finished doing Hinata's hair, they walked out, meeting Haruki. Hinata was a bit troubled by the look on the man's face. Despite him being a younger cousin of her mother, he appeared be much older. His illness was obvious, but still moved with a persistent tenacity. But his worried frown was Hinata's greatest concern.

"Chie! Where are you? We're leaving!" Ako called the feline. Who quickly jumped of a nearby roof, and sprinted to Ako, begging to be petted.

"Ha- Haruki-san, are you concerned about Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked Haruki.

Haruki smiled weakly when he looked at the girl's worried face. "Naruto ensured me he would be fine, when he gathered his things yesterday."

"He always says that," Ako said, pointedly. "But I know that boy called Gaara made him anxious, Haruki-san."

"Ako… Anxiety is only a healthy thing, before he enters a fight in which he might die," the older man said wisely. "I'd be more worried if he did not care about his own life."

"You both really care about Naruto-kun, don't you?" Hinata remarked. Though she was happy that they did, she wondered why. Why so much.

Haruki blinked a few times. "He was my duty, at first. But he helped me to accept what I had become.. The woman I loved died before we had the chance of getting children, but Naruto…"

"Once you get through to him, he is gentle and caring," Ako added. "People really fail to see how good he is. Both as a shinobi and as a person… I truly hope that he gets the chance to show everyone, now he must fight in the finals."

"As do I," Haruki said. "This day could cause big changes for Naruto. But we should go now, Inuzuka-kun asked us to meet him in over fifteen minutes at the park in front of the arena."

Hinata nodded, and followed them outside. She could understand Haruki, but Ako always refused to talk about why she wanted to serve Naruto. Initially, she would, just like her brother, serve the main family. Probably as Hanabi's guardian. But instead, she had begged Hitomi to reconsider. And her mother always refused to tell Hinata why, saying that it was personal. But Hinata did not have the courage to ask now.

* * *

"And I just liked you being quiet," Naruto grumbled, annoyed to be dragged inwards once again.

"Quit your whining, you pathetic brat," the Kyuubi snarled. "And tell me, what do you plan to do?"

"Don't you already know what I want to do?" Naruto asked with an annoyed voice.

"Beat that Gaara, yes," the Kyuubi growled, with his claws coming closer to the bars that separated him from Naruto. "And then what? Do you actually think you can save that brat?"

"I made a promise," Naruto shrugged. "So why wouldn't I try?"

"Why would you care?"

"Don't you already know? I am nothing like you, fox. I can feel more than just hatred. Gaara may be evil right now, but that is not his fault. He is the first being I've met that suffers from the same things I did. I mean, Yugito-san may be like me, but she managed escape her demon's control. Gaara, on the other hand, is in the exact same situation as me."

"Persistent little brat," the enormous fox turned away from Naruto. "Well then, I'll wait just wait and see."

"You'd rather want me to kill him, don't you? What is it about Gaara's demon that you hate so much?"

Though Naruto could not see the fox's face, the deep sadistic laugh shocked him a bit. "That one-tailed loser should not have been so conceited that he thinks he can face me.. This one time, brat, I'll lend you the chakra to beat that loser."

"Thanks… I guess," Naruto said, looking at the back of the silent fox. The boy was confused that the fox would offer him such a thing… "And what's the catch?"

One enormous eye opened, as the fox turned its head towards Naruto. "You filthy humans.. Don't think I am as honourless as you mongrels," the demon shouted in genuine anger, before he pushed Naruto away out of the inner world.

* * *

"Do you promise me to keep calm?" Kakashi urged.

"Yeah, I already said I would," the annoyed Uchiha answered. After the jonin had completed the seal Naruto had put on him, Sasuke had not been able to feel the chakra which he knew resided in the so-called 'cursed seal'.

After that, Kakashi had put Sasuke to training. Harsher than Sasuke had ever trained before. But the boy did not mind. In the contrary: he wanted to train even harder, but Kakashi had forbidden it, saying that Sasuke should not overtax his body so close before the finals.

"Remember, if that seal unravels, your match will be ended," Kakashi repeated. "The examiner knows of your.. Exception."

Sasuke remained silent. Annoyed that the jonin had to repeat this again, as if he was some kind of absent-minded idiot like that Naruto. But Naruto was also the reason Sasuke wanted to train so hard, and gain as much power as he could.

Naruto had made a thunderous impression during the preliminaries. Rock Lee, the genin that had easily beaten Sasuke before the written exam, had proven to be no match for his blond former classmate. Something which annoyed Sasuke more than anything, _he_ was supposed to be top of his class. And while Naruto had grown with an incredible rate, Sasuke was left behind, struggling even with the foolish Inuzuka. No matter his condition back then, he should not have struggled with that dog boy. How was he supposed to avenge his family if he was this pathetic? '_Itachi.. I _will_ surpass you!'_

* * *

After the fox had thrown him out again, Naruto continued his path. _'Must've looked odd, me standing still there,'_ Naruto mused. Though when he looked around, he wondered how much time had passed. _'Perhaps this 'inner' world has a different sense of time, just like when I entered that seal in the Uzumaki ruins?'_

'_So the Kyuubi wants to help me beat Gaara.. That goes pretty much against what the old pervert said this morning.' _Jiriaya had visited Naruto at Kurenai's place, and remembered him to keep the Kyuubi's chakra in check.

Naruto suspected that the old man feared what might happen if so many spectators saw him lose control for a moment. '_Can't blame him… They'll probably fear and hate me even more if they saw me like that. Or trust me a little when they see I am in complete control. Perhaps creating more fear is exactly what the fox wants. Though that last remark… It felt honest.'_

Consumed by his thoughts, Naruto was surprized the moment Shikamaru touched his shoulder. "Yo, Naruto, awake yet? I called you twice already," the lazy genin remarked.

"Ah.. I ehh.. Was lost in thought for moment," Naruto admitted. "How did training go? Hey Ino," he added, seeing that the blonde kunoichi had followed Shikamaru.

Ino nodded, and grimaced when she thought back at training. "Training was a hell. Don't know why, but Asuma-sensei seemed pretty desperate to make us strong all of a sudden."

"Probably another bet," Shikamaru smirked. "Sensei never learns that it is too troublesome to argue against women."

"Kurenai-sensei seemed pretty relaxed this morning," Naruto frowned.

Ino grimaced again. '_Yeah, that idiotic sensei of ours probably got lured into a trap again. He should know we can't win by now… Not against_ him._' _

"But are you ready for the finals?" Naruto continued.

"Not really," Shikamaru said bluntly. "But Asuma-sensei made some threats, so we can't even give up either.. Troublesome adults and their expectations.."

"And how did your training go, Naruto?" Ino asked, somewhat curiously. "I heard you left Konoha, what did you do?"

"Oh, there was a short mission I had to do," Naruto dodged. "But training went fine. I wonder how it'll go today though."

"Yeah.. I wish we knew who we would fight, in advance," Shikamaru grumbled. "Anyone but that Gaara would be fine.. What do you know about him, anyway?" Shikamaru added, looking at Naruto.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, trying to be innocent. "I heard we should avoid fighting him, which is pretty reasonable after what I saw in the preliminaries."

"It seemed like you knew him," Ino remarked. "Back when we had the first test."

"Knew him? No. Not really," Naruto smiled. "But his chakra is… Troublesome, so to say."

"That's what we've been told," Shikamaru looked sharply, despite his lazy demeanour. '_So he does know something.. Naruto may be silent, but he wouldn't put us in danger. So whatever he knows, it confirms that Gaara is too dangerous to fight..'_

Naruto didn't like to lie to his former classmate. After all, Shikamaru and Choji were probably the only ones who acted friendly towards him during the times at the academy. But despite his personal wishes, he could not say a thing about jinchurikis or demons. "If I were you guys, I'd forfeit the moment I knew I had to fight Sabaku no Gaara," Naruto decided as a compromise.

"You don't need tell me, I felt the chakra that guy radiated good enough to know I don't stand a chance," Shikamaru said on a casual tone. _'So Naruto plans to fight him.. And is tensed about it? All this troublesome secrecy…'_

Ino distracted them, as she saw Sasuke entering the stadium in front of them, and her shouting ended the conversation.

* * *

"So what do you guys expect?" Lee asked Choji and Sakura. They had met each other while they entered the stadium, though in Lee's case it had not been a coincidence, not that he would have openly admitted that he was following Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun will do well. I hope he wins! I also hope Shino-kun puts up a good fight," Sakura could not fully control her inner fangirl.

Choji shook his head. "Nope. I think Neji or that Gaara are way more dangerous than Sasuke is.. Though Shikamaru predicted that Naruto would win the tournament." The chubby genin took out a bag of potato chips and started to eat.

"Naruto-kun surely will," Lee nodded enthusiastically. Though he was careful not to reveal what he had seen from Naruto's training. "Neji may be a genius, just like Sasuke-kun is, but I think Naruto and Gaara have a much greater chance. Though of course I'll be rooting for Tenten," he quickly added, before the other would think he doubted his teammate.

"You sure have a great deal of confidence in Naruto's ability," Sakura frowned. She would have liked to defend Sasuke, but had to admit that Naruto simply seemed to be on another level compared to them. At some nights, during her darkest dreams, she still relived the massacre in the Land of Waves.

"Of course I have," Lee grinned. "After how he defeated me, I can't feel anything but admiration! But I will defeat him one day!"

"You'll have your work cut out for you if want to do such a thing," Choji frowned. "You know, my team practiced against team 8 just before the exams started… We were beaten before we knew what happened to us."

"They did?" Sakura was surprised. This would explain Ino's bad temper earlier, especially towards Hinata. "Shino always speaks very highly of Kiba and Hinata."

"They are certainly good," Choji nodded. "But I think we mainly lost that badly because of Naruto. Even Asuma-sensei said that he would pray that Ino and Shikamaru would not have to face him right away."

"Why would he do such a thing?" Lee frowned. "What could be better than having a fight against the strongest possible adversary?"

"Advancing to the next round, showing what you can do, and getting promoted," Sakura answered dryly. She knew the green-clad genin cared about her, as he had expressed in his own unique and awkward way, and though she believed him to be a really nice guy, she considered him to be quite ignorant at times.

'_It would seem Naruto certainly does have the best chances… He really did change a lot compared to how he was during the times at the academy. Even that Ino-pig admitted that she was impressed by him,' _Sakura mused. _'Though I would not understand why she made such a fuss of which hair colour was better.. She couldn't be serious when she said that Naruto and Sasuke were on the same level now, could she?'_

But Sakura could not deny to herself, she was deeply impressed by his ability. Frightened, but also impressed. He even fought in as a true genius during the preliminaries. Somehow, in her eyes he had gotten that same 'elite' aura as Sasuke always had. '_But with the difference that Naruto usually is nice and friendly, compared to Sasuke's brooding nature,'_ an inner voice remarked sarcastically. '_Your mister perfect doesn't act that way, while the outcast does.'_

'_Sasuke-kun had a very rough childhood, how could I blame him if he acted a bit more distant?'_ she retorted to her other self. '_And you saw what Naruto did just as well as I did!'_

'_As if Naruto had an easy time. Admit it, you only focussed on Sasuke, and ignored him. He even tried to talk to you, back in the academy days, while he never ever took the initiative with anyone else!'_

'_I know,' _Sakura sighed. '_That's probably been a mistake. But still, he is no Sasuke-kun. But if that Ino-pig switches to Naruto, I would have Sasuke-kun all for myself!'_

Her inner voice sighed, and accepted that further discussion was pointless. The biggest mistake that Sakura made, she realized, was her inability to look at other people besides Sasuke.

* * *

"Hokage-dono," Mei greeted Sarutobi Hiruzen when he approached to his chair. The woman had come early, hoping to speak to the old man before the Kazekage would arrive.

"Mizukage-dono," he bowed his head to her.

Jiraiya bowed, careful not to make any inappropriate remarks, no matter how much he wanted to, upon seeing the Mizukage's beauty again. But Hiruzen had made it clear that his usual behaviour was not allowed. Very clear.

"I'm pleased to meet you again, Mizukage-sama," he bowed.

"Likewise. I've heard a great deal about the legendary sannin. I apologize for not being fully aware of who you were earlier," she smiled before turning her attention towards the Hokage. "Hokage-dono, have you considered my proposal?"

"I have," Hiruzen smiled. "Though the formal approval and signing will happen at a later point, I would gladly accept."

"Can't say I expected a defensive alliance from Kirigakura," Jiraiya spoke, with one brow raised. "I must admit that it doesn't have much of a reputation when you look at the last treaties.."

"I am well aware," Mei sighed. "There are many things in Kirigakure that have yet to change, and I know we cannot undo the crimes of the past… But at some point we have to start. With this treaty I can take away the threat that Konoha poses to us, creating stability. And I expect that the increased trade between our nations will offset the losses we get from the missions against Konoha which we will now refuse."

"As well as it is a good manner to reduce the threat from Kumogakure," Hiruzen added. "Kumo may be stronger than we are, but not strong enough to battle against two nations at the same time."

"The Raikage is rather ambitious," Jiraiya agreed. "But they won't overestimate the ties between Kiri and Konoha… The bitter truth is that Konohagakure and Kirigakure have been adversaries for a long time, while Kumogakure has two fully trained jinchuriki at their disposal."

"That is why I insisted on coming here… When Gato got killed, a large part of the opposing coalition in Kiri crumbled. That is why I was able to risk coming here. Otherwise, it would only have given my opponents an opportunity to revert the policies I put in place. And I am glad Hokage-dono lives up to his reputation when it comes to peace," Mei smiled. "Besides, I was truly looking forward to seeing Haku fight. I've heard great things about his opponent. The last of the Uchiha… Is he truly as gifted as the nobles believe?"

"It is probably a bit exaggerated," Hiruzen admitted, suspecting from whom she heard it. "But despite all the chatter from the nobles, Sasuke is undeniably one of our most talented youths."

"Ahh, I see… Also, Haku told me a great deal about this Uzumaki Naruto. He surely turned out to be an interesting child."

"You've met Naruto?" Hiruzen frowned.

The Mizukage nodded. "Yes, I think I will be looking forward to his fight as well. Especially considering his opponent… Haku and Zabuza told me a little about what happened in the previous rounds. I must admit I had not expected to see someone like him in the exams. Though, Kazekage-dono seemed to have had the same idea. Ahh, he's finally here…"

Hiruzen turned as the Kazekage walked up towards them, and took the left seat after exchanging formal greetings. '_I had hoped it would be differently…_' Hiruzen hid his feelings, and signalled Jiraiya. '_But I fear it is really him'_.

One of the two guards which the Kazekage had brought along answered the Hokage's look. And for a moment, the man smirked in a manner Hiruzen knew far too well…

* * *

"These seats aren't half bad at all," Kiba said as he admired the view. The stadium was slowly filling up, and he, Akamaru, Karin, Hinata, Haruki, Chie, and Ako took their places in a small box, where they had quite a lot more privacy than most of the crowd. Hitomi had deemed it unwise to let her, still weak, daughter sit in the middle of the common folk, even though she was not alone.

"I wonder when Naruto will be up," Karin wondered.

"I hope he doesn't have to face that Gaara right away," Haruki sighed.

Ako saw Hinata's worried expression. "Don't worry. He has trained hard this last month, I'm sure he will do great!"

"I pity that Neji-two-leg," Chie chortled, sitting on Ako's lap.

"He'll get what he deserves," Kiba replied with the undercurrent of anger obvious to all. "Strange that you guys didn't get seats with the other Hyuga, I mean.. You're the heir, right?"

"I.. Father was disappointed when I lost… Mother said he thought it would be best if I did not watch the finals, but mother arranged these seats instead." Hinata looked sadly at her family, who sat almost at the other side of the arena. "And it isn't exactly like I am the heir of my clan. Father trains Hanabi, not me.. Everyone knows she is more skilled than I am.."

"Nonsense," Haruki said decisively. "Being a shinobi is about more than just raw strength and ability."

"Yes.. Look at Naruto," Chie remarked. "He can't even buy clothes by himself, or so I heard."

"What?" Karin wondered, and Kiba frowned.

"Naruto has a thing for the colour orange.." Haruki sighed. "So one day, he burned another set of clothes with those crazy experiments of his, and he goes out to buy new clothes…" Ako giggled when she thought back at Haruki's response.

"I.. Lets just say that I accidentally burned that orange jumpsuit of his," Haruki grimaced a little. "Imagine a ninja in orange.. It would be pure suicide! Not that he cares. He never thinks things through. I swear those scrolls of his affect his brains.."

"Is that why mother gave Naruto-kun those clothes?" Hinata wondered.

"Perhaps.. It is hard to say what my cousin does and does not know," Haruki shrugged. He did not want to tell her that she simply made a statement: supporting Naruto, who defied the Hyuga because of Hinata. Because of her position, Hitomi could not officially support Naruto, but in her own subtle way, she still gave a clear signal to those who paid attention. And amongst the elders of their clan, there was none foolish enough to underestimate the wife of their clan leader.

Not that Karin or Kiba could understand all this. They were quickly distracted when the doors opened up, and the twelve finalists entered the arena.

* * *

Naruto felt some excitement as he entered the arena. After all the training, he would finally get the chance to show Konoha what he could do. That he was more than just a monster.

"Don't tell me you are nervous," Tenten grinned.

"Me? Only a little," Naruto admitted. "Imagine I'd have to fight you, for example," he joked.

Shikamaru looked at his former classmate, and noticed that he had looked at Gaara more than once. The secrecy annoyed him more than anything. '_Dad won't talk, but it's obvious that something big is going on.. And from the looks of it, that Gaara is at the centre of all the problems. Small wonder that Naruto is so focussed on him,'_ Shikamaru smiled a bit to himself, '_That guy always wants to solve things with force, though I doubt many know about that straightforward trait of his.. He made quite an effort of it to hide his real personality, hell even Ino couldn't figure him out!'_

"I wonder who I'll have to fight," a somewhat pale Ino said to him.

"Don't worry too much, you'll do fine," Shikamaru assured her. "But don't be reckless! Let's hope that one of us gets the chance to take revenge for Choji."

"Big plans for someone as lazy as you are," Temari spoke up, walking behind the two. "Though, I suppose that beating one of you would do as a warming up," she added with a mischievous smirk.

As they walked out, the audience started to cheer, and the anxiety of some of the genin only increased. '_Now I'll fight a real opponent_,' Sasuke thought darkly. '_This month of training should pay off..'_

* * *

"You must be tired from the journey," Hiruzen tried to start a conversation with the rather silent Kazekage.

"Not at all," the Kazekage said from under the black mask that hid most of his face. "Good thing it's held here this time, while you're still young, the trip may have been too much for you, Hokage-dono."

"Maybe it's time you decide on the fifth…?" he added, after Hiruzen smiled a bit.

"Please don't treat me like an old man," Hiruzen laughed. "I intend to do this for another five years…"

"You already have a successor waiting?"

"Perhaps.. Maybe one of those youngster below will impress me today," Hiruzen smiled. '_Yes Naruto, show me if you have what it takes..' _

"Hokage-sama, the genin are ready," Namiashi Raido bowed. Raido was one of the elite bodyguards that served the Hokage, and together with Jiraiya he acted as the guard of the Hokage today, as each Kage was allowed two guards in their box.

Hiruzen nodded at the scarred jonin, and stood up. "Well now.. Let's begin," he sighed.

"Thanks everyone for coming to the hidden leaf chunin selection exam!" he shouted. "We will now start the main tournament matches between the twelve participants who made it through the preliminaries. Please stay and watch until the end!"

"Thank you Hokage-sama," Shiranui Genma answered from the grounds. Naruto wondered why this senbon-chewing guy was here, and not Hayate, who had acted as referee during the preliminaries. '_Must be on another duty,'_ Naruto shrugged.

"On the large screen at the back of the arena you will see the match-ups for the finals. As you can see, the winners of the first and second match will face each other during the second round, as will the winners of the third and fourth, and those who won the fifth and sixth. After that, the kages will decide who will have an extra match in the third round," Genma explained. "I know this is somewhat unusual, but we got more capable genin than usual this year!"

Naruto looked behind him and couldn't supress a wolfish smile. "Neji.." he whispered. "Awesome."

"All right guys, the arena is a bit different but the rules are the same as in the prelims. You fight until one of you dies or acknowledges defeat, but if I determine that the fight is over, I'll step in and stop it, you all got that?" Genma spoke strictly to the finalists. "Sabaku no Gaara and Samui of Kumogakure, you two stay down here, the others go to the waiting room."

* * *

As the others spread through the waiting room, Temari walked up to Naruto. "You did not forget about your promise, I hope?" she whispered, careful not to be heard by the others. "Have you found a way to help?"

"I'll do what I can," Naruto whispered back. "I made a promise, and I'll never go back on my words. That said, I cannot guarantee that things won't get rough… But I'll do what I can to save him, as long as it doesn't get me killed."

Temari nodded, but quickly moved towards her elder brother as Shikamaru came near.

"How come you're so close to them?" he asked Naruto.

"What? Not jealous, I hope?" Naruto teased him. "Let's take a look. It seems like that girl hasn't forfeited yet, so this is bound to get interesting."

"So what's the deal with this Gaara?" Shikamaru looked sharply at Naruto.

"He's dangerous," Naruto shrugged. "But I'll take care of him in the second round."

That remark earned him glares from Neji, but also from Sasuke. All the participants had seen Neji's prowess, and they all knew that it would not be easy to defeat him. If it even was possible. Even Sasuke, despite his progress, doubted he could be so confident and almost carelessly state such a thing. Shikamaru frowned, knowing full well that Naruto was not to the type to make careless statements, not when it came to these kinds of things at least.

"Begin," Genma shouted from below them, and all eyes turned to Sabaku no Gaara and his opponent. Well, the opponent drew more looks, especially from the male part of the audience, as her proportions were rather.. Well developed.

* * *

'_I'll stick with the plan Yugito-sensei gave me,'_ Samui thought, as she darted around Gaara.

The boy did not move a muscle, and looked rather bored. Samui realized that he only showed a different expression whenever that genin from Konoha was around. '_Uzumaki Naruto, you peeked his interest.. Is it because you are like him? If so, this Gaara will want to conserve his chakra, so his guard might still be down.'_ Samui regretted it that they had not known about the match-ups sooner, but now she had prepared to fight any opponent, while her sensei had paid extra attention to both Gaara and the Uzumaki boy.

"_You have seen their power, so it would be foolish to fight them head on,"_ Yugito had said while they were training. "_But that does not mean they are without weaknesses. Especially this Gaara, he seems rather slow. Your main strength is your speed, so use that to defeat him. Remember, do not force him in a defensive position, he uses sand as a shield, so he'll only be weak when you can catch him off guard. Strike fast, and strike hard."_

As Samui tested Gaara's defences, she noticed that the sand protected him, even though he seemingly did nothing to control it. '_As if it was an automatic defence,'_ she realized. '_Ok, time to test sensei's theory.'_

* * *

Naruto whistled, impressed by the sudden burst of speed from the young woman. He realized now why Gai-sensei had put so much emphasis on his speed. Gaara might be a lot stronger than Samui is, but if he can't touch her, she still has the advantage.

'_Though I still have my kage bunshin no jutsu, so that trick won't be so easy against me,' _he frowned. Unless it would be someone of Lee's level of speed. He looked at Haku, and realized that this boy might be his most dangerous opponent aside from Gaara.

* * *

Samui got somewhat frustrated. None of her attacks got through that wall of sand that rose up every single time. '_This really is not cool..'_

Trying to hit him from his blind spot proved unsuccessful. Regular piercing attacks were also pointless. And to make things worse, Samui began to sweat, feeling the exertion. She knew that whenever she would stand still, Gaara could grab her and she would end up just like that moron who faced him during the preliminaries…

'_Can't see an opening… Then I'll have to gamble for it,'_ Samui gritted her teeth and leaped back. She focused her chakra to the feet, just as she was taught, and pointed her blade at Gaara.

The boy just stood there, not interested or impressed, but still slightly annoyed that she had been too fast for him to catch. He knew the expectations the Kazekage, his father, had put on him. Not that he cared.. He just wanted to offer his blood. "I'll get her for you mother," he mumbled while he started to smile. "I know you will like her blood.."

"Here goes nothing," Samui sighed. "Raiton: thunderstrike," she exclaimed.

Gaara's eyes widened when the girl suddenly disappeared, and a flash of lightning struck him from behind. She had been even faster than his defence had been, but she had failed to pierce the armour of sand he had kept up as a contingency. Still, he was thrown of his feet, and crashed hard into the nearby tree that stood in the arena.

* * *

"Flawless execution of the jutsu," Yugito mumbled. "You've really grown, Samui.. But it is not enough to beat an opponent of this calibre." Yugito was proud of Samui, but hoped that her student had the wisdom to surrender, rather than throw away her life by continuing the fight against a now angered jinchuriki.

It would be a waste for Kumogakure if such a talented kunoichi would die.

* * *

"This really is not cool," Samui panted. She had exhausted most of her chakra, and pierced her opponent's defence, but still he was unscathed. "Another layer of defence.. What is up with this guy… Not cool.."

She jumped back, nearly dodging the projectiles of sand which Gaara shot at her. The boy had stood up without any sign of injury, but his bored expression had changed. Samui shuddered when she saw the bloodlust and plain insanity in his eyes.

"There's only two ways out," she sighed, as she jumped towards the referee. "I acknowledge defeat," she shouted.

* * *

Even from this distance, it was impossible to fail to spot Gaara's annoyance that he could not kill his opponent. Not that he didn't try, but Genma jumped in.

Naruto had seen Samui's strategy, and by the looks of it, Shikamaru had done the same. "So speed alone is not enough," the lazy genin remarked.

"He had another defence," Naruto nodded. "Seems like his body was covered by sand, but I could only see it the moment she hit him. Quite impressive how fast she was.. Makes you wonder if someone like Lee could've beaten him."

"I just told you," Shikamaru said on a bored tone. "Speed is not enough. This guy has some crazy endurance. It seems impossible to me that this is just a genin like us…"

"He has his defences, but that doesn't say much about his actual endurance," Naruto disagreed.

"Rip off that armour of his, and he could be wounded," Sasuke smirked, who listened to their conversation.

"But that would require a speed and strength none of us have," Shikamaru sighed. "Well, at least I won't have to face him. Unless I manage to get too far into this tournament.. Man, what a troublesome day this is.."

"Umm… Naruto-kun?" Tenten walked up to him. "Shouldn't you go down there? Neji already left.. And please don't… Don't kill him, please."

"I already made a promise," Naruto said bluntly as he looked at the girl's worried expression. "And I will not break my word. I never do."

Tenten did not know what to think or what to say as she saw Naruto jump down with a grim expression on his face. She did not particularly like her withdraw and rather arrogant teammate, but still.. Naruto had promised to kill him. What could she do, from the sidelines?

"Don't worry too much," Shikamaru tried to calm the nervous girl. "He may be a bit dark, but he isn't such a bad guy once you get to know him."

Sasuke just shook his head, knowing that Naruto was nothing like any of them would imagine. '_He'll kill without hesitation when he feels like he needs to_,' he pondered. '_Though.. Why didn't he kill that Haku? Why can he be ruthless against one person, yet spare the other? __He never makes any sense..'_

* * *

"Interesting match," the Mizukage remarked. "She was quite agile for a genin. And her judgement was accurate as well."

"She would make a fine chunin indeed," the Hokage agreed. "I wonder why she failed the previous exam if she was this skilled."

The Kazekage just nodded, a little annoyed that someone had been able to land a blow on his best weapon. Not that any of these children could hurt Gaara, but still… No one in Sunagakure had found this weakness in Gaara's abilities. '_We will have to review his training once we get back._'

"Perhaps.. But now.. I am really looking forward to this match," Jiraiya smiled.

"A genius from the Hyuga clan versus your own student," the Mizukage revealed her knowledge about Konoha. "You must surely be excited."

Hiruzen frowned a bit, wondering how Jiraiya's involvement with Naruto's training became known across the border. '_No matter how tight you want to keep your security, something always slips through.. We'll have to figure out who leaked this information..'_ he sighed. '_But the Mizukage is right. First we have this fight.'_

The Hokage smiled when he thought back at the commotion Konohamaru had caused when he found out he had to attend at the academy instead of view the match of his 'boss'.

* * *

**A/N**: I feel like such a troll now… Stopping while Naruto's fight has yet to begin. I promise you all that the next chapter will arrive soon. I just didn't have the time write more today..

Please leave a review. I read and cherish the support you all give me in my efforts to write this 'little' story. Apparently, reviews are the fuel which keeps the writing-engine running!

-Z-

* * *

_As a little bonus, I'll give a little overview of the skills that Naruto has at this point:_

**Genjutsu**:

None. Naruto has little talent for genjutsu, and never bothered to learn it either, other than to pass the academy. Ever since the Gekihoko was sealed into Naruto, he has become unable to cast genjutsu altogether, and is also immune to all but the strongest (and most complex) of illusions.

**Ninjutsu**;

Naruto has an affinity for wind release (futon), as well as fire release (katon), and has the lightning release (raiton) as a secondary element. Though this does not mean he cannot use suiton or doton, it does mean that those two types or more difficult for Naruto to use. And he already has issues with his chakra control due to the Kyuubi. In addition: Naruto focussed on fuinjutsu, and mostly ignored the regular ninjutsu.

Naruto has access to the basic ninjutsu thought at the academy, such as the Shunshin no jutsu (body flicker), and Kawarimi no jutsu (body replacement technique). Also, the _Kage bunshin no jutsu_ is a thing which I do not need to bother to describe any further..

_Futon: explosion_. Naruto tried to mimic the gentle fist style of the Hyuga, and charged his hands with wind chakra. All in all, it didn't work that badly, at least not until he put both hands to each other.. The result was that he created a sphere around him, a bubble of chakra, which explodes with quite some force. Naruto named it and uses it in specific situations. If he would have to rank it, it would probably be a c-ranked jutsu, considering there is some difficulty forming and stabilizing the bubble. But considering the limited usefulness, it could not be considered higher ranked.

_Futon: renkudan_. The renkudan, or 'air bullets' is a skill Naruto learned from Sarutobi Asuma. Naruto focuses chakra on one point, and shoots it as a projectile towards his opponent. As it is a highly compressed air ball, it deals quite some damage at a single target, and easily pierces objects like trees, or shatters walls, etc. The jutsu has no official ranking, but it is quite lethal, causing it to have a B-rank. It's limited area of effect is a bit of a disadvantage. Naruto is currently training to shoot faster and aims to release more than one bullet at a time.

_Futon: kazekiri no jutsu_ (wind cutter). This jutsu allows Naruto to create a slash of wind chakra, more or less like a blade of wind descending on his opponent. Like the renkudan no jutsu, this too was taught by Asuma. It is, however, not a skill Naruto has completely mastered yet, reducing its effectiveness.

_Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu _(great fireball technique). Also taught to Naruto by Asuma. This technique allows Naruto to throws an orb of roaring flames at his opponent. Unlike the renkudan, which has a fixed size, the gokakyu increases in size depending on the amount of chakra put into it.

Note regarding Katon: I listed the fire-based seals under fuinjutsu. Naruto has access to one more skill, but this one is yet to be revealed. Unlike the wind release, the fire release is not an affinity that Naruto has from himself, but rather due to the Kyuubi's influence on him. It's chakra altered Naruto, so to speak, and allows him to use fire, though with the key difference that it draws onto the Kyuubi's chakra and the jutsu's therefore are both easier to use (as it is easier to poor chakra into it), as well as dangerous. After all, using a bijuu's chakra is not without risks..

_Raiton: numbing hands_. A basic, and D-ranked, jutsu, which charges the user's hands with lightning chakra, allowing him/her to shock whoever is touched by it, numbing the victim.

_Raiton: wave of paralysis_. Works with the same mechanics as the previous jutsu, as it uses lightning chakra to paralyse the victim, but rather than the 'numbing hands' which is a close combat skill, the wave of paralysis can be used over a short distance. Unfortunately, Naruto has yet to properly master this jutsu, as his control over the lighting release is still too fragile for this C-ranked jutsu.

**Fuinjutsu**;

Naruto has access to a variety of sealing technique through the archives of his clan which were left to him, as last descendant of the Uzumaki. In addition to the list of fuinjutsu, Naruto also has access to a fire-based barrier.

_Stealth seal_. This is the only seal which he learned from a different source, namely a piece of the mask he found in the Uzumaki temple in Konoha. Though Naruto could only see part of the seal which was engraved in the mask – as he only had a piece of it – he still managed to replicate the seal. The seal prevents the user from being noticed in any possible way, at the cost of considerable amounts of chakra. Several factors are to be taken into account when looking at the 'cost,' for instance the number of people looking for the user (and their skill), as well as the conditions in which the user moves. It is easier to hide in the darkness then it is in clear daylight. It is easier to hide from a regular civilian, than it is from a high level shinobi (especially when this shinobi has access to for instance the byakugan, or is part of the Inuzuka clan). Still, it is the perfect jutsu for Naruto to move around unnoticed. The jutsu fails when the user talks or touches someone else (revealing the user's location to that person). Similarly, the jutsu does not work when someone is already noticing you, which means that Naruto cannot use the seal to hide from someone who is already looking at him (or listening to him, etc). Though the jutsu is yet imperfect, it still is easily A-ranked, or perhaps even S-ranked. After all, who can stop an assassin who cannot be noticed?

_Immolation seal_. First of Naruto's fire-based seals, this seal burns everything on which the seal is applied. If Naruto puts this seal on a tree, the tree burns to the ground. On the downside, it needs to touch the victim in order to work, and aside from fire it does not create an explosion or anything. Most likely a C-ranked jutsu.

_Infernal seal_. Second of Naruto's fire-based seals, this seal stores an amount of fire chakra and releases that amount instantly when ordered to. In essence: a timed explosion. Depending on the amount of chakra used, it can create quite a shockwave too, but using too much chakra on this seal also destabilizes it. As it is one of Naruto's favourite seals, he uses it quite often, combining it with barriers, etc. If I had to rank it, the basic jutsu would most likely be B-ranked, considering the difficulty of mastering it. In Naruto's hands, though, it is far more dangerous.

_Hellfire seal_ (Ennetsu Jigoku; flames of hell). This is a forbidden jutsu, basically S-ranked, as it is a suicidal move. Originally, this seal is designed to create a large pillar of fire, disintegrating everything that is within the range of the seal. As such, it is applied on the ground, and can cover a considerable area. It is, however, suicidal as there is no way to end the jutsu once started. Originally, it was designed to take down both the user and everything around him. Naruto managed to tweak the seal, and build in a method to end the seal when he wants it to end. This did reduce the damage output of this seal, though it is still easily Naruto's most destructive jutsu. (**A/N**: Yeah, and both the basic idea and the name are shamelessly stolen from Bleach, where Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's Zanpakutō, Ryūjin Jakka, performed this skill.)

_Weight seal_. Increases the weight of whatever it is applied to. Basic rule: the more chakra in the seal, the greater it's weight, though the less stable the seal. D-ranked, as it is one of the most basic fuinjutsu Naruto has.

_Gravitation seal_. Within a certain area around the seal, gravity is strongly increased, taking down both the user and anyone (anything) surrounding it. Strong, but still Naruto has not really mastered it. It is intended to be used remotely, and for an extended period of time. Right now, Naruto cannot manage to put too much chakra in this seal, drastically reducing its duration (and its potency). Possibly an A-rank jutsu.

_Sentry seal_. Marks an area, and when someone crosses its 'borders' it will notify the user and function as the base of a barrier. B-ranked, as Naruto managed to combine several functions into one seal. It does, however, require Naruto to draw out the seal, rather than apply it with chakra, making it not the most flexible seal he has.

_Absorption seal_. Similar to what Jiraiya showed in the manga, Naruto can draw a seal which absorbs chakra and store it for a certain amount of time (the more chakra it needs to store, the shorter its duration). Ichiraku forbids the usage of this seal, as Naruto nearly blew up the shop when he was experimenting on how long this seal could last. Ever since, Teuchi is a bit wary when Naruto has loose scroll stuck in his pockets..

_Evil sealing method_. This jutsu is used to suppress seal on a person. For instance the seal which Orochimaru put on Sasuke. In addition, weaker seals can be completely locked away by this technique, but for marks of higher power are not that stable (requiring the one who carries the seal to keep it up).


	28. The second match

**Chunin Exams arc**

**The second match**

* * *

Naruto created a cloud of dust when he landed, having jumped down from the waiting room into the ring. The audience remained rather silent, and their cheers only started when Neji walked in. Obviously, the majority of the audience expected much from the Hyuga prodigy, and expected little from the unknown Uzumaki. Though, those from Konoha mostly wanted him to lose. They would even cheer if the Hyuga managed to kill the boy.

Hinata and Kiba were quite annoyed by the talk they heard around them. Most suspected Naruto had just been lucky during the preliminaries, and that he would face his death against the 'elite' Neji. They expected Neji to be one of the people who had a large chance to win the tournament, along with Sasuke and Gaara.

"Leave them be," Haruki said, seeing both of them grimace. "They'll see what Naruto can do, and then they will regret their past actions. Truthfully, I hope that a lot of people will make bets against Naruto.." he grinned.

"His former sensei seems to have placed quite a large bet on him," Ako remarked. "You know, that cute one with the scar," she smiled.

* * *

"Did you apologize?" Naruto demanded when Neji stood in front of him.

"What?" Neji frowned.

"Hinata-sama, did you apologize to her?"

Neji merely answered with a smirk, and Genma quickly stepped between them. "I expect you two to comply with the rules. I will not allow either of you to go too far during this fight."

"It won't be a fight," Naruto answered ominously. "This will be punishment."

Neji couldn't help but be a little disturbed by the almost feral expression on Naruto's face. All the hesitation and doubt which Neji had seen in him before the match had now disappeared. '_Than there is no need for me to hold back either.'_

"Begin!" Genma shouted.

* * *

"Good luck Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered, while she felt as if her heart had moved to her throat. "Please be strong. Show Konoha your strength," she finished her whispered prayer.

There was no doubt in her mind that Naruto would defeat Neji. But right now, that was not her concern. There were bigger things at stake. She knew full well that Naruto's fate in Konoha depended on his performance today. In the best case, he could change a lot of injustice, but in the worst case.. What if people saw their worst fears confirmed?

* * *

"Gentle fist style, eight trigrams sixty-four palms," Neji snarled, the moment Genma moved away from them. Naruto did not yet have the time to response, as he registered the first hits. Exactly like Neji had planned, since he knew he would be in a disadvantage when Naruto had the time to deploy his clones and create seals.

"Two hands! Four hands! Eight hands!" Neji shouted, while Naruto felt the same number of hits on his body. "Sixteen hands! Thirty-two hands!" Neji moved closer, slightly panted from the explosive action. "Sixty-four hands!"

The audience held their breaths while Naruto fell backwards. Neji jumped forward when Naruto crouched on his knees, unable to get up.

"Seems like the main house's dog is down," Neji smirked, grabbing Naruto's collar. _'No matter how much chakra you have, you can't do a thing when I close all of your tenketsu at once!'_

* * *

Hiashi clenched his first, and his entire family moved back as his anger radiated from the head of their clan. '_Unforgivable. Not only did Hizashi break the rules by teaching this boy techniques which are restricted to the main house, the brat also showed them in broad daylight. This is outrageous. Such an insult to the main house's honour will not be tolerated. Not by my brother, not by anyone!'_

Hitomi shook her head as she looked at Hizashi. The man had crossed the line. Not only had he broken the laws by teaching techniques which were restricted to only the main house, Neji had even shown them publicly, as a humiliation to the main house. A sign that the branch was equal. Hiashi had always been very tolerant towards his somewhat defiant brother, but now Hizashi had made a mistake.. He had gone too far. Not even Hitomi could save him now. '_You foolish man... Why did you have to do something like this? Why would you force your own brother to persecute the branch even further?'_

Wondering why her parents were so tense, Hanabi turned to look at the fight again. Neji was a genius of their clan, even if he was merely from the inferior branch family, so it was to be expected he could handle someone as lowly as that Uzumaki with little trouble. After all, the Uzumaki was as good as clanless. And everyone knew that clanless shinobi were inferior to proper shinobi who were the products of the strongest bloodlines. '_I wonder why my weak sister never realizes this.. Perhaps her weakness even extends itself to her brain,'_ Hanabi considered. '_It must be, or else she would never be so focussed on this loser..'_

* * *

"All those big words of yours… beating me… becoming Hokage," Neji laughed after he spitted out those words. "You are merely an idiot who cannot even see his own reality! You will never become Hokage. That is not your destiny. People must live within their own unchangeable flow.. Only one.. The only destiny that every person shares is death."

Neji pushed Naruto away.

"And that's why I told you this was useless," Neji smirked. "You were destined to lose to me."

"You still think that?" Naruto grinned, with a drop of blood on his chin. "You may have those eyes, but no one can understand everything! That's why I told you to stop automatically deciding things.. Some things lie beyond your understanding, Neji.."

"You can't use chakra, and you're bleeding all over the place," Neji retorted with a confident smile. "You lost. You never had any…."

Naruto laughed. "Can't use my chakra? Poor Neji.. Are you truly _that_ blind?"

Neji looked, and saw the chakra burst from Naruto. "How.."

"Did you actually think you could stop me, Neji?" Naruto chuckled. "Seriously, do you even know how easy is it to create chakra storage seals? All I needed to do is to program it in such a way that it would shake up my chakra pathway system a bit, in the unlikely even you managed to block all of my tenketsu."

"That's.. Impossible.. Even if that happened.. The tenketsu were closed!"

"Apparently it's not impossible.. I just did it," Naruto frowned. "Besides, you didn't think I would let you perish without a publicly humiliating you and your clan first, did you?"

Neji glared, and started to approach Naruto again. Though the casual way in which Naruto announced his impending death disturbed the Hyuga prodigy.

"What? You expected me to not to come up with a way to prevent you from closing off all the tenketsu in my body? You really should stop underestimating your opponents.. Damn, genius or not, that a rather stupid move," Naruto said, speaking as if he was discussing the weather. "So, last chance: do you still refuse to apologize to Hinata-sama?"

As Neji dropped into his fighting stance, Naruto shook his head. "Stubborn fool… Why not just forfeit while you can still save your precious pride. Ah well, at least I fulfilled my promise." Naruto made some quick hand seal and nine clones appeared. "Go test him, but don't waste too much chakra, right guys?"

All nine clones nodded, and jumped away from Naruto.

* * *

"He used that seal against the juken?" Jiraiya massaged his own forehead. "Damn, I just thought he was down.. When did he.."

"That's rather ingenious," Hiruzen frowned. "Though I am sure the Hyuga clan will not be very happy about his.. Even though I highly doubt anyone but him can pull it off.. Forcibly opening the tenketsu is supposed to be impossible. Lethal, even.."

The Kazekage nodded, but did not avert his eyes from the match, completely focussing on the match which even turned out to surprise shinobi of their calibre.

"Truly surprising that a mere genin could do something like that," the Mizukage admitted, blinking her eyes. "Even I would've fallen for that one.. Haku wasn't kidding when he talked about this boy…"

* * *

"It's still not too late to stop this, you know," one of the bunshin remarked. "With Gaara in the next round, it would be preferable to waste as little chakra as possible."

"And it's not like you have a chance anyway," another clone continued.

A third clone laughed. "Now that would've been a great joke."

"You really think that," Neji grimaced.

"Sure, you may be good, but you are only a human," the original Naruto frowned, while he made it himself comfortable by sitting down on the ground. Though minor, he could use some time to let his injuries heal. "All that crap about fate and destiny… You know nothing about me. Screw destiny! You only see your own pain and suffering. And because of that, you will lose. And you already knew that, or else you wouldn't have pulled of such a big move right at the start."

"He sure looks desperate," the first clone chuckled. "Scared Hyuga always look so amusing.."

"Perhaps that some pain will open those blind eyes of yours," the second clone smirked. "Would be a shame if you died without ever have seen the truth.."

Neji couldn't hold his anger back any longer, and lashed forward at the clone. The original Naruto erected a barrier around him, and watched leisurely as his clones engaged Neji. '_Hmmm… So he's really faster than Hinata-sama. An advantage in reach. Also more strength, though in comparison he is not as agile.. Much more straightforward. Though, that may also be because of his anger_,' Naruto mused, somewhat disappointed because of the promises he had made.

When Neji managed to take down seven of the nine clones, Naruto created five new ones. He had seen that Neji was careful not to touch the clone when attacking them, always keeping a layer of chakra between his own body and that of the clone. That was not something that surprise Naruto a lot. After all, Neji had seen how Lee was beaten by the clones with weight seals. Still, Naruto had yet to show what he could do..

The five new bunshin spread, and surrounded Neji. "Futon: renkudan," they shouted. Neji jumped back, avoiding the several windbullets, and using chakra to break through those that would hit him. Though, Neji was not able to avoid a minor cut on his hand, as the sharp and thin chakra pierced his defence.

"Damn," Neji mumbled, noticing that the five clones had surrounded him again, while the remaining two of the first batch now charged at him.

Naruto was a bit surprised that the supposed genius allowed himself to be surrounded so easily. Not that the previous attack was lethal, as he had used far too little chakra for that, but still. '_What is he hiding?'_ Naruto pondered.

With five fireballs coming at him, and the two annoying clones trying to grab him, Neji had only one option left. "Hakkesho kaiten!" he barked, created an impenetrable and spinning dome of chakra around him.

Naruto frowned as he saw his two clones getting dispelled after they were thrown back, and the fireballs failed to do any damage. He narrowed his eyes as he thought of a way to break that defence. '_He pushed chakra from his entire body, and then started spinning… with that byakugan of his, he would block any attack from all directions_,' Naruto sighed. '_Though.. That little trick must've consumed quite some chakra, just look at him.. He's already panting slightly. Still, it's a nice surprise to see something new like this.'_

Naruto created three new clones, and as they moved forward the other five jumped back. Seeing Neji frown at the new clones, Naruto smirked. "Try blocking this one, Mister Genius."

Neji's eyes widened as he saw the concentrated chakra on the new clones, and was barely fast enough to create another sphere to defend against three great explosions.

"The weight seal isn't the only one which I can use in combination with my kage bunshin no jutsu," Naruto said lazily, when the smoke around the dishevelled Neji lifted. "Though, these bunshin can only use the infernal seal on a quarter of its real strength. Forfeit now, Neji."

"Never!" Neji's shouted with a furious expression.

Again, he was forced to use the kaiten to block the explosions from the five remaining kage bunshin which now jumped at him.

* * *

"No.. Naruto, don't do this," Hinata whispered, her eyes wide.

"He seems to be winning quite easily," Kiba frowned, not understanding his teammate's concern.

"I didn't want to.. I asked him not to kill…" Hinata started, before she sighed in relief as her cousin appeared again.

* * *

"I'll never… I'll show the main family.." Neji coughed, left on his knees due to the violent explosions.

"You know, I had just been planning to use my clones to beat you. I thought that would be enough of a humiliation for you, to know that I can defeat you without even lifting my own fingers at you," Naruto said as he casually walked over. Genma looked curiously, and saw he did not yet have to end the match. Yet.

"I know about that seal on your head," Naruto continued, with a cold and unforgiving tone. "The ones which the main family use to enslave the branch. To tell you the truth, I think they are repulsive. But I do not see any difference in the way the branch reacts. Blind hatred is no answer. You merely give them the excuse to continue like that, and to repress you even further. You idiots lower yourself to their level.."

Neji grimaced, and stood up. Still looking defiantly. "What do you know about anything," he snarled.

"Enough!" Naruto exclaimed as he kicked the Hyuga down. This time, his expression changed completely, allowing his rage to surface.

"I know more about being cursed by seals than you would even know! But all of that does not matter now," Naruto lunged forward and punched Neji in the gut. "It doesn't matter what reasons you think you had, Hinata-sama did _nothing_ wrong against you. Just like she never wanted to harm the branch. But you failed to see. She could just have activated that seal on that empty head of yours, and executed you on the spot, but she did not."

"She," Naruto said as he punched Neji again. "Begged me," another hit. "Not to kill you." Neji fell over after the last hit, and Naruto walked away.

Neji stood up, a bit unsteady due to the hits he had taken, and looked at Naruto. "What?" he asked, as a blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. "Why would she?"

"I've sworn to her that I would kill you," Naruto looked Neji in the eyes. The Hyuga winced back as he looked into the now crimson eyes that burned with a rage that simply was not humane any more. "But she begged me to break my word.."

"I wanted to rip you apart! For your arrogance. Your cowardice. I wanted to shatter your arms! Tear out your eyes! Hinata couldn't help it. She had no part in what was done to you and every other member of the branch! She hates it as much as you do, and still you tried to kill her. NO!" Naruto growled. "I will _never_ forgive you for that!"

Naruto's hands ignited and the flames around his fists turned into claws.

Neji paled as he realized the truth. "You!?" he exclaimed, as he tried to back away. But Neji had no chance.. One of the fiery claws flew forward and ripped Neji's head protector away.

Naruto dashed forward and his claws tore at Neji's chest, the flames immediately scorching and close the wounds. Leaving scars that would never go away. Neji trembled. Trembling because of the blinding pain. But even more.. Trembling because of this fear.

How could his opponent have such levels of chakra.

How could it have been _him_.

'_You said that death was my fate.. Now I see how you could say that_,' Neji thought as Naruto again moved forward. Crippled by the pain, Neji couldn't even stand any more. There was no way out.. Down on his knees, he was humiliated in front of everyone. _'I'm going to die..' _flashed through his head.

"Never forget that you owe Hinata-sama your life," Naruto growled with a deep and inhuman voice.

"Your life, _and_ your freedom," Naruto said as he put his other hand on Neji's forehead, burning away his seal. Anything Neji had called pain before paled in comparison to this. As he felt the skin melt, the Hyuga prodigy lost his consciousness, screaming in pain.

"In my absence, you shall take my place.." Naruto whispered. "Or you _will_ die.."

* * *

The audience screamed in shock as Genma jumped forward to catch Neji. The jonin shouted at Naruto, scolding him for the excessive violence. Naruto merely shrugged. "I've won the match, haven't I?" he said coldly.

Genma could not deny that, so Naruto walked back to the waiting room, the audience left speechless. The genius from the Hyuga, the strongest clan of Konoha, was disposed of as if he was a mere academy student.

He had been nothing to Naruto.

Even Rock Lee was pale and speechless. "That was a bit.. Violent," Choji frowned. "Doesn't quite seem like Naruto at all.."

"How much was Naruto holding back against me.." Lee whispered.

"Who knows how strong that guy is," Sakura sneered. "You see what he did. He is just like that Gaara. They are monsters, not like any normal genin!"

Little did she know, about how right she actually was.

* * *

As Naruto walked up the stairs, he heard the audience starting to stir again. '_Now they've seen..'_ Naruto sighed. '_And what will they do next? It doesn't matter anymore. I won't become like Neji. No matter what they do to me, I refuse to hate them because of it. If I have to follow an example, it will be that of Hinata. She had the strength to forgive Neji, she knew how misguided he was.'_

'_I'll never give in to this weakness again, hatred only breeds more hatred. Even if I have to break my own word, I will have to do the right thing. Even if that means I have to go against my own biases. I will no longer spend my days hating those who hate me. I will be better than them. And I'll show them all!'_

* * *

Jiraiya swallowed before he spoke. "He defeated Neji, and did not use it's chakra.." he softly spoke to his Hokage.

Hiruzen nodded. "But this display.. He did not make it any better for himself," he whispered back.

The Mizukage looked curiously at them, while the Kazekage was engaged in a whispering discussion with one of his guards. Mei realized that between the two of them, Naruto had shown far more skill and restraint than Gaara had in the first match, as if Gaara relied much more on the demon inside him. '_With that skill in the kage bunshin no jutsu, as well as both futon and katon…This Naruto will become far more dangerous than even Zabuza expected.. And what truly scares me is that he was still holding back.'_

* * *

"That jutsu.. Is Naruto-kun truly the one who..?" Hinata turned at Haruki, who bowed his head. "Is he.."

"Yes," he said with a soft and sad tone.

"What?" Kiba frowned, looking at the three Hyuga who each had a different expression on their face. Hinata was shocked by something, Haruki seemed sad as if regretted something, while Ako had a fierce and almost proud expression. "What's going on? Naruto won, right?"

"You don't understand, blunderhead-two-leg," Chie said on an unusual serious tone. "Konoha will not understand, but the Hyuga clan will be shaken to its core.. They will be petrified now.. They should be."

* * *

**A/N:** But what did Naruto do? I'll reveal it in the next chapter! Hopefully at the end of next week. I apologize for ending with another cliff-hanger.. But at least I got this one out a day sooner than planned. Thank BentShuriken for urging me to hurry up ^^

Also: I want to give a big **thank you** for all those who took the time and effort to leave reviews (and PM's)! And an even bigger thank you for all those who are willing to share their ideas on fuinjutsu with me, as I had asked for in the previous chapter. If there are more ideas, please share!

-Z-

PS: I hope I did not disappoint anyone about letting Neji live, though I know at least a few of you wanted Neji to die. Long ago, when I started planning out this story, I wanted Naruto to execute Neji in front of everyone, but that turned out to be a little too brutal. And would (and should) have its consequences for Naruto too, I mean: it would only have confirmed the fears that people had about Naruto.. Besides, it turned out that I needed Neji later on, after I had made several changes to the storyline.

**Edited: 01/03/2015**


	29. Tears from the past

**Chunin Exams arc**

**Tears from the past**

* * *

"This.. So he is the one who… you knew this?" Hiashi asked his wife, upon seeing her expression.

"I had suspected that it was him, yes," Hitomi admitted. "I told you before: we owe that boy a debt we can never repay."

"So why did he… they were after Hinata," Hiashi guessed before finishing his sentence.

"Yes, I assume they were. It would make sense. They would be after her, or after Hanabi, or me. I do not know for sure. He doesn't talk about it, and I have never asked. You know how he is."

"But surely you could have.."

"Even to my eyes, that boy is an enigma. He is quite competent in hiding himself, in case you did not notice that up till now."

"But Haruki. And Ako. They have to know about this.." Hiashi frowned, wondering if they had betrayed the clan.

"My cousin is loyal to that boy, Hiashi," Hitomi warned him. "The same goes for her. I suspect she got involved in a plot that was thwarted by Naruto. We know the boy can sense malice, so his trust in her should be sufficient, right?"

Hiashi grimaced, and massaged his forehead. Too many things happened all at once. He would question Naruto once this exam was over, but first he needed to focus on his brother. Hizashi's behaviour could not be left without repercussions. Hiashi could never allow _this _kind of transgressions.

* * *

"H-hey, what is going on?" Kiba was completely confused, as were Karin and Akamaru, who whined softly. Hinata had burst into tears for some reason they could not understand.

"There are a few things about Naruto that you should know now," Haruki said with a grim expression, and similar voice. "First of all, how he entered the Hyuga clan, because he saved Hinata-sama's life."

"I.. I heard a few things about that, yes," Kiba frowned. "She was kidnapped when she was but a child," he added when he saw Karin's look. "Naruto somehow helped saving her. Because of that, the Hyuga clan allowed Naruto to stay on the Hyuga complex, rather than sending him back to the orphanage he came from."

"Yes," Haruki nodded. "That's the gist of it. But what you probably do not know is that Naruto always felt like it was Hinata who saved _him_. Because he met her, he escaped the orphanages, and found a safe haven from all the hatred he was confronted with here in Konoha. His loyalty…"

Ako continued when Haruki paused, as he did not know how to continue. "Hinata-sama's position within the clan is a point of conflict. Many believe she is not suitable as the next head, especially the conservatives who see her mother's influence in her. That is why there had been a few… Accidents.. Well, over the years there were a few incidents, but the last two years nothing really happened."

"Nothing happened to Hinata-sama," Haruki continued with a frown, "But there were some other people in our clan that disappeared, or found dead. All of the dead shared one common characteristic: they suffered horrible burns and they all had the throats torn open, as if some wild animal had clawed at their bodies..."

"Wait… you don't want to say that…" Kiba uttered. "Those blazing claws? Naruto's jutsu? Is he.."

"Nearly two years ago," Ako cut him off. "A member of the main house forced me to add _something_ to Hinata-sama's food…" Ako sighed. "That man used my seal to force me to obey, and even though I knew it was wrong I _had_ to do it, because he threatened to kill my brother, who guarded Hinata-sama. That is why they used me, because Ko would never have suspected me. But Naruto interfered. He killed the man, and turned to me with… with red eyes. I thought I was going to die, just like that man from the main family. There was so much anger in those eyes. I knew I would die, just like how others from the branch had disappeared before. But Naruto said I was not to be blamed. That I was innocent… he made me swear that I would never tell anyone about this, unless he revealed it himself."

A single tear dripped from Ako's cheek. "And now he has shown the world his claws…"

"W-Why did he never.. Why did Naruto-kun never tell anyone?" Hinata asked with a quivering voice.

"He knew that these incidents were related, that it would be better if he remained in the shadows. Naruto knew he did not have the power to confront those who intended to hurt you directly," Haruki sighed. "He was too weak back then. But apparently he thinks things have changed. I warned him, back when I found out. I saw him, his arms drenched in blood. I knew that people would not believe him, because of his burden. Especially when people of much greater influence and reputation were involved."

"T-Then why.. Why did he kill.."

"He didn't kill anyone who did not deserve it," Ako said sharply.

"Calm down Ako," Haruki gestured. "Naruto never killed for the glory of it. He lived his life alone, so he never felt any reason to boast about his actions. I do not even know how many times he intervened. He always refused to talk about it. I know that several people have been found murdered, and even more have disappeared without a trace..."

"He did that.. Why? How did he get away.." Kiba frowned. "That stealth seal of his?"

"Yes," Haruki nodded. "No one ever saw him coming because of the stealth seal. That is also how he found out about the various schemes.. But still, I made him promise not to do anything unless it was to save lives. Well, your life that was, Hinata-sama."

"Why me," Hinata sniffed. "Why.."

"Naruto has always faced injustice," Ako frowned. "So much that he cannot tolerate it any longer when he sees others suffering the same fate. He says it doesn't bother him how people treat him, that he doesn't expect anything from others. But you all know better. Even though he never really talks about how he feels.."

Kiba nodded slowly, as he recalled how Naruto began to change after it was revealed who he really was. The silent and withdrawn boy had shown more of his gentle and friendly side. Even though Kiba was still thoroughly disturbed by the ease at which Naruto killed his opponents. They all had been prepared to take lives, during their education on the academy, but actually killing someone.. Small wonder Naruto was hardly disturbed by it, if he had already been fighting like this long before he even finished the academy. While the others were playing, pretending to be ninja, Naruto had been doing the real thing…

"I still don't get it.. Why Hinata.. Why is she a target?" Kiba grimaced.

"There is a large gap between the main house and the branch. While they are related in blood, one group rules over the other, and the latter act as little more than servants or slaves. We are bound by the seals that were put on her foreheads, so we are at the mercy of those who can invoke it," Haruki explained.

"With a single command an elder of the clan could kill us," Ako said with her annoyance clearly visible. "They abuse that power often enough, and the branch hates them for that. That hatred has only grown through the generations, while the answer of the main house has always been the same: increase their oppression."

"What does this have to do with it?" Karin asked.

"Hitomi-sama. She is the one who keeps Hiashi-sama more.. Lenient. That is why some of the elders wish her to die, but they are not able to touch her that easily. No one can touch Hitomi, without incurring the wrath of her husband. So they turn to the heir, the girl who resembles her mother so much," Haruki said harshly.

Hinata looked up with her teary eyes.

"You are as gentle as she always was," Haruki smiled gently, as he rummaged through her hair. "The elders fear that more than anything. If you assumed your righteous position.. They believe you would not allow the current system to remain. Your rule would destroy the foundation of their power, and would leave them unprotected against the branch's hatred. But when they look at your sister, they see the same sternness as Hiashi-sama often displays."

"And sadly, the branch is too stupid to see what is going on, and most are just consumed by a blind hatred at all those who do not have they heads marked. Like Neji," Ako added.

"They can't help it," Hinata said. "Neji is a victim, just like… that's why.. That's why I asked N-Naruto-kun not to kill him. H-He said he w-wanted to.." she stammered. "When he visited me in the hospital, he said he had sworn to kill Neji, in order to take revenge for what Neji had done to me."

"And you stopped him," Haruki said gently.

"I.. I asked him to.. He p-promised me he would not kill Neji."

"Nothing is ever simple with that guy, is it?" Kiba sighed, while Akamaru whined.

* * *

'_So Naruto was behind all those that went missing or were found dead.. I always suspected that they were after Hinata,'_ Hiashi contemplated, taking the circumstances into account. '_Though, to think he went that far… did I still feel prejudice because of the Kyuubi no Kitsune? I should not have done that. His skill as a shinobi is far beyond anything I had expected. He toyed with Neji, yet that boy is a true genius, with a potential likely even greater than my own. How often did I not wish for him to be my own son, instead of Hizashi's? The jokes of fate are truly cruel.. The perfect heir is just there, but I have no choice but to punish him for breaking our laws_,' Hiashi sighed. '_Brother.. Why did you create this mess? Why do you force me into this position?'_

* * *

'_So.. Neji's seal is defused for now..'_ Naruto thought. '_I should've infused sufficient chakra to make it last for a few years. Good thing I caught those idiots from the branch over the years..'_ Naruto grimaced. On several occasions, he had captured members of the branch who tried to harm Hinata. Because of the complexity, and the drastic consequences of failure, it had taken Naruto several 'attempts' before he could alter the cursed seal without having the subject die. It still, however, required an extremely painful method, but at least they lived. If things went according to plan, Neji would be free from the grasp of the main family, at least for as long as Naruto's chakra lasted.

Naruto doubted he could fully remove the cursed seal, at least not without either killing or permanently blinding the branch member.. And not when he did not have access to the methods the Hyuga used to seal their branch members. But this temporary freedom was better than nothing. After all, if Naruto had to leave Konoha with Jiraiya, Hinata was left unguarded. And Neji was skilled enough to do the job. And he would be the last one anyone expected to be her guard.

Well, not that Naruto trusted Neji, in the contrary. But Naruto knew one thing: Neji desired to be free from the branch. He desired that more than anything. And now, Naruto offered him two paths where he could gain freedom. First of all, if Hinata would become head of the Hyuga clan, Naruto believed that she would dismantle the entire cursed seal system. Secondly, as long as Naruto was willing to add chakra into Neji's now broken seal, their seal would not work. And as an added bonus, Naruto believed that I would be impossible for the main family to apply a new seal, because the old one was technically still there, even if Naruto broke it.

'_Though I suppose it would be too optimistic to believe that the branch might side with Hinata.. Or me_,' Naruto considered, as he once again thought about the consequences. '_I might offer the branch a way out, but I bet that there aren't that many people who want to be burned that way. Besides, the main might buy it if I said that busting Neji's seal was an accident, as I merely wanted to punish him.. But if they knew I was deliberately tampering with the seal.. I bet they wouldn't be all too happy_,' Naruto chuckled darkly.

"Ah well.. First I have to wait and see if Neji is smart enough to accept my offer," Naruto mumbled. '_Can always kill him if he refuses.. After all, I honoured Hinata's request by not killing him today. But that request does not forbid me to possibly honour my own promise by killing him later, if necessary..'_ Naruto considered, feeling that the Kyuubi was amused by Naruto's way of thinking.

Whatever the Kyuubi may have been, Naruto knew it would not tolerate evil to exist.

'_Perhaps it doesn't want the competition_,' Naruto smirked.

* * *

"You two-legs should've paid more attention to the battle," Chie sighed after the group had been discussion Naruto's actions for a while, mostly ignoring what happened down below. "That bun-hair-two-leg pushed the cloaky-two-leg into a corner."

"Wait.. Bun-hair.. Who.." Kiba frowned. "You mean Tenten? Did she push Shino? Damn… Shino is quite good, so that's no easy feat!"

"Cloaky was forced to create some kind of bug barrier around him, to avoid being hit by bun girl's weapons," the cat continued. "Bun-two-leg pulled out a mace. And if I'm not mistaken she used whisker-two-leg's seal on that thing."

"She did," Haruki nodded. "She applied the weight seal on that mace, and knocked Shino out."

"S-Shino lost?" Hinata blinked.

"Not really," the cat shook her head. "It was a draw. Bun-two-leg had her chakra sucked dry during the fight, and she only used the last of her reserves to activate the seal. Bun-two-leg fell down when she landed, so they were both unable to continue."

Karin sighed. "I'm glad I did not have to continue. I wouldn't have had a chance against these people.."

"Have a little faith, loud-red-two-leg," Chie rebuked. "Anyway, the next match is already in progress. The grumpy-two-leg against a… is it male or female two-leg? Hmpf, I can't even see the difference. Neuter-two-leg it is.."

* * *

Just like the last time, Haku seemed to prefer keeping his distance from opponents. Sasuke already knew that the boy was a mid-range fighter, but getting close was surprisingly difficult. Sasuke was not too eager to show off the progress he made, not so soon. He knew he needed to hold back something, but this opponent needed to pay for the previous match.

'_Damn.. I can't afford to hold back against Haku any longer,'_ Sasuke gritted his teeth. '_I know Kakashi said to only show my speed when I would face Naruto or Gaara, but this guy.. I can't catch him. He's too fast and too nimble.'_

Considering his options, Sasuke decided to go full speed. At first, it seemed to work, as Haku only narrowly managed to avoid Sasuke's attacks.

"Seems like we have reached the same stalemate," Haku smiled. "Hyoton: demonic ice mirrors."

This went as Sasuke had expected, and because of that he was able to jump outside of the dome of ice mirrors. With his sharingan activated, Sasuke had easily seen the jutsu coming.

"That all you got? I thought you were faster than that," Sasuke smirked.

Haku looked at his opponent and wondered why the Uchiha tried to taunt him like this. Though the boy had certainly improved significantly since the last time they had fought. Certainly enough to justify the use of the demonic ice mirrors again. Previously, it had been more because Haku wanted to speed things up, because Zabuza might have been in need of his assistance.

But for some reason, the Uchiha did not seem to be bothered by the jutsu that defeated him so easily last time.

"Why the confidence?" Haku asked calmly.

Sasuke smirked, and started his jutsu. "Chidori," he said, as he charged at the mirrors nearest to him, and shattered three before stepping inside Haku's domain. With his sharingan active, he had seen how much chakra Haku had expended on the mirrors. And now it was all wasted, and Sasuke had the initiative.

Haku stepped out of one of the nearby mirrors and frowned when he saw the confident expression on Sasuke's face. "You know.. Last time, I did not even fight you with the intent to kill, so I do not understand why you think you've won with just that…"

Haku casually walked towards Sasuke. "Hyoton: frozen mist," he said.

With his sharingan still active, Sasuke saw the mirrors shatter and dissolve, spreading through the air. The moment he charged forward to attack Haku, the mist in front of the boy tightened up and formed a dome of ice protecting. Sasuke smirked. '_As if such a stupid thing will stop me..'_

Throwing out a large fireball, Sasuke charged at the dome.

Only for the dome to shatter in pieces, revealing that Haku had vanished.

"What the.." Sasuke mumbled, looking around him in order to find his opponent. But the frozen mist also spread out chakra, effectively blocking Sasuke's view, as his sharingan was rendered useless.

"Did you think I would just wait for you to attack me?" Haku's voice sounded, somewhere from the mist. "You attack head-on, but don't seem to really have the patience to think of a proper strategy. I am actually disappointed that the rumoured Uchiha genius is not capable of more than this. I could understand the first time you lost, considering my advantage. But this time… you knew your enemy."

"SHUT UP!" Sasuke roared. "Katon: Hosenka no jutsu!"

Launching a volley of smaller fireballs, Sasuke tried to rip apart the mist. But it was pointless. Haku sighed at simply stepped forward, revealing his position. "You know, you really are stronger than I am, and still you are losing like this.."

Sasuke's answer was performing the chidori.

Haku shook his head as he saw Sasuke, with his chidori in front of him, charge right at him. With a single gesture, Haku created a single mirror in front of himself. Thinking Haku was cowering behind such a weak defence, Sasuke smirked and charged on.

Falling right into the mirror.

This had not been a mirror like the one Haku had used before, ones which only Haku could enter, but rather one that everyone could enter or leave. Well, _if_ they had Haku's permission. And with permission, Sasuke had entered the mirror.

"Proud fool," Haku whispered, looking at the trapped Uchiha. '_But this jutsu drains too much of my chakra to sustain it much longer, whatever he may be, his chakra reserves certainly exceed my own by a large margin.. Though.. Not nearly as much as Naruto-san. Still, if I continue this too long, he will break free..'_

As such, Haku turned the mirror, created another set of icy senbon, and released Sasuke.

Disoriented, Sasuke barely had the time to stand up, before Haku hit him with his senbon.

Paralysed, Sasuke fell down.

Beaten again..

* * *

Sakura gasped for air when she saw Haku form dozens of icy senbons and pierce the trapped Sasuke. She could not fathom that Sasuke.. _The_ Sasuke would lose. Especially not to another genin. She ignored her inner voice which pointed at Naruto being stronger, and apologized to Lee and Choji before she ran down to the infirmary. Sure, she knew Haku had won last time, but Sakura had believed that Sasuke had been tricked somehow. Well, not that she knew the details, because he pertinently refused to talk about that day.

'_Surely, Sasuke will be happy to see me,'_ she thought. Though, any other would have warned her to stay away from the wounded Uchiha. Because, it would be his pride that was wounded the most, after being defeated in front of everyone.

* * *

"That was.. Unexpected," Shikamaru groaned. "Dammit. Now I have to go down there."

Naruto looked at the lazy genin, the only one who dared to get close to him after he had walked up. Though Gaara had not stopped staring at him, but his siblings stood between them.

"Perhaps, but Haku defeated Sasuke before," Naruto shrugged. "I'd say Sasuke has grown quite a lot, to be able to push Haku this much. As for that puppet guy.. Well, the easiest method seems to be to aim at the guy himself, not at his puppets. He doesn't seem the taijutsu kind of guy."

"I know that," Shikamaru grimaced. "But thanks anyway," he sighed. "Dammit, all you guys put up amazing fights, and now they expect something like that from someone as lame as me too…"

"We all have different talents. It's not like only the winner gets promoted, right? Just impress the old man," Naruto patted Shikamaru on his shoulder. "And don't forget that it would be even more 'troublesome' if you had to take this exam a second time," Naruto chuckled, causing the lazy genin to scowl.

* * *

"The next match will be between Kankuro of Sunagakure and Nara Shikamaru of Konoha," Genma announced, wondering why they had not shown up yet. "Report down here in two minutes, or you'll be disqualified according to the standard procedures."

Shikamaru turned and started to walk to the stairs when Kankuro spoke up. "I forfeit the match," he shouted at Genma. "My puppets got damaged during the preliminaries, and I did not have the chance to properly repair them."

Naruto looked at the painted genin. He did not have the byakugan, but he didn't need it to see that Kankuro was lying. This was not the type of guy who couldn't repair his tools if he had a whole month of time to do it. This guy was no amateur, but rather someone completely obsessed with his puppets.. There had to be another reason why forfeited… '_What is Sunagakure planning?'_ he frowned.

Shikamaru had similar thoughts, and he looked at Naruto who answered his suspicions. "This isn't good," the blond whispered. Shikamaru nodded and turned towards Ino, who now had her match against the other sand sibling, Temari.

"Be careful," he warned Ino as she passed by. He knew she was happy to face Temari, so she could 'avenge' Choji, but he agreed with Naruto: something did not add up. '_The strange actions from Naruto.. The preparations from nearly all the jonin in our village who seem to expect _something_ to happen.. That psychopath Gaara.. And now this guy who forfeits for some implausible reason. __What is Sunagakure planning to do?'_

* * *

"Start!" Genma shouted.

Temari looked at her opponent and smiled. "Too easy, they should've given me a proper opponent," she sneered as she fully opened her war fan. Knowing that the opponent had seen her strongest jutsu, and that the older kunoichi was also likely stronger at taijutsu, Ino leaped backwards, but was too late. "Futon: kazekiri no jutsu!" was the last she heard before a giant wave of wind blew her away.

Genma ended the match after the unconscious Ino slipped down from the wall in which she had crashed.

* * *

"Woah," Shikamaru exclaimed with his eyes wide open.

"That was rather vicious," Naruto frowned. "Damn, fighting her would be rather _troublesome_, don't you think?" he added sarcastically, looking at Shikamaru.

"Laugh it out," Shikamaru replied with an exasperated tone, knowing he had to face her in the next round. "Damn, I think I could just as well forfeit, like you…"

"Who ever said that I would forfeit?" Naruto smirked.

"But the jonin said.."

"I know," Naruto nodded. "But it's not like I care."

"You should be careful though, even you, Uzumaki-san," Haku said as he walked towards them. Gaara had already disappeared in a cloud of said, reappearing down on the ground. "Sabaku no Gaara will be no ordinary opponent."

Naruto stretched out, and smiled a bit. "Thanks for your concern Haku, but I'll probably be fine. I'm not that ordinary either.."

He looked around and gestured him and Shikamaru to get closer. "I would not be surprised if Sunagakure does something strange once the match in on its way. You both should be careful, and if it is necessary, make sure that Temari and Kankuro do not try to help them," Naruto whispered to Haku and Shikamaru. "I know you're not from Konoha, Haku, but I trust you would aid us. After all, Miss Mizukage wanted to improve the relations between Konoha and Kiri."

"I know," Haku whispered back. "Mizukage-sama has issued her.. Orders regarding the situation."

"And about Temari.. It might be that she does not want to attack you. But make sure she doesn't aid the ones attacking Konoha."

* * *

"Oh no.." Hinata paled, when she saw Gaara appear on the floor. "Next match… N-Naruto-kun."

"So that is Sabaku no Gaara," Haruki was impressed, after he shortly activated his byakugan, something which he rarely did these days, as his tormented body could hardly sustain it. "No wonder Naruto was so agitated…"

"Kurenai-sensei said he had a plan," Kiba frowned. "But what could he do? Naruto is not as fast as that Kumo girl earlier."

"We must believe in him," Ako said. "No matter how strong this Gaara is, Naruto will win."

Hinata nodded, but couldn't help but feeling worried. She knew that only Gaara could fight Naruto as an equal..

* * *

As Naruto walked down the stairs, he met Temari. "Temari-san, don't look so worried," he frowned.

"How could I not be worried? I've seen Gaara… I know what he can do," she stood there and appeared much more fragile than Naruto had ever seen her up till now. "And.."

'_She hides just as much as I do,'_ Naruto realized, when he considered that her confident attitude was just an act. "If you want to help me, make sure no one interferes. I'm sure neither the Kazekage nor Orochimaru give a crap about Gaara's wellbeing, or they would never have put him here.."

He looked at the girl's expression and knew his fears were right. "I see… When do you guys plan to make your move," Naruto sighed.

"I.. I don't know.. We only heard yesterday," Temari's voice nearly broke. "They.. Father.. He just plans to use Gaara as a weapon.. As something disposable.. How could he?"

"You guys are shinobi," Naruto stated. "While Gaara and I are jinchuriki. But these are just words, pointing at the fact that other people want to use us as tools. I'd say we are all human beings, with the right to make up our own minds. I don't want to be seen as a monster, or a tool. And I bet you don't want to get your little brother killed.."

Temari shook her head. "No matter what he is, Gaara is still my little brother…"

"Then make the right choice," Naruto said, as he turned away to walk down. He knew he would risk his life, but at least it would be the right thing to do.

'_Whether it is killing or being killed.. Life only has meaning when we do the right thing. Just like Haku said: we can only be truly strong when we protect what we hold dear.'_

Naruto looked down at his stomach when he felt the Kyuubi's agitation. "And with you, we have an eight tail advantage," Naruto smirked.

* * *

**A/N**: First day of the month: time for a new chapter, don't you agree?

I wanted to give Temari some more 'human' traits, in her case her concerns about her brother. I know she has the more or less "tough girl" act in the manga, but I think people usually act tough to hide their concerns. Her confusion about the orders she got, the loyalty to her father, and imminent fall of her brother – who is expected to release his bijuu when ordered – only uncovered these doubts. Though, do not expect that I will write an emo-Temari..

She obviously has her reasons to doubt her father!

Again, thanks to all who responded after last chapter. I am indeed very honoured to receive so many great reviews! It truly keeps writing fun. So, I hope I can manage to keep you all entertained. Especially because the climax of the Chunin Exams has yet to come..

Well, that's all for this week folks, next chapter: "**Sabaku no Gaara**"

-Z-

**Edited: 03/03/2015**


	30. Sabaku no Gaara

**Chunin Exams arc**

**Sabaku no Gaara**

* * *

He clenched his fists as he saw the boy walk forward. "Hang in there kid.." Jiraiya whispered. Hiruzen looked at him, and felt sympathy for his former student. Naruto had to take an awful risk, while no one could help him. Not without causing some kind of incident with Sunagakure..

Yet, Jiraiya felt proud. There he was, his student, his _godson_, walking up towards an opponent that frightened even many of the jonin, yet there was not a shred of fear to be seen on Naruto. His green kimono made it obvious to most of the people in Konoha that he was Jiraiya's student, the only one with similar clothing. Yet Naruto had given it his own feeling, by adding symbols of his clan and Konoha to the shoulders, and his should guards and hand guards. In Jiraiya's eyes, the only thing that was missing was a good looking cloak. But he knew that the boy would earn his own cloak soon enough, once he started training under Fukasaku and the other toads.

"The kid has the looks, now all he needs to do is prove himself," he mumbled to himself.

* * *

"Don't look so upset.. Even dad has faith in the kid," Asuma tried to comfort Kurenai who looked worried as her student had to face Gaara.

"Perhaps… I know Naruto hides much of his ability, but this Gaara.. He worries me."

They stood at the edge, watching over the audience as most jonin had their guard duties assigned to them. Luckily, Hiruzen had been very considerate and gave those whose students participated in the finals a place in the arena.

Several meters from both jonin, Lee and Choji discussed the upcoming match. "I told you: Shikamaru said Naruto would win," Choji frowned, as he seemingly tried to create a new record for the quickest consumption of a bag of snacks. Not that he would easily beat the record set by his grandfather, though.

"I know Naruto-san is strong. But his opponent is Gaara, and he gives me the creeps," Lee admitted. "By the way, why is Sakura-chan so unyouthful towards Naruto-san?"

"Beats me," Choji shrugged. "She never hid her dislike of him, even at the academy.. I mean, at times she even tried to hit him, even if he didn't do anything to her. But after he left team seven… Ino once mentioned Naruto did something bad when they were at a mission abroad, but she couldn't figure out what."

"You think she is angry that he left?"

"Maybe, but she seems rather scared of him, if you ask me. Not that I know why… Naruto may not be the social kind of guy, but he's actually quite a friendly once you get to know him."

Lee's giant brows dived down as he tried to figure out what was going on. A great many people had been hoping for Naruto to lose, when he had his match against Neji. The amount of hatred towards Naruto was unreasonable, even if Neji was from one of the most prominent clans of Konoha.

* * *

"Ok, both of you remember the rules, right?" Genma asked, drawing the attention of both Gaara and Naruto. "And.. Usually, I don't have to say this, but in your cases: the fight is bound to the arena itself, if any of you gets outside you will be disqualified."

Naruto frowned, and then nodded. Gaara just stood there, impassively, staring at his opponent.

"Right then… let the second round begin!" Genma announced, before he quickly jumped away from the boys.

* * *

"My lady, Haku signalled," Zabuza whispered as he bowed towards his Mizukage.

She sighed. "So it is as I had feared. We will stick to the plan."

"But.. My lady, if we.."

"No arguments, Zabuza. I made a promise on behalf of Kirigakure, and I intent to keep that promise. We must do everything for the sake of Kiri, no matter our own wishes," she silently cut him off. "You know what to do once it starts. They will never expect it, though.."

Zabuza nodded and stepped back again. Days like these made him wonder if he made the right choice when he returned to Kirigakure.

* * *

"Temari… Did you see the look on Gaara's face?" Kankuro whispered worriedly. "He's losing it.. What is father.."

"Kazekage-sama gave his orders," Temari sighed. "We can only watch. Or that's what we are supposed to."

"What were you doing with that blond brat anyway?"

Temari turned towards her brother with a look that sent shivers to his spine. "Are you loyal to your family, or to Suna?"

"W.. What?"

"Do you want to kill our little brother for the sake of our village? Do you trust father?"

"G-Gaara? You know what I think about him.. You've never seen him when he… what's wrong with you Temari?"

She sighed. "Never mind." She had not expected her brother to think the situation through. He was too obsessed with his fear for Gaara, and blindly trusted their father to make the right decisions. It would be up to her to make sure the Uzumaki could do what he promised.

Or at least be the one to kill the Uzumaki if he ended up breaking his word.

* * *

Gaara bowed his head slightly, and his cold demeanour changed into a grimace of madness. Naruto jumped back once some send flew out of Gaara's gourd, but then looked with some confusion as Gaara grabbed his own head, as if he was in pain.

"Don't… Get so angry… Mother…" he panted, his eyes wide open.

"Eh? What's.." Naruto started, cut off when more and more sand rose up.

"I fed you some nasty blood earlier… I know mother, I'm sorry… Yes mother, this time.." Gaara looked up at Naruto, and the ferociousness startled Naruto. "This will be delicious."

* * *

Up in his chair, the Kazekage grasped the armrests of his chair. '_What is he doing.. Why is he starting the conversation now? It is too early… That idiot, did he forget about the plan? He should just make quick work of that blond brat and be done with it!'_

* * *

Gaara's entire body seemed to break down in spasms for a moment, and all the floating sand fell to the ground.

"Come.." Naruto shuddered as Gaara's voice had become completely emotionless and cold again. Whatever the boy had went through, it seemed like he had only fallen deeper into the darkness.

"It is that one-tailed loser," the Kyuubi growled inside Naruto. "He is trying to take control."

'_Do you still promise to help me?_'

"Against him? Yes."

'_And you swear you won't try to take over my body?_'

The Kyuubi growled. "I told you, you ingrate. You pathetic humans may break your words easily, but that doesn't mean that I have no honour. I'd rather swallow my pride then allow that one-tailed loser to defeat you. No way that I will allow his jinchuriki to be stronger."

'_Still the same thing about not wanting to die?'_ Naruto smirked.

"That too.. Now pay attention and don't waste my chakra, or I _will_ gobble you up, you little brat!"

Naruto smiled, it was a risk, but he knew that he would have to take it. "Kage bunshin no jutsu," he created five clones which darted towards Gaara. With the chakra the Kyuubi now provided, Naruto was sure that he would have an advantage over Gaara.

Even if Naruto had been forced to spent more chakra in his previous fight then expected. Despite everything, Neji was not a complete pushover.

Naruto recalled Samui's efforts to bypass Gaara's defences, and knew he would not be able to do the same thing. He was not as fast as she was, or people like Lee and Haku, and probably even Sasuke. No, Naruto's strong point was his chakra reserve. But against this opponent, that advantage would not mean as much as it usually did. Unless the Kyuubi was truly that much stronger than the Ichibi.

Naruto had thought this through multiple times in this past month: his best bet was his skill in ninjutsu and fuinjutsu. Though not the ones that would kill Gaara. Gaara, on the other hand, seemed to trust solely on his ability to manipulate sand, while Naruto had access to futon and katon jutsus, as well as an array of seals. Well, technically he could also the raiton jutsus, but his ability in those was still insufficient, especially against Gaara's defences. Not to mention that his numbing hands jutsu would require him to get close to Gaara.. Which wouldn't be the most intelligent move to make, when you know Gaara crushed his opponents as easily as someone else could break a twig.

* * *

Hinata held her breath as she saw the bunshin darted around Gaara, attacking with both fire and wind. But Gaara's sand defences were too strong.

Haruki frowned. "Why is he testing him? He should've seen this in Gaara's last fight," he mumbled.

"Perhaps he is preparing something bigger?" Kiba guessed, his sharp ears able to hear the man's soft spoken words.

* * *

"Hmm… so he can create sand bunshin?" Naruto mused, after a part of Gaara's sand barrier had taken shape and fought two of Naruto's bunshin. "Perhaps I should try the next thing.." he created two new bunshin, of which one dispelled immediately, sending its knowledge to the other clones.

Naruto took the scroll he carried on his left thigh and summoned a much larger scroll from it, as the six bunshin now darted around Gaara, evading his attacks and planting seals on the ground. The original Naruto took three pieces of paper from his back pockets, and set up a barrier. This barrier had been strong enough to survive a few hits from the legendary sannin Tsunade, so it should last for a while against Gaara too.

Gaara looked annoyed when he finally managed to catch one of the blond bunshin. Sure, the brat wasn't as nimble as that Kumo girl he fought before, but still.. "Enough of this," Gaara murmured as he spread out his arms, sacrificed his sand bunshin, and created five tentacles of sand which lunged at the remaining bunshin that dared to annoy him.

"Now!" Naruto shouted from his protected position. The bunshin charged forward, to their doom. But upon their 'death,' they exploded.

* * *

Genma flinched when he saw the series of explosions, which covered nearly half of the stage. '_Damn.. That Kyuubi brat..'_ he chewed on the senbon in his mouth. '_First he blew up those clones, and then he ignited those seals the clones had scattered around the sand brat.. Seriously, I should keep my distance or my clothes will become a damned mess!'_

* * *

Naruto wasn't very surprised that Gaara remained unharmed, after all it had just been a dozen of infernal seals that exploded around him. But by the looks of it, the explosions had torn away most of the outer layer defence, and even created several cracks in the layer of sand that Gaara had put on his body as armour. Naruto couldn't supress a smirk when he saw Gaara's annoyance. '_So he felt that one.. Good.'_

"I'm sorry mother!" Gaara suddenly screamed, and created a large wave of sand that crushed against Naruto's barrier.

"Tsk, did he think I wouldn't expect something like this?" Naruto frowned, putting his hand against the barrier which Gaara tried to crush by force. "Immolation seal, release," Naruto commanded, burning away the sand that surrounded him, while the barrier remained intact.

"Is that all?" Naruto mocked Gaara with a disappointed tone. "I had expected more from you, mister one.. Perhaps that shortage of tails explains the gap between us?"

Gaara growled and the sands started to shift, creating a sphere around Gaara.

"Great.. And now he has become a giant egg.." Naruto frowned. Though, the determined glare from Gaara, right before the sand hid him from Naruto's view, disturbed him.

"You idiot, you should be getting worried!" the Kyuubi exclaimed inside him.

'_What?'_

"He locked himself in so that he can start his transformation! Stop hanging back and take the initiative, moron."

'_What? I thought the transformation..'_

"It's not the same for every jinchuriki," the fox sighed with impatience. "Prepare that seal of yours, and I'll provide you the chakra you need to buy time. One more thing, if you can break that cocoon, you will disturb the transformation, rendering him defenceless."

'_Right, thank you, Kyuubi.'_

"Tsk, I don't need your thanks. Just beat Shukaku, if you want to thank me. Or even better, set me free."

Naruto smiled as he felt the demon's chakra flood his system. "You know I can't do that without killing myself, you bastard. We were both trapped by the fourth."

* * *

Haku frowned as he heard Kankuro swear the most terrible things. He looked at Shikamaru. "Seems like something is not going according to plan," Haku smiled.

* * *

Naruto created four new kage bunshin, who would prepare the jutsu he actually wanted to keep as a contingency, while he himself stepped forward to face the cocoon of sand. He grinned, and waved indifferently at the eye of sand that floated next to the cocoon. "Futon: kazekiri no jutsu!" the Naruto exclaimed, but frowned a bit when the attack had no effect.

"All right then.. Let's use some of the extra chakra. Futon: renkudan!" Naruto said calmly, putting a larger amount of both his own and the Kyuubi's chakra into the jutsu. The three massive bullets of air hit the cocoon, two of them created dents in the cocoon, while the third ricocheted and created significant damaged to the wall behind them.

"Damn.. Alright, next," Naruto shrugged, though getting a little annoyed. "Katon: gokakyu no jutsu."

The fireball was not strong enough to damage the cocoon, but this was never Naruto's intention: he used it to blind Gaara's artificial eye. Naruto threw a couple of kunai, with tags attached to them, into the cocoon surrounding Gaara. "Ok, let's see how he fares against this," Naruto frowned as he activated the weight seals attached to the kunai.

* * *

"Yes mother.."

"Yes"

"I will rip off his head, then I'll crack it open so you can eat the brain.."

"Huh?"

"Yes, the head.. Then tons of blood will flow out.. You can have all of it, mother.."

"Brother?"

"Is that why you hate him so much, mother?"

"Yes mother, I will destroy him, but why can't I play with him?"

"Don't you want him to suffer, mother?"

"I'm sorry you had to have so much patience.. I'm always a good boy, I'll do as you say… I will watch.."

"He is trying to damage me, mother."

"Kyahaha, yes mother, we are ready. He is too late now!"

* * *

"Finally," Naruto mumbled, when the weight seals caused the cocoon to crack. Some additional air bullets only sped up the crumbling of the barrier which kept Gaara safe. This barrier had been way stronger than he had expected.

"Ahahaha," Gaara emerged laughing manically, his right arm and face covered with black lines which spread further and further while Gaara continued laughing, still with his eyes closed.

"Idiot! You were too late," the Kyuubi growled. "Now burn him."

"No," Naruto shook his head. "Not yet, I have to try.."

Gaara's laughing changed in a shriek of pain, as his right arm transformed into a monstrous claw made out of sand. The sand, and the black lines, spread over the right half of his face as well, and when Gaara opened his eyes… Naruto shuddered when he saw the inhuman right eye.

"Come," Gaara growled, with a voice not his own. "Let me feel it! Fight me!"

"So this is what it looks like to see a jinchuriki…" Naruto felt some fear for the first time this match.

* * *

Bending over, Gaara grabbed the ground with his claw-shaped arm. Using its demonic strength, he charged forward at Naruto.

"Few…" Naruto whistled as he barely escaped, using the kawarimi no jutsu and sacrificing a clone. "At least preparations are complete.." he looked and nodded at the other bunshin, ordering them to dispel. Against an opponent of this strength it would be pointless to spread out his chakra over multiple clones, that was a basic rule that Jiraiya had stuffed in his head when Naruto first learned the jutsu.

"Are you afraid of me, Uzumaki Naruto?" Gaara screamed, making it obvious to Naruto that his demon had completely taken him over. "Do you fear my existence?!"

Naruto sighed, and started chuckling. Genma scrambled, knowing this would get out of control.

"Afraid of you?" Naruto smirked. "Now why would I have to do that? Did you forget who I am?" Naruto added, when the crimson chakra started to bubble around him. "A miserable one tailed idiot would threaten me?" Naruto laughed with a now inhuman voice, feeling the Kyuubi's influence grow, but trusting that the demon would not betray him. "Why would I even feel the slightest bit of fear?" he added with a mocking tone. Well, not that it mattered if the Kyuubi betrayed him at this point, as there would be no way that Naruto survived this battle on his own power.

"You will!" Gaara screamed, as his gourd disintegrated and the sand covered his legs and creating a hideous tail.

The ground trembled when both partially transformed jinchuriki clashed. Jiraiya grabbed Hiruzen's shoulder to prevent him from leaving his chair. The match was still going on, according to regulations. Intervention would be a violation of the terms of the Chunin Exams. But as much as they knew this, it was still difficult to stand at the side-lines this battle unfolded.

A battle unlike anyone had ever seen before in any of the previous chunin-exams.

This was no longer a battle between humans. This was a battle between jinchuriki.

* * *

Orochimaru silently cursed that his servants had not finished yet. He knew that once Gaara reached this stage, full transformation would be imminent. But they were not ready. How he regretted not slitting his employer's throat and taking control of the operation himself. If only it had not been for his ability to steer the Ichibi..

But at least it had given him the time to track down a nice new addition to his village of the hidden sound. And who knows, perhaps even a suitable body for him to use, with the proper training.. '_Uchiha Sasuke… how I've longed for eyes like yours..'_

* * *

Naruto was faster, but Gaara was heavier and his hits had more power to them. Even worse, the jinchuriki from Sunagakure slowly kept transforming further and further, until he now reached a state in which only his legs had remained a human shape.

"I'm increasing the supply," the Kyuubi warned. "It will shape your first tail. That should be sufficient to take him down. Now, drag him to the centre of that seal of yours, quickly!"

"Yes boss," Naruto grimaced. The Kyuubi had never been much help, apart from the times in which their lives were in danger. The current level of cooperation, however, was strangely enjoyable.

"What are you hesitating," Gaara laughed. "Perhaps I should kill those so called friends of yours? Should I start with that white-eyed bitch first?"

The ground cracked and trembled as more and more of the crimson chakra emerged from a now frozen Naruto.

"What?" Naruto whispered. "You.. Dare.. Threaten..?"

The chakra skyrocketed, responding to Naruto's rage. The crimson eyes turned to Gaara. Naruto, now fully covered by the Kyuubi's chakra, and with one tail behind him, charged towards Gaara.

The sand shaped claws tried, but failed to repel the crimson claws that grabbed Gaara throat. "You would dare to threaten my friends?" Naruto hissed. Gaara roared and sand crushed at Naruto, but the latter felt nothing. "You dare threaten Hinata? Did you really think the Ichibi could stand up against the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked, before he threw Gaara away like a ragdoll. "Pathetic little moron…" he growled.

The last remnants of Gaara's sanity now cowered in fear, as the now furious jinchuriki approached.

* * *

Genma looked up at the kages, but the Kazekage did not say a word, so the Hokage could not end the match. Yet. Not that Genma would be anxious to jump in the middle of this fight. '_Damn this.. I never imagined these brats could go this far! __This is crazy!'_

* * *

Sand shuriken flew around, but could not penetrate the thick layer of chakra surrounding Naruto.

"Gaara..This is your last chance. Undo that creature's influence, or fall," Naruto warned him with an indifferent tone that would have terrified most other opponents. But the sand demon was already preparing to attack, so Naruto simply responded with a fireball. Though, Naruto had underestimated the influence of the Kyuubi.. Naruto knew he should calm down, but his unshackled rage made it so much easier to draw onto the Kyuubi's vast chakra. And the fireball became too strong.. Far too strong.

Ripping apart Gaara's shell of sand, the fireball knocked him down into the ground.

"Stop this," Naruto commanded, gritting his teeth as he tried to suppress his anger. "NOW."

"Hahahahaha stop?! Never!" Gaara howled, as his chakra suddenly surged far beyond anything he had shown up till now. "I don't care anymore! Curse the mission! Curse my family! Curse that moron that calls himself my father! Curse that village which only shuns me!" Gaara laughed insanely.

Gaara stood up, and looked at Naruto. "All should cower in fear before my final form…"

Naruto heard the screams of panic coming from the audience, as he tried to digest what he saw in front of him.

A humongous demonic tanuki, its body made out of sand, stood where Gaara had been. It was so large that it had crushed the wall behind him, as its single colossal tail reached out into the streets behind the arena.

Luckily, this was the one side without seats for the audience, so Naruto figured that there wouldn´t have been too many casualties. At least, he hoped..

"Dammit.." Naruto whispered.

"I told you what would happen, and yet you didn't act," the Kyuubi growled inside him.

"Well, how was I supposed to stop him without murdering him?" Naruto grumbled. "I gave my word that I should try!"

"You said you would try, and you did. How do you plan on killing him now? His release is nearly complete, so you are facing a real Bijuu now, not restrained by any seal.. Stop wasting time, or you'll get us both killed!"

"Kill? I'm not planning on doing that," Naruto frowned. "But it will get rather tricky now. But look, he stands precisely at the right place.. Now I just need a shitload of chakra to activate my back-up plan. I never expected Gaara to be _this_ strong.."

"You greedy little brat.. And I even warned you, you puny moron! Well fine, I'll provide it, it's not like I have much choice anyway. But you better make sure you beat that stupid tanuki back to the hell where it came from!"

* * *

The Kazekage paled, as he saw his son lose control completely. This was a sight that had haunted him for the last few years, when he slowly saw his son being consumed by the demon. He signalled his guards: the plan had to be executed _now_.

"Jiraiya," the Hokage said. "This has gone out of control. Gaara broke out of the arena, so by the rules I declare that he has lost. So you go down and stop him," he ordered his old pupil, as he glared at the Kazekage, who slowly stood up.

"No," the Mizukage stared down at Naruto, stopping Jiraiya in his tracks. "What is that.. What kind of drawing is that around the demon?"

The Kazekage and Hokage turned their attention at whatever Naruto was doing. The Hokage paled. "No.. No.. This.. This cannot be. Not that! How.. Where did he learn that?" Hiruzen stammered as he turned to Jiraiya, who looked with open mouth.

"I… He shouldn't be able to have read that scroll! That's impossible!" Jiraiya whispered. His eyes went wide in shock. "Not even I could.. Even Mito-sama never wanted to master that jutsu!"

"What is he doing?" the Kazekage demanded. Not noticing the petrified look on his guard behind him.

* * *

With the seal already created by his bunshin earlier, all Naruto had to do was to ignite the seal. And he had to move quick, before the Ichibi, now unleashed in the centre of Konoha, could create havoc. Drawing in as much of the Kyuubi's chakra as he could hold, his 'cloak' expanded to three tails, and Naruto unleashed the seal which he never had wanted to use.

"Fuinjutsu: ennetsu jigoku," he almost panted, barely noticing how inhuman his voice now sounded, as the flaming pattern rose up and exploded into a pillar of deep red flames. '_Let's hope that the fires of hell can consume this demon.._'

Not even Shukaku, the one tailed bijuu, could withstand the flames of hell which Naruto now summoned. The noise from the audience, from the crumbling wall, from everything. It all vanished when the pillar rose up and its flames started to howl and scream, as the flames turned from red into yellow into a blinding white.

Alone, Naruto could barely keep the jutus up for a minute, but with the help of the Kyuubi.. Where would his limits be?

The tanuki screamed and frantically tried to get out, but its limbs of sand simply melted under the heat. The outer layer of the creature turned into glass, and the longer the pillar continued to burn, the thicker the glass became, completely immobilizing the demon.

The entire stadium looked on, as if the world had frozen, as Naruto kept the seal active for one minute.

Two minutes, the monster became unable to struggle.

Three minutes, Naruto started to feel the exhaustion by the insane amounts of chakra he was forced to use.

Four minutes, Naruto could feel the chakra from the Ichibi dwindle, as he panted and struggled to keep the flow of chakra from the Kyuubi into the seal intact.

Five minutes after the seal was ignited, the Ichibi's chakra nearly vanished, and Naruto ended the jutsu, afraid he would kill Gaara if he continued too long. The roaring pillar of flames dwindled, and the molten remains of Shukaku of the Sands shattered.

As the pieces of glass fell, Naruto watched. '_Where is he? I didn't mess up, did I?'_

* * *

As the debree of the fallen Jinchuriki shattered and fell, the disguised guard of the Kazekage drew his blade.

'_This charade has gone on long enough..'_

* * *

**A/N**: I bet this went quite different from what the Kazekage had been planning.. Or even Orochimaru himself! And talking about plans.. I hope I don't get a mob of angry readers after me, for dropping these kinds of cliffhangers at the end of each chapter!

Some justification on the 'powerlevels' in this chapter: I made the assumption that the nine-tails is stronger than the one-tail. That does not, however, automatically mean that Naruto is stronger than Gaara, as the latter can release much more of the Ichibi's chakra, because his seal is much weaker. The Kyuubi may be a lot stronger, but the seal limits the amount of power he could give Naruto. If anything, I'd say that the fully released Shukaku should have had the upper hand over Naruto, who only has access to a fragment of the Kyuubi's might. Still, Naruto had his hellfire seal.

Thank you for reading my 30th chapter, and please leave a** review**!

-Z-

**Edited: 03/03/2015**


	31. Invasion pt1: Sealing

**Chunin Exams arc**

**Invasion pt1: Sealing**

* * *

"He.. Failed.." the Kazekage stood frozen. "How?"

Behind him, his guards stirred. '_So Gaara-kun has failed.. That Uzumaki brat is more annoying than I had foreseen.. It has been my mistake to not take him down properly back in the woods, even though I had believed the poison would have crippled him. Perhaps I should conduct more research to the Uzumaki. His strength is starting to intrigue me,'_ Orochimaru though at high speed. '_But there are more important things now. Sunagakure has failed me, but we cannot withdraw the attack any more. I should just create as much chaos as possible, and have my fun with Sarutobi-sensei…'_

The disguised guard stepped forward, and bowed to the Kazekage. "You have served us well, but it seems your usefulness has come to an end," Orochimaru whispered, as he ran his poisoned blade through the Yondaime Kazekage. "But it appears I won't need you to control Gaara-kun any longer.."

"You.. Traitor.." the man gurgled. His eyes wide in shock. Not that the Kazekage was shocked that he was wounded like this..

But rather, that the will that had been influencing him suddenly vanished.

Hiruzen jumped up, responding faster than even the Mizukage could, despite his age. But as Jiraiya turned to attack, Orochimaru darted past him and grabbed the old man, leaping off.

"Kazekage-sama!" the remaining guard of the dying man exclaimed.

"We have been... used," the Kazekage coughed. "Baki.. Stop him.. They will ruin Sunagakure…"

* * *

"It's the sign," Kabuto said to his fellow traitors. "Commence the attack."

Within seconds, the audience saw feathers flying through the entire arena, and most fell asleep. Most, but not the jonin who stood at guard. Which was expected, but Kabuto still did not feel comfortable. The key in their plan had been the distraction created by that Sabaku no Gaara. '_With his failure, we are at a disadvantage.. I better move quickly, and get the target out, as Orochimaru-sama ordered,'_ he dropped the anbu mask he had stolen earlier that day, corrected his glasses, and jumped off.

The shinobi of Otogakura would have to handle the remaining resistance. Even though Orochimaru only brought along his less successful experiments and other disposable fighters, they still outnumbered their opponents.

* * *

With the siblings from Sunagakure still distracted by Gaara's fall, Shikamaru was the first to notice something had happened where the kages were seated. He nodded at Haku. "Kagemane no jutsu, success," the lazy genin remarked. "Haku, can you make sure they are immobilized?"

"Some ice should be sufficient," Haku said calmly. "I would rather not use any more permant methods.." He walked over and touched their hands, which were clamped together due to Shikamaru's influence.

"Hurry, my jutsu will not hold much longer.."

"Why don't we stop this," Temari sighed. "Personally, I have no interest in the stupid plan my father came up with, and I would rather focus on helping my brother. Naruto promised me not to kill Gaara, so we could better go down there, before someone else does.."

"Temari!" Kankuro spurred his eyes open. "Would you betray.."

"Yes, Kankuro! I recognize stupidity when I see is," Temari snarled. "Father is being tricked, you too should realize this. He would never had done this if he was his normal self!"

* * *

Everything hurt.

So much.. Pain?

But… he lived. He knew he was alive. But how? Despite the pain, he tried to open his eyes.

Blue skies. He blinked. What was this feeling of tranquillity? He had been defeated. Why was he still alive?

Why was it so silent?

Something caught his attention. The blond boy looked at him. Gaara saw the exhaustion on the boy's face. The victor of their battle. He had won, but how? '_Why was mother afraid of him? Was his demon really so much stronger?'_

"Why.." Gaara coughed as his throat was dry. "Why did you not kill me?" he softly spoke.

"Why would I?" Naruto frowned, while continuing his preparation. Gaara turned his head and saw the blond draw something. "Killing you would only create more trouble. Besides, why should I kill someone who has the same burden as I have?"

"You.. Why? I lost, so what purpose does my life have?"

"Does life even need to have purpose?" Naruto wondered. "I do not know.. I just promised not to kill you, if that would satisfy you."

"Promised? Then what.. What are you doing?"

"You should thank your sister if this works out. She was the one who gave me this opportunity," Naruto smiled weakly. "Because of her, I found a way out, without having to kill you."

"Temari? Why would she.."

"Whatever you were turning in to, you were still her little brother," Naruto explained patiently, while staring at the last few line he had just drawn. "Enough to defy the Kazekage's orders, and give me the information I need to strengthen that seal of yours.."

"You would do that? But.. Why?"

Naruto chuckled, after he had nodded approvingly at his drawing. Most of it he had already prepared, but without precisely knowing Gaara's seal, there was no way of preparing a complete seal. "Your death would only have increased the chance that there would be war. While your survival increases the chances of peace. Besides, don't you wish to break from the hold that the Ichibi has over you?"

Gaara blinked. Why would his sister care? Why would Naruto care? He didn't understand, but felt strange… grateful. He was truly defeated, at every point. "Thank you, Uzumaki Naruto.."

"Thank me when you survive this," Naruto said grimly. "If you survive this."

* * *

"More chakra?" the Kyuubi growled. "Now what, I only struck a deal with you to teach that one-tailed idiot a lesson, no more! Kill him, you stupid brat. You've never pitied anyone else, so don't go soft now. Kill him right now!"

"Shut up," Naruto snapped. "I don't mind killing that Shukaku or whatever it's called. But Gaara is just like me, so I will not kill him. Even if I had not made that promise to his sister, killing him would only have created more problems."

"What do I care about the problems that the puny humans create? Your village treats us bijuu is their weapons. Their _property_. Let it burn! Let it all burn!"

Naruto smirked. "You really are a hothead, aren't you, fox?"

"WHAT?!" the Kyuubi roared.

"Think, and use that big head of yours. You hate Shukaku? Fine, if you really hate him that much then I present you the worst thing that we can do: let him suffer in his prison, with no way out. If you had paid more attention, you would have know I planned to do this from the very start."

The Kyuubi looked down on Naruto, and considered what was said as it calmed down. "You.." he laughed darkly. "Imprisonment you say.."

"Yeah, that's why I need more chakra: I plan to reinforce Gaara's seal, so that Shukaku's influence is reduced. You yourself have often said you hate your prison more than anything else. Well, then.."

"Cunning little brat," the Kyuubi smirked. "Fine then, I will help you once more.. But this is the last time.. Even my massive chakra has its limits, especially in this rotten place."

* * *

"Well, what do you choose? Hurry up!" Temari snarled at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru sighed. '_What did he say again? "It might be that she does not want to attack you.. But make sure she doesn't aid the ones attacking Konoha." Troublesome_,' Shikamaru recollected Naruto's words about Temari. '_It fits precisely with what she just said. And such promises sound exactly like something he would do. Plus, she isn't resisting my hold either..'_

"Well?" Temari demanded impatiently.

"We go down," Shikamaru decided. "I do not know what kind of crazy things Naruto has been planning, but he did hint that you might be doing something like this.. But do not think we would allow you to join the invaders, we go down there and get Naruto and Gaara to safety, that's it, alright?"

"Hmpf. Not as dense as I thought you were," Temari remarked. "Shut up Kankuro," she turned towards her brother. "Or they can freeze you in for all I care. It is time for you to see that father is wrong about this! He would never have done something like this before, he lost his mind!"

* * *

Even with the chakra he got from the Kyuubi, Naruto felt completely exhausted when he was finished with putting the extra seal on Gaara.

"Thank you," Gaara whispered again. "My head.. The voice.. Mother.. It is so silent.."

Naruto nodded and looked around. Seemed like the fighting had broken out in earnest. But Naruto knew he was in no shape to do much more. Whatever their plan was, he had taken down Gaara before he could be turned against Konoha. Still.. The sounds of battle disturbed him. But at least the Ichibi was no longer a threat to Konoha.

"How did you manage to survive? With the seal.. Your demon, it is much more powerful," Gaara broke the silence between them.

"The seal that was put on me was far stronger.. I do not know what idiot made that seal you carry, but it was weak. Very weak. Especially because it contained at least two glaring mistakes.. Honestly, I am surprised you even managed to survive this long."

"It was that bad?" Gaara blinked. "Perhaps now.. Perhaps now I will no longer be a monster."

"People will always be afraid of us," Naruto said, pensively, and half to himself. People had now seen him, after all. "And out of their fear they will hate us, and call us monsters. Jinchuriki. But people are merely afraid of us because they do not understand us. I do not think we should make the mistake of hating them back. If you hate something back, it will only make you fall to their level. I do not wish to be as they are. I want to be better."

Gaara looked at him, and his confusion was rather obvious. In fact, he just showed more emotions then Naruto had seen in this past month.

Naruto sighed. "They may think we do not fit into their beliefs of how the world should be, but the world never is as we want it to be. We live in the real world, not an illusion. So we should not make illusions either, we cannot afford it, as we would only be sad and angry when the lie shatters. And we both know what happens when _we_ lose control."

Gaara looked at his seal. "If I had fully released Shukaku today.. I might have lost control permanently. Father knew… he told me that it was an acceptable risk," Gaara added harshly.

"Yeah.. People do tend to use us, don't they?" Naruto smirked weakly. "That's why we should better stick together. After all, there are only nine of us, at most. Every human being is unique, but we are simply a bit more unique, and thus we also stand out more than any other. That is our burden, what we have to endure. People will always watch us. But that is also our chance, because when we stand out, we can also give the proper example."

"You intend to lead them?" Gaara wondered. "The village? Those that hate you?"

"Since I was a little kid, I always wanted to be Hokage," Naruto admitted. "First only to make the people respect me, but I now know it is not that simple.. My friends taught me that.. Respecting someone for their power is a far cry from respecting the person itself.. Mostly, that would just be based on fear. So, I will aim to become Hokage so that I can protect and guide the people. Even if it is from their own mistakes.."

Gaara looked surprised. "Is that what you fight for?"

"For my friends, for a better future," Naruto sighed. "Someone told me to never give up, and always hope that things will become better.. Ironic to say such things when we see our villages do battle like this."

Gaara nodded.

* * *

Shikamaru, Haku, Temari, and Kankuro charged forward. For some reason, the hostile shinobi did not approach the two jinchuriki, but they did not allow any other to go near them either. It was the second time that day that Shikamaru swallowed away his fear when he saw Temari unleash her power. '_This is one hell of a troublesome girl,'_ he frowned, a little concerned by the thought that he and Haku had planned to hold her down. Well, not that Haku seemed to care. Shikamaru considered that the boy from Kirigakure would be equally troublesome, even despite his kind nature.

"Gaara!" Temari shouted, landing near the two nearly motionless boys. "Are you.. Did it work?"

"Seems like it," Naruto chuckled weakly. "I would suggest that you fetch Jiraiya later on, and let him check on it. But it should be powerful enough to last at least for a while."

"You what? How did you pull that off?" Shikamaru exclaimed when he realized what Naruto had done.

"Thank you.." Temari said softly. Kankuro looked on and frowned.

"Why did you do this? Why save Gaara? It would have been easier if.."

"Did you want war? If Gaara died, and Sunagarkure was left weakened," Naruto said determined. "Would you want that? A fourth shinobi world war, because of what, pride?"

"Calm down," Shikamaru interrupted. "Let's get the two of you to a safe place first."

"Ahh.. But I am afraid I cannot allow that, youngster.." a misshapen person spoke up. All the genin looked up in surprise and fear, as the newcomer revealed himself. Any shinobi that could sneak up on all of them would be good. Very good. And Genma's corpse behind him was only another warning.. "I suggest the four of you start running.. I have no interest in you weaklings. Only the demons.."

"I see.. You guys make sure to get Naruto to safety," Haku said, turning to their opponent. "I will handle this one.."

"Geh haha. What courage for someone so young.." the misshapen man laughed, revealing his face when he removed his straw hat. "You youngsters should know who you face.. Mere genin should not try to fight Sasori of the Red Sand," he chuckled with his inhuman face.

"Sasori.. No way, he disappeared.." Kankuro started. "Damn. Temari, you and that sloth take Gaara and Naruto away. NOW!"

"Tsk tsk," Sasori shook his head. "And I was even courteous enough to give you a chance to escape," he gestured with his arms wide, summoning a handful of puppets.

Kankuro summoned his puppets as well, but he saw that there was no way out anymore. His opponent had surrounded them.

"Now, hand over those jinchuriki. My employer needs them," he said, still completely calm. "You didn't think Sunagakure came up with this plan, did you? I have spent months preparing and planting sleeper agents in this dumb village. We only used Sunagakure to have Gaara here as well. But I must say that this turn of events was better than I had ever had dared to hope. The two morons took each other out, and now they are ripe for the picking.." he chuckled.

"So you really were after us.. Let me guess, you are part of Akatsuki, just as Orochimaru?" Yugito spoke up, after she had jumped down.

"Hmm now that is unexpected.. You were supposed to be forbidden to attack as long as you were not attacked first, and yet here you are…" Sasori sounded a bit careful now. "But a monster more or less.. Who cares what happens to you, right?"

"You dare…" Yugito hissed softly. "You bunch of cowards! Children, take Naruto and Gaara to a safe place, up there," she pointed to a section of the arena. "This pathetic excuse of a shinobi is mine!"

None of them had to think twice to follow the woman's orders when she released an incredible amount of chakra. Two carrying each jinchuriki, the little group sprinted away.

"Now you will burn.." Yugito smirked.

"You.. Were forbidden.. To release," Sasori stammered, not expecting his opponent to go all out. "It would be sealed when you were outside Kumogakure!"

"I got permission.." Yugito growled, covered by blue flames. Had this idiot really thought that Jiraiya would be unable to remove the seal her Raikage ordered her to wear? Besides, no one ever ordered her to not remove the seal, so she had not violated her leader's command either.

* * *

Naruto turned his head and saw the unleashed form of the Nibi confront Sasori. He looked up and saw something else: a large barrier on top of a building. Shikamaru followed his look. "Seems like something bad is happening in there," he frowned, for once not lazily. "I don't suppose you can do something about it?"

"I can.. I think.. I should," Naruto sighed. "Temari, Shikamaru, would you two be willing to bring me there? I got a bit of chakra left, so I should be able to create an opening.. For a moment.. I do not know what is going on, but I think I feel that Orochimaru inside that barrier."

"You want to go there?" Temari frowned. "I see, so we have to get you there safely. It should be doable, at least if that lazy ass can keep up."

"Hey!" Shikamaru protested. "Ugh.. I supposed we should do it.. Damn, this will get me killed for sure.."

"Coward," Temari smirked.

"Haku," Naruto shouted towards the boy in front of him. "You three continue, we have something else to do first."

* * *

"Hold it right there," Kurenai hissed. "Why did you three come here?"

"We're taking Gaara out of the chaos down there," Haku said calmly. "I hope you two are willing to ensure the safety of Sabaku no Gaara and his brother Kankuro."

"We hand ourselves over," Gaara said, his voice as weak as he looked like right now. "You are the sensei of Uzumaki Naruto, aren't you?"

Kurenai frowned and nodded.

"Naruto reinforced my seal.. I owe him, and Konoha. I swear to you that neither I nor my siblings will resist our captivity."

"You turn yourselves over? Willingly?" Asuma frowned, having trouble to believe them. "Why?"

"The blond brat saved my brother. Now we are supposed to owe him," Kankuro said dryly. "Besides, I just heard that Sunagakure was tricked into this mess, so I have no intention of throwing away my life for a mere lie."

"Guard them closely, please. There are others.. Pursuing the jinchuriki," Haku said. "Yugito-sama is taking care of the situation. But I must aid Mizukage-sama now."

Haku bowed shortly, and vanished.

"Kurenai, you wake up Rock Lee and Choji," Asuma said after a moment of thinking. "If that kid is right we can expect more attackers at this place, and we can't look after those two and fight at the same time.."

* * *

**A/N:** So.. The manga is coming to an end soon. Not that the last few chapters would exuse it to continue much longer. Recent chapter most of all.. The disappointment threw me into a writing-fit, publishing this much earlier than planned haha.

This is the first part of the invasion, which will span three chapters. After which, I plan to do one (long) chapter with the aftermath of the invasion. And if I do not get a writers block, I hope to give you Chie's backstory after that! And then we move on into the next 'arc'. So you know my planning. And the only way to bribe me into working harder..

...yes, you guessed it: **reviews**! And we're approaching the 100K views already! I'm (almost) sorry for being such a slave to statistics. But I had never expected so much attention for a story of which I had long doubted if I should publish it or not.. :)

-Z-

_Regarding Gaara's strength_: One thing that I forgot to note in my previous chapters is this: I basically kept the chunin candidates at about the same level of power/ability as in the manga, however, I made two exceptions: Naruto is obviously the first, as his training makes him quite a bit stronger compared to manga Naruto. The second, however, would be Gaara, as I wanted a bigger difference between 'normal' humans and jinchuriki. Part of it is also because I wanted to avoid having to follow the manga in terms of sprinkling around illogical powerups in the second part of the story. Not to mention that I wanted to make it Naruto's first time to meet an 'equal' opponent! Of course, both boys are not completely equal, as I made Naruto a lot more skilled, while Gaara only relied on his manipulation of sand. Thus, I gave Gaara the advantage in terms of raw strength, while Naruto has the advantage of skill. This way, they were pretty much equal. Though Naruto's planning gave him the upper hand, of course – thanks to InariNineTails for making me realize that I neglected to properly explain this subject.

**Edited: 03/03/2015**


	32. Invasion pt2: Fall

**Chunin Exams arc**

**Invasion pt2: Fall**

* * *

Previously:

* * *

_The disguised guard stepped forward, and bowed to the Kazekage. "You have served us well, but it seems your usefulness has come to an end," Orochimaru whispered, as he ran his poisoned blade through the Yondaime Kazekage._

"_You.. Traitor.." the man gurgled._

_Hiruzen jumped up, responding faster than even the Mizukage could, despite his age. But as Jiraiya turned to attack, Orochimaru darted past him and grabbed the old man, leaping off._

"_Kazekage-sama!" the remaining guard of the dying man exclaimed. _

"_We've been.. Used," the Kazekage coughed. "Baki.. Stop him.. They will ruin Sunagakure…"_

* * *

"Baki.. Recall our troops," the Kazekage uttered his final words.

"I will, my lord," Baki bowed his head in sorrow, as the light left his leader's eyes.

Terumi Mei was especially interested by the Kazekage's last words. With Orochimaru taking away the Hokage, Jiraiya had charged after them. With no one else around, the Mizukage was free to act as she saw fit. '_They? So it isn't just Orochimaru pulling the strings?'_

"Zabuza," she nodded to her strongest guard. "Restrain this man."

"Yes, Mizukage-sama," Zabuza smirked, happy to finally get some action. But to his disappointment, the famous Baki of the Winds did not put up any resistance. He barely even looked away from his fallen leader.

"Tell me, Baki," Mei started. "How many are still outside the gates?"

"A few hundred," Baki groaned, after Zabuza had to 'encourage' him a little with a hard kick in his back. "We were supposed to be backed by an even greater number from Otogakure.. But now Orochimaru betrayed us.. I do not know, it almost seems like a ploy to weaken both Sunagakure and Konohagakure at once."

"Hmm.." the Mizukage looked down on the one-eyed jonin. "With the demise of the Kazekage, you are the highest authority of Sunagakure around here, are you not?"

"I am.. I.. We, the jonin, had our reservations about the plan that Kazekage-sama had, but we had little choice.." Baki almost apologized. "But now that we.."

"Silence," Mei ordered him. "Tsurugi, take this man to the gates and make sure he gives the orders to retreat. If now, kill him and help the defenders from Konoha, along with your detachment." She looked at her other guard, the head of Kirigakure's hunter-nin, as he hurried away. The black haired man showed the scars to prove his experience, and she knew full well that he would be up to his task.

"Zabuza, you make sure that this area is cleansed," she ordered the swordsmen. "I wouldn't be surprised if Otogakure would make a move on one of the jinchuriki. Make sure they do not succeed.."

"But.. My lady, your guard…" he protested.

"Shut up," Mei remarked. "I'm only going for a walk.. I promise I won't do anything too exciting, ok?" she smiled.

"Though I'm seriously going to kill you if anything happens to those jinchuriki," she added before vanishing from his sight.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked. "What are you going to do?"

The blonde woman sighed. "I was foolish enough to promise the old man to help defending Konoha during this exam.. Dammit, I expected it would merely be a false alarm! Me and my rotten luck.."

"But you are still going to fight?"

"I gave my word.." Tsunade frowned. "And it looks like I won't get bored either.. Orochimaru and his ugly snakes."

"They are rather huge.." Shizune frowned as well. "Shall I take down the Oto-nins while you focus on the snakes?" she suggested, knowing her master's 'disposition'.

Tsunade smirked. Even though she had forsworn fighting, she couldn't ignore the old feeling of anxiety that she always used to feel before battles started. Not that she had to face someone like Hanzo today. At least, she couldn't imagine that Orochimaru had any S-ranked shinobi working for him. And preferrably, she wouldn't even have to fight other humans today.

In fact, she wasn't even sure if she would be capable to take any more human lives..

"Let's move," Tsunade said after she summoned Katsuyu, the mighty slug that always aided her during battle. "Katsuyu, attack all those who dare to attack Konohagakure. Also, leave some of your fragments behind to heal those on our side that get wounded. Use as much of my chakra as you deem fit."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

* * *

Standing on top of an apartment building a little while later, Tsunade couldn't help but be somewhat troubled when seeing the extent of the damage done to Konoha. Together with Shizune and Katsuyu, Tsunade had made short work of the invaders in their sector, and she had seen the Mizukage's rampage as well.

The female leader from the Hidden Mist left molten and vaporized victims in her wake, in such ways that even Tsunade was curious to see what kind of skills the woman could use. Small wonder that she was named Mizukage, if this woman wielded this kind of power.

No, what worried Tsunade more were the reports she had heard of traitors among Konoha's ranks. Shinobi who suddenly turned on their own, and even shouted warnings to their friend while attacking them. Something was controlling them.. But what? Orochimaru had always had an odd fascination for dangerous and rare bloodlines. But Tsunade couldn't think of any bloodline aside from the Yamanaka that would be able to do something like this. But those techniques could never be applied on such scale. And those whose minds were overtaken would not try to warn others. It almost felt like..

A puppet master?

"We have to look for someone who might be controlling those 'traitors' among our own ranks," Tsunade notified her party. "It would appear that all the larger snakes have been taken down now, but I think our main focus should be defending the walls.."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Katsuyu and Shizune answered, while the latter was wondering if Tonton – who they had left in the shelters – was still all right..

* * *

"You.. Were forbidden.. To release," Sasori stammered, not expecting his opponent to go all out. Akatsuki had intel that the Raikage himself had restricted the woman's power whenever she got over the border. How could it be that this blonde woman defied those orders?

"I got permission!" Yugito growled, covered by blue flames. "The moment you started hunting my kind, you Akatsuki scum.. Though I guess your little spy did not tell you about that promise I made? Or did he fail to notice that Jiraiya-sama removed that restraint?"

Blue flames erupting from her body, and it only took moments before Sasori had to look up against the monsterous apparition of the Nibi. The monsterous two-tailed bijuu, ungulfed in blue flames, with amounts of chakra even more vast than those Sasori had felt when Gaara unleashed Shukaku, now confronted him. '_This is unfortunate..My chakra reserves took quite a hit.. And my poisons would be pointless against her, so I guess I am forced to summon _him_,' _Sasori considered his best course of actions, while his opponent transformed. '_Though this fight will not in my advantage, not when I have spent so much chakra on turning my 'collection' here in Konoha against their own.. I should make this quick.'_

He took a scroll from under his mantle, and summoned a black-haired humanoid puppet. "Meet the Sandaime Kazekage, my most prized puppet," Sasori chuckled. The puppet charged at the transformed Yugito, lashing out with a large claw attached to its arm. But the poisoned blade on the claw never reached their intended target: the two-tailed demon simply lashed out, and ripped the entire arm away.

'_Terribly fast, despite its size_,' Sasori analysed. '_Odd.. With such a size, she should be far too heavy to move like that. But it is like I feared.. I really have to resort to that jutsu.'_

The now one-armed puppet jumped back to create a safe distance between it and the cat-like demon, and opened its mouth. It spewed out a large cloud of black sand, which started floating around it.

* * *

"Satetsu, the iron sand," Yugito frowned. "That is quite a powerful asset… I wonder how this guy managed to recreate that jutsu with a puppet.."

"It is not just a puppet," Matatabi, the two-tailed bijuu, answered her master. "Somehow, the original third Kazekage was turned into.. That.."

Yugito scowled. "All the more reason to finish this quickly," she ordered.

"Yes, Yugito-sama."

To Matatabi, becoming a puppet was the ultimate insult to any being. It was the ultimate form of enslavement. And it remembered her far too much about her own fate. Well, their fate, as Yugito never had much choice in the matter either..

* * *

The iron sands shaped into a enormous scythe, lashing out at the Bijuu. For a moment, Sasori felt a spark of hope, as the black weapon pierced the monster. But it did not do any damage. '_Is she even solid, or just the mass of blue flames she appears to be?'_ Sasori scowled.

Slightly off guard, Sasori hardly saw the Nibi move, and his response to withdraw his puppet was a fraction too late. In one jump, the cat landed next to the puppet, and spitted one fireball at it.

One extremely powerful fireball.

Konoha trebled as the explosion engulfed the area. Within a mile of it, all windows shattered under the pressure of the blast. This was not human jutsu. No, this was the unleashed fury of one of the nine sacred demons itself.

In the onslaught, Sasori found himself far too close to his puppet. If it hadn't been for his armour... But now, with his prized puppet obliterated, and even his own shell of armour completely blasted apart, Sasori stood in his real form: a red-haired and brown-eyed young boy, wearing the Akatsuki-cloak. For the puppet master, it felt almost as if being nude, after not having revealed his true form to any opponent in many years.

"Ugh.. This entire crater created by one single fireball.. Time for me to go.. There is no use in dragging on this fight," Sasori mumbled. "They weren't kidding around, when they said that this jinchuriki was supposed to be the second most dangerous one around, after that eight-tailed jinchuriki. Well, at least while those other two are still brats.. Damned demons.."

Sasori turned and jumped, believing that his fast and agile form would be more than enough to evade the rampaging monster. Sasori knew that with the disadvantage of his mostly depleted chakra reserves, and an opponent covered with those accursed blue flames, none of his puppets would be able to subdue this opponent. None of their weapons or poisons could hope to damage that demonic being.

Evasion was the only way to ensure continued survival.

How wrong he was..

But how could he have known that the Nibi was this fast? Zetsu had never mentioned this in his reports! Matatabi lunged forward, its claws ripping apart Sasori's legs. But they were merely parts of a puppet. '_Even this body is a puppet?'_ Yugito wondered. '_No.. There.. That is the source of his chakra.'_

Matatabi grabbed the fleeing Akatsuki member, who tried to get away despite the fact that his legs were torn of, and pinned the puppet down on the ground.

All across Konoha, a large pillar of flames could be seen. Not a bright and roaring pillar like the one that Naruto had used earlier, but rather an enormous cyclone of blue flames. These flames consumed Sasori, while the transformed Yugito calmly stood in in centre of that destruction. She could not be hurt by her own fire. Just like the nine-tails, the jinchuriki of the two-tails also had an incredible resistance against fire.

Unlike the wooden frame of Sasori's 'body'.

* * *

Terumi Mei once again swore to herself that she, as Mizukage of Kirigakure, would never allow war to touch her village. Konohagakure was crawling with people who were extinguishing fires, or saving people who got trapped under collapsed buildings, or the countless wounded that were brought to the hospitals. War was hell. Mei shuddered when she thought what destruction the Ichibi could have cause if it had not been stopped. The nightmares of the civil wars still haunted her at night, but what she saw now resembled much of that chaos.

On the brighter side, the shinobi from Sunagakure were stopped in front of the walls surrounding Konoha, and would soon leave. Unless Baki would do something foolish. Which would cost him his life, knowing Tsurugi. After all, the head of her ruthless hunter nins was not exactly known to be very merciful to anyone who dared to break their word. Meanwhile, the giant snakes that were supposed to breach the perimeter were 'disabled' by the sannin Tsunade.

Despite knowing that Tsunade had more or less retired years ago, to Mei it seemed like the older woman still lived up to her reputation. The ease at which she disposed of the humongous reptiles with nothing more than her overwhelming brute strength surprised Mei a bit. Small wonder Tsunade was this famous, just like her infamous teammates. The only thing that confused Mei was that Tsunade did not attack other shinobi, but rather let her assistant and her summon take care of her human opponents.

'_I heard the rumours about her reasons to retire as a shinobi.. Is it true that she cannot fight other shinobi anymore?'_ Mei wondered. '_It would explain why she did not use any ninjutsu.. Though, she is impressive enough as it is.'_

Not that Mei considered herself weaker. Not anymore. The legendary Tsunade had once been an example to the young Mei, when she was a girl. To Mei, it was the living proof that gender did not matter, that women could easily be as strong as men. Even in their prejudiced world. And now, after all those years and efforts, Mei too had become an example of the heights kunoichi could reach. The molten carcasses of her enemies were the silent and smouldering proof of her prowess.

"Now what is that," Mei mumbled, seeing a huge pillar of blue flames arise in the arena. "I thought I felt something off.. So it really was the Nibi. Geh, it seems like all the strongest women of our world are gathered here," Mei smirked.

Not long after, she noticed that the Konoha shinobi were no longer tormented by the traitors in their own ranks.

* * *

_A little bit earlier_.

* * *

Haruki watched in horror as he saw Sabaku no Gaara release the demonic being inside him. Memories of seeing the Kyuubi attack Konoha flooded his mind as he saw and felt the horrible chakra from the one-tailed bijuu.

"So this is what a jinchuriki is capable of.." Ako whispered, her eyes wide open in shock. "Please watch out Naruto.."

The others remained silent. Chie sat there, vigilant, while the genin showed a mixture or pure horror and deep worry for their teammate and friend.

But Haruki had noticed that Naruto had a plan. And the all-consuming pillar of fire confirmed his idea. The demon tried to get out, but was blinded, while the hellish fires quickly melted its feet. '_This battle is inhuman.. How did Naruto progress to this level? Where are his limits?'_ Haruki wondered, as he saw his protégé struggle to keep the jutsu active. Even though the boy had the chakra from the Kyuubi as a backup, this was still an amazing display of skill and power. Haruki thought back at the times when little Naruto had been struggling to do even the – to them – simplest exercises in chakra control.

And now the world could see Naruto for who he was. Not a monster, but the future Hokage. The display erased the last of Haruki's doubts regarding the boy's dream. No one could even underestimate Naruto again. And the jinchuriki of Konoha was still so young, with so much potential to grow. How powerful would Naruto become? Haruki felt proud. Proud enough to almost move this stoic man to tears. Well.. More than just almost. But he wiped the drops away before others would notice.

As the fiery pillar vanished, and the molten remains of the Ichibi shattered, Haruki noticed something else. Someone had activated a genjutsu. Not a powerful one, but considering the scale of it.. This was no simple trick.

"Release!" Haruki barked, and turned to the others. Chie shrugged, seemingly unaffected by the jutsu, as an apparent effect of her near-perfect chakra control. But the others were fast asleep. Not that Haruki thought Hinata would normally have fallen for this.. But she was very distracted by the scene below them.

* * *

Kabuto saw that many jonin and even some of the more capable chunin had resisted the genjutsu. Which was expected, but Kabuto still did not feel comfortable. The key in their plan had been the distraction created by that Sabaku no Gaara. '_With his failure, we are at a disadvantage.. I better move quickly, and get the target out of here, as Orochimaru-sama ordered..'_ he dropped the anbu mask he had stolen earlier that day, corrected his glasses, and jumped off.

Landing on the edge, Kabuto smirked. One of her was unlucky enough to resist the genjutsu. "You should have stayed down," the traitor whispered, coolly. "It would have spared you a lot of pain."

* * *

Haruki turned to Ako and wanted to dispel the genjutsu that was put on her when he noticed someone had jumped down behind him. "What are you doing here?" Haruki asked, as calmly as possible. Haruki knew all too well that his body made it impossible for him to engage in a real fight.

'_Something is off.. Anbu without a mask, but without traces of a fight that would justify him not wearing it..' _Haruki looked at the newcomer. '_It would seem that this was inevitable.'_

"Why don't you step aside," the young man remarked. Haruki saw the man's circular glasses, and the onyx eyes behind them. Along with the ash-grey hair, this man had a rather unobtrusive appearance.

"Why are you here?" Haruki asked, gesturing Chie to stand down.

"Isn't it obvious?" the young man remarked calmly. "Right behind you I see the heir of one of Konoha's most powerful clans, and she's sitting here without being protected by her own clan.. Quite an easy target, don't you say?"

"So.. An infiltrator.."

"Not really," the man shrugged. "Officially, I am still a genin from Konoha, who participated but failed during the exam. It doesn't mean that I wasn't loyal to Orochimaru-sama to begin with.. So then, I'd say I've already wasted enough time on you, Haruki-san."

"How do you.."

"Did you think Orochimaru-sama was not aware of Hyuga Hinata taking this specific place?" Kabuto smirked. He lashed out and Haruki was blown aside. His older, and by illness crippled, body was no match.

"Tsk.. I do not know why Orochimaru-sama would send me out to deal with this pathetic jonin. Clearly, his illness has already progressed to such a stage that even one of the failed experiments could have dealt with him.. Now, let's take little Miss Hyuga here…" Kabuto mumbled to himself. A five-foot black and white cat-like creature stood in front of him. It's long tail waved behind it.

"So, Glasses-two-leg," Chie growled. "Let's dance.."

* * *

Haruki groaned. He felt that several bones had snapped. Not very surprised, seeing how the poison had also started to affect his brittle bones, after previously eating away his muscles. He opened his eyes and saw Chie darting around the grey-haired traitor. '_How did Orochimaru know about our location?'_ Haruki wondered. Silently, he tried to get up, but his broken left arm and his cracked ribs caused him too much pain to supress a groan.

'_So this is the end..' _he sighed. He smiled gently, seeing the beautiful serene face of his wife again. '_Soon, my dear.. I will be with you soon. But first I have to do something. Who would have imagined that I, with my broken body, would still get the honour of dying in battle…'_

Focussing his chakra and pushing his body to the limit, Haruki managed to regain his footing. The attacker had disabled Chie with several senbon, and was now bending over Hinata, examining her as he was mumbling something about 'perfect health'.

Trembling, but still noiselessly, Haruki stood up.

Kabuto's eyes widened when he felt a hit on his back. Flipping around, he bashed Haruki in his face. "Why didn't you just stay.." Kabuto started.

Shock.

Kabuto felt his body move uncontrollably. His chakra fluctuated. "What the.. Juken?" Kabuto growled in annoyance. "Do you really think I cannot heal a little damage like that?"

"How.. How many times did feel me hit you?" Haruki coughed, his mouth filled with blood. He smirked, weakly but nonetheless proud. "I was the man responsible for training Uzumaki Naruto, you should never have underestimated me.." Another fit of coughing. "Did you.. Really think.. I had not developed myself beyond the normal juken.. Brat?"

"What did you do to me?" Kabuto demanded, starting to panic because he could not feel his own chakra any more.

"Naruto has chakra coils far stronger than any normal person, so I had to change my style in order to properly take him down during the matches we had when he was a boy.." Haruki said, his pride obvious to Kabuto. "How do you think he could block Neji's juken so easily.. Your heart is damaged, traitor.. Now die!"

Haruki stepped forward, not caring about his own injuries, nor did he bother to consider his own survival. He knew he was a dead man anyway, even if he somehow managed to recover from his current injuries with his broken body, the poison would still claim him.

How many years had it been? Eight? Nine? How he felt his body slowly crumble from that one poisoned kunai that had hit him on that unfortunate day. It had been his punishment, being too reckless after his beloved had died. But only now he truly regretted it. '_I am sorry, Naruto.. I wish I could have seen you grow even further_,' Haruki thought, smiling with the picture of an older Naruto wearing the Hokage's hat in his mind, as his chakra-enveloped hand struck Kabuto's throat.

Not even the kunai that Kabuto had pointed at him made Haruki stop. He did not even feel it pierce his stomach. There was no pain.

All he felt was joy.

Liberation.

'_I am here, Minako_,' Haruki smiled, seeing his beloved reach to him.

She was a beautiful as the first day he had ever seen her. Her warm embrace filled him with peace, as was comforted by the familiar smell of her hair. It had been so long…

'_I missed you, Haruki..'_

* * *

When Chie regained consciousness, she moved over to wake her friends. Disrupting the chakra flow from a genjutsu was easy for her. She saw the corpse of glasses-two-leg lying on the ground, his hands still grasping his own throat, with a puddle of blood near his mouth.

As much as she rejoiced that her attacker had perished, Chie knew that she had to wake her friends, before other attackers would come.

But Haruki would not wake. Her dazed mind first did not understand. She saw his content smile, as he leaned back at the wall. Then saw the kunai, stuck in his stomach. But he did not breathe. And his eyes were not white, as they were supposed to be.

There was no chakra.

There was no pulse.

Then she understood. A stab in her heart, one she had not felt for many years..

"Farewell, Haruki-san," Chie bowed her head, with a voice mixed with sorrow and guilt.

* * *

**A/N**: Goodbye Haruki.

And yes, I intended to kill Kabuto from the very start. I would hate to only repeat the original storyline. And by removing him, a lot of the future storyline can be altered, giving me a lot more freedom! But, first things first: the invasion isn't over yet: Orochimaru and Hiruzen still have their 'meeting,' after all.

-Z-

**Edited: 03/03/2015**


	33. Invasion pt3: Last ditch effort

**Chunin Exams arc  
**

**Invasion pt3: Last ditch effort**

* * *

_Previously:_

* * *

_The disguised guard stepped forward, and bowed to the Kazekage. "You have served us well, but it seems your usefulness has come to an end," Orochimaru whispered, as he ran his poisoned blade through the Yondaime Kazekage._

"_You… traitor…" the man gurgled._

_Hiruzen jumped up, responding faster than even the Mizukage could, despite his age. But as Jiraiya turned to attack, Orochimaru darted past him and grabbed the old man, leaping off. __Jiraiya charged after them._

* * *

Jiraiya cursed. Embarrassingly enough, two shinobi had stalled him enough for Orochimaru to create a barrier that prevented him from reaching his sensei. "Sarutobi-sensei, be careful with that snake," Jiraiya whispered, knowing full well how troubled the old man was that his former favourite student had betrayed him (and Konoha) like that.

Jiraiya thought about Naruto, and finally realized he could empathize with Hiruzen's feelings a bit. If Jiraiya was ever forced to fight Naruto, would he have been able to kill without mercy? Small wonder that Orochimaru had been able to get away when his hideous experiments were uncovered. And that incident was years ago, when Sarutobi Hiruzen, even though past his prime, was still a formidable shinobi. '_Well, he still is formidable, but his age has clearly weakened him.. And Orochimaru never fought honestly either…'_

It bothered him that he had been stalled like this. Two shinobi, whom he recognized to be candidates from Konoha who had failed the Chunin Exam during the second stage, had tried to distract him, and attacked him after Jiraiya had ignored them. Even though they were supposed to be genin, they easily possessed the skill to be chunin. And their annoying skills only led to more time being wasted. '_Chakra absorption and a snake-like body modification.. Seems like Orochimaru has not stopped at collecting blood limits and experimenting to create new ones,'_ Jiraiya sighed.

And now what- four of Orochimaru's henchmen had created a barrier which had a quality that surprised him. With no time to prepare for his sage mode, Jiraiya had to either bust the barrier with an extremely strong attack, or find a way to bypass it. '_Dammit.. Why don't I have Naruto's crazy ability to see through these damned barriers?_' he thought about his student, who usually could spot weak points in barrier by just touching them.

But with four seemingly highly-skilled shinobi keeping the barrier up, damaging the barrier would be one hell of a task. Even if one corner weakened, the other three could aid and restore the weakened side.

"Ahh dammit… more distractions," Jiraiya uttered when he saw a small contingent of Otogakure shinobi approach.

* * *

Carrying the near-exhausted Naruto in between them, Shikamaru and Temari hurried towards the barrier. When they got nearer, Shikamaru began to wonder why he always had to have such a big mouth, which always led him into troublesome situations like these.

Even worse, the girl next to him was ever scarier than his own mother- which was a monumental feat, especially in his books. Mothers can be damned scary, especially because they always seem to be able to look straight through you. Not that Shikamaru even bothered to attempt to lie to his, he was too lazy, and knew full well that it would fail anyway. His father was renowned for his intelligence, but Shikamaru knew that his mother was not far behind him. If it wasn't even the other way around. After all, his father didn't have the guts to lie to her either..

But with Temari, he almost pitied the few Otogakure shinobi that had dared to get too close. Obviously, this Temari had never been at the level of a regular genin. She was far too troublesome for that. Though, with a little attention to proper timing, his Kagemane no jutsu worked pretty well along with her jutsu. He just needed to release his victims a moment before Temari lashed out at them, or receive their blows as well, which was far too troublesome.

* * *

With remarkably little resistance, the three arrived at their destination. Naruto was a bit suspicious. '_If this is a full-blown invasion, there should have been more attackers at this place. This feels more like some kind of diversion. Perhaps that ugly-looking guy was right about Gaara and me being the real targets?'_

Then again, what was that Orochimaru doing inside this barrier? This near to it, Naruto could easily sense the malice that Orochimaru radiated. '_Why would he seal himself off in the middle of an invasion?_' Naruto wondered.

Shikamaru and Temari paid more attention to their surroundings. A large number of corpses were littered around the barrier, and all of them seemed to have Otogakure forehead protectors. '_So this is why we could get here with so little resistance,_' Shikamaru realized. '_I thought it was strange that there wouldn't be any guards when the arena itself was attacked by such a number. But now what?_'

"Naruto, can you get through this barrier?" Shikamaru urged him. "I'd prefer not to stick around this place too long…"

"Tsk, coward," Temari shook her head. "It's not like those fools from the Hidden Sound posed any threat…"

"Stop your bickering, please," Naruto sighed when Shikamaru tried to protest. Unsteadily, he walked towards the barrier. "Hmm… fire-based, four corners… also four people keeping it up? Impressive…"

"What are you doing in this place, brat?"

"Yeah, hello to you too, ero-sennin," Naruto mumbled. "Purple flames though… why purple?"

"What are you trying to do?" Jiraiya sighed. "You're obviously already exhausted. Look at you, you can barely stand up straight!"

Naruto shrugged, and took a few steps to the left.

"And why did you two bring him here? And why is someone from Sunagakure on your side?" Jiraiya snapped, turning to Shikamaru. He had been frustrated long enough, and annoyed by all the pesky shinobi who continuously distracted him from breaking down the barrier.

Temari looked at the man, intimidated by the magnitude of chakra the sannin radiated, and somewhat frightened by his wild behavior. Shikamaru was equally shaken, but decided to cut off the older man's rant. "We brought Naruto here because he said he could open the barrier."

"Open it?" Jiraiya exclaimed. "Don't you think I would already have done it if it was that easy?"

"Whatever this Orochimaru has been planning to do in this invasion, this barrier is part of it," Shikamaru countered. "Naruto offered a way to disrupt his plans."

"He's exhausted! Do you want to kill him?"

"Relax, ero-sennin," Naruto said, calm though unable to hide the exhaustion from his voice. "I can only create an opening, so if you want to go through you should take the opportunity.. I still have some of the Kyuubi's chakra left, but it will probably only last for a second. Just count yourself lucky that this thing is fire-based," Naruto frowned. His hand was covered in purple flames when he touched the barrier, but as usual fire proved to be harmless to him. Much easier than to have to waste chakra to protect himself as well..

"I do not know what this Orochimaru is planning," Naruto continued, while Jiraiya was still distracted. "You should probably stop him from whatever he is doing though…"

Jiraiya nodded. "That would leave you completely defenseless. Can you promise me that you won't get yourself killed? If you deplete all of your chakra…"

"We won't let him do something that stupid," Shikamaru promised.

* * *

Caught off guard by the sudden assassination of the Kazekage, Hiruzen had reacted too late to prevent Orochimaru from dragging him to the top of nearest building. There, four of Orochimaru's henchmen had created a barrier, trapping Hiruzen.

"So, Orochimaru… what are you planning?" Hiruzen frowned. "I thought this day would come eventually… but, you won't get my head so easily."

Orochimaru smirked, he had his arm around the old man's throat and still he did not budge an inch. It was typical for his former sensei, although his bravado could not hide the truth: Sarutobi Hiruzen, the third Hokage, had become an old man.

"I told you already. You should hurry up and pick your successor… wisely," Orochimaru softly spoke. "Because… you will die here, old man…"

Hiruzen turned his head until he could see Orochimaru's face. "Are you that happy?" he smirked, seeing the tear in his former pupil's eye. "Or, do you still feel some small amount of sadness when you are trying to kill your own sensei?"

"Geh, don't be mistaken," Orochimaru scoffed, wiping the tear out of his eye. "I was just tired… I yawned and a tear leaked out, that's all…"

"Heh, I thought so," Hiruzen smiled. "It would not have been like you… you're not the type of man to act based solely on emotions… out of vengeance… other than your curiosity, you have neither goals nor reasons for the cruelties you commit."

"Hmm… perhaps… perhaps I do have a goal," Orochimaru mumbled. "I enjoy watching things in motion. The world is a dull place when things are at a standstill, isn't it? Chaos is much more interesting…"

Orochimaru let Hiruzen free, as he removed his disguise as the Kazekage's guard. "But I see you were expecting me.."

"It wasn't hard to figure out that you were up to something," Hiruzen said, removing his own hat and cloak. "All I wonder is whether you attacked Konoha out of your own wishes, or if you are truly the Akatsuki's puppet now…"

Orochimaru looked at the old man. He had not changed his fighting garb one bit, even after it had been over fifteen years since they had last fought each other. It was truly… nostalgic. Though Orochimaru felt a little insulted by the suggestion that he merely worked for someone else.

"Akatsuki is a useful tool for me, for now at least," Orochimaru hissed. "Right now, our goals are the same… a crumbling leaf. Your death would throw Konoha into chaos, and thereby disrupt the balance between nations."

Hiruzen shrugged. Akatsuki was shrouded in mysteries, with the only real knowledge about them being their name and that they were the world's best band of mercenaries. But he knew well enough that Orochimaru would not spill his secrets so easily. His former student had always had a preference for secrecy. And surely the chaos that Orochimaru mentioned would not be the goal of Akatsuki… he looked around. "And it looks like I won't be able to escape easily either…"

"As if you would intend to do such a thing," Orochimaru smiled. "You would rather not have anyone get in your way, right?"

Hiruzen smiled. Even though he started to feel his age, he would not have to worry too much about facing someone like Orochimaru. Besides, barriers like these should not be able to stop Jiraiya for too long…

* * *

It amused Orochimaru to no end. The 'professor' tried several attack patterns, but Orochimaru blocked or countered them all. To show his former sensei how much he had grown was something that Orochimaru had long wished to do. Orochimaru had not forgotten that he had been lucky to get away with his life the last time he faced Sarutobi Hiruzen.

And even now, he had to admit that the old man would have likely been able to hit him once or twice if he had been a little younger. His speed and chakra reserves may have dwindled, but the old man was still a formidable opponent. Not to mention that he had been Orochimaru's example when it came to his desire to learn jutsus.

But play-time was over.

By now, the reinforcements from Sunagakure would have reached Konoha's walls, which should have been breached by the snakes summoned by his subordinates from Otogakure. Although the Kyuubi brat had foiled his plans that had counted on the unleashed Ichibi to be another distraction, the pressure from outside should be sufficient for his loyal Kabuto to collect the doujutsu that Orochimaru wanted so badly- at least, until he got his hands on the sharingan; and sufficient for that Sasori to collect the jinchuriki brats without interference, and for he himself to deal with Sarutobi Hiruzen. Because this man would continue to be a nuisance to the goals of Akatsuki, with his stupid desire for peace. Good thing his most likely successor would be much more willing to create a little bit more tension in their world. No, Orochimaru knew he should not play around any longer.

"Your time is up, sensei," he hissed, while executing a fast series of hand seals. "Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei no jutsu!"

Hiruzen watched in shock and horror when two coffins rose up, revealing his predecessors upon opening. Hiruzen had only seen his sensei, the second Hokage, use the technique once. '_Of all people.. For him to summon those two..'_

"It's been a while, eh, monkey?" the second remarked.

"Monkey? Oh it's you… hmm, you've grown old Sarutobi," the first wondered.

"I would not have thought I would meet with you two brothers again in a situation like this… it is regrettable," Hiruzen sighed, his face completely serious now. Even though it was still a far cry from the second's jutsu, Orochimaru had managed to recreate this technique. And it was insulting that he had used it to defile the legendary Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages.

The second looked around. "So… you're the youngster who summoned us with the forbidden jutsu I invented, huh. Quite impressive… even if you lack proper control…"

"I suppose that would mean that we would have to fight against you, Saru," the first sighed.

But for some which reason Hiruzen could not comprehend, both of the previous kages were unable to move. Orochimaru was able to simply walk towards them and plant a kunai with a tag of his in their heads.

With another series of hand seals, Orochimaru increased the strength of his summons, which also made them look more… real. But Hiruzen could see that the jutsu took a heavy toll on the pale shinobi. Not that he would be able to exploit that weakness. Not with these two between them.

"How do you like seeing their true forms again, sensei?" Orochimaru smirked.

Hiruzen scowled. "They look a lot like all those years ago.. But they are still nowhere near the real men I once knew…"

"Perhaps," Orochimaru laughed. "But they are strong enough to beat you, old man… while I am controlling them." Seeing his sensei's glare only increased Orochimaru's amusement.

* * *

Jiraiya had seen some of what had transpired inside, but only vaguely because the fiery barrier had mostly blocked his view. But now that he was inside…

Naruto had exhausted his last chakra reserves on creating a gap long enough for Jiraiya to slip inside. Jiraiya was glad that the kid would now be taken to a safe place, accompanied by Gamaken.

And knowing who he had to face, Jiraiya had thought it would be wise to not hold back a thing. Not that he liked using his sage mode, with both of the elder toads on his shoulders, and his own body transformed, but he knew he would need their strength. But never in his wildest dreams would he have thought to face a wielder of the wood element.

"How did you," Jiraiya started out, before he saw his sensei dart back, now accompanied by Enma, the monkey king, who was the old man's personal summon. He then saw who had pushed the Hokage back. "Impossible," Jiraiya hissed.

* * *

Orochimaru scowled. He had felt a disturbance when something had disrupted the barrier for a moment, but he had not expected his former teammate to enter so soon. And how did the fool get _this_ strong? Was this Jiraiya's sage mode, of which he had heard so much?

Not even in their fight together as team Hiruzen, had Orochimaru felt his old teammate's strength like this. Of course, he knew that there were differences between the sage modes taught by the Snakes, and those taught by the Toads. But for it to be such a difference…

'_This is getting… troublesome…_' Orochimaru considered. '_Neither the first nor the second are strong enough to face off against Jiraiya right now. Not one-on-one at least, not while I am unable to summon them back with their complete powers. I simply would not be able to properly control them if I made them any stronger- and I don't want them to turn on me. How did this turn out this badly? I thought Jiraiya would have been forced to defend Konoha, leaving the old man to me.. But now he has passed the barrier. If he manages to take down either of the two Kages.. Dammit, and then there is Sarutobi-sensei as well.' _Things were not going according to plan.

* * *

Unlike his younger brother, Senju Hashirama was not the sensor type. Though, he was also too busy trying to resist Orochimaru's control whenever possible, so it might have been that as well. But Jiraiya _did_ manage to catch the legendary shinobi off guard, and his large Rasengan pretty much blew the former Hokage apart.

"Sensei!" Jiraiya shouted. "What is going on?!"

"It's the impure world resurrection, kid," Shima – the female elder toad – croaked. She and her husband Fukasaku were small, hardly larger than Gamakichi was right now, but their power was immeasurably greater. As was their wisdom, gained by a great many years of experience.

"Seems like Ma is right," Fukasaku, sitting on Jiraiya's other shoulder, remarked. "And the first and second Hokages, no less…"

"Wasn't that jutsu the one that made the summon indestructible?" Shima wondered.

"Right, better seal that guy away then, Jiraiya-chan," Fukasaku said, casually.

Jiraiya saw how the body of the first Hokage was already regenerating. But he was fast enough with his sealing method to trap the legendary man. If he had not caught him off guard, Jiraiya knew he would have had a very difficult fight against the man. His mokuton was legendary, and for good reason.

But he had no time to admire the wooden wilderness that the first Hokage had created inside the barrier, because he saw how the third Hokage was pushed back by the second.

* * *

Orochimaru gritted his teeth. He knew his control of the edo tensei summons was still not perfect, but for the first Hokage to directly reject his orders and allow Jiraiya to hit him… that could be considered a grave miscalculation. Right now, the situation was bad. One of his guards had alerted him that something bad had happened at the arena. Things were not according to plan. Not at all.

'_Now what.. With so much chakra spent on the edo tensei no jutsu, I will be at a disadvantage… Nidaime will lose when Jiraiya and Sarutobi-sensei gang up on him. And I doubt I could resist Jiraiya as he is now.. Not with this limited amount of chakra I have left right now._' Orochimaru shook his head in annoyance. He had made a mistake by not waiting until he could transfer to a fresh body. Then again, this had been a unique opportunity.

But this current body was already approaching the end of its usefulness. It would last another six months, at most. Perhaps a bit more, with Kabuto looking after it. But the rejection had already started. Orochimaru sighed. '_At least I got my hold on Sasuke-kun.. And with Kabuto grabbing the byakugan for me, I have all the things I need. And I only had to make sure the old goat died. Sad that I cannot humiliate him properly… but right now, I should focus on getting away without getting damaged… or worse.'_

Orochimaru pulled out his blade. It was coated with the deadliest poisons he had, the sword of Kusanagi. This legendary sword could pierce anything, and its ability to extend and retract its blade upon command was also very useful right now.

Orochimaru signalled his four guards to pay close attention and remove the barrier on his command. Now all he needed to do was to let the Nidaime make sure that Hiruzen stood still for just a moment..

* * *

Dodging Enma, the monkey king, Senju Tobirama charged forward at his former student. "Keep moving, Saru!" he warned, defying his master's control.

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, but was heavily pressured. He had been wondering if he had to use his ace: the one technique Orochimaru would not know about, yet would still be powerful enough to subdue all three of Hiruzen's attackers. But then Jiriaya stepped in.

But shaking off the second Hokage, even if the latter did not have access to his full power and abilities, was no easy thing to do. Especially not for an old, and already worn-out man like Hiruzen.

"Suiton: Suidanha," Tobirama exclaimed, spitting out a needle-sharp blast of water, aimed at Hiruzen.

Forced to dodge, Hiruzen jumped left. And hit a tree. Using this distraction, the second Hokage grabbed the third, while Enma and Jiraiya charged at them.

But both of them were too late.

The extending blade of the sword of Kusanagi had already pierced the trees.

It pierced the second Hokage.

And then..

The third.

* * *

Using the subsequent confusion as his cover, Orochimaru and his four guards – who had just taken down their barrier – now ran across the rooftops of Konoha. Only now the snake summoner could see the extent of the damage his troops and those of Sunagakure had done to Konoha.

And it disappointed him greatly.

Sure, he had calculated that Konoha would not go down, not while both his former teammate Tsunade and the Mizukage had unexpectedly shown up in Konoha. In their preparations, these two had never been expected to participate in the fights, but still.. the walls should have been breached. The shinobi from Sunagakure should have joined his troops from Otogakure, and at least have caused more damage to Konoha than Orochimaru could now see.

Of course, their plan had also included a raging bijuu in the centre of the village. But to Orochimaru's great disappointment, the annoying jinchuriki from Konoha, that Uzumaki Naruto, had defeated Sabaku no Gaara.

This day had turned out to be far less entertaining than Orochimaru had hoped- but at least his poisoned blade had pierced Sarutobi Hiruzen. And Orochimaru knew that his sensei's inevitable death would likely cause far more chaos than this single invasion.

Now he needed to hurry to the rendezvous point first, and see how Sasori and Kabuto had succeeded in their tasks.

* * *

Jiraiya seized his wounded sensei and prevented him from falling when the blade retracted.

"I am… sorry…" the resurrected second Hokage panted. "Hiruzen.. I managed to change the blade's course… a little…"

Jiraiya looked as his body crumbled. "The jutsu is lifted.. My brother and I.. We will be at peace once more," Senju Tobirama spoke his last words. "Hunt down our summoner, he will be dangerous… but for now… Saru will die, the blade was poisoned…"

"In that case we should bring him to a healer as quick as possible," Shima croaked, when the former Hokage had passed on once more, leaving behind the body of an anbu who had gone missing during the second round of the exams. "Jiraiya-chan," she urged him.

"Ma is right, we should hurry now, if you act quick you could prolong the Hokage's life a little," Fukasaku for once agreed with his wife.

Jiraiya ended his sage mode, and the two toads disconnected from his shoulders. "Fukasaku-sama, please hurry and get Tsunade to the hospital. She will be near the gates…"

* * *

Orochimaru and his four guards landed at the rendezvous point, and to Orochimaru's surprise, they were the first ones to arrive.

"Orochimaru-sama," one of the four spoke up, seeing their master's expression. "During the invasion, there was some sort of tornado of blue flames at the arena. I do not know who or what was behind it, but whatever it was: it had more chakra than the Ichibi. Far more…"

"The Nibi.. So, Yugito had acted against her orders…" Orochimaru gritted his teeth. "Then Sasori would have had no chance. He wasted too much chakra on those beloved 'sleeper agents' of his. Besides, that creature would have been impervious to his poisons. She was rumored to be the second strongest jinchuriki for a reason.."

'_For the time, at least. If that Uzumaki brat continues to develop like this…_'

"Any word about Kabuto?" he demanded.

"My lord, we have not seen him, and considering his task he should have arrived here already…"

Orochimaru's glare was enough to frighten the four into silence. '_Kabuto… of all my servants you were the only one who was not expendable,_' Orochimaru pondered. '_And with your skill, grabbing that girl and escaping from Konoha should have been easy. No, the only reason for you to be late would be if someone strong had held you up. But that would not make sense… the seats arranged for that girl were apart from all the strongest jonin, as well as her own family. She had no guards worth noting, so unless we were tricked… had he sent Kabuto into a trap? I would not expect him to be petty enough to feel any sort of grudge against his former spy. No, he would have placed his own interests over some petty emotion like that.. After all, it only served in his best interests. Perhaps some other jonin was close. But there shouldn't be many that could oppose Kabuto, and with the invasion going on the odds would be... Damn this accursed village!' _

"If Sasori has fallen, and Kabuto had not been able to escape the arena before that, we should presume he died. What a disappointment," Orochimaru hissed. "We will move to our nearest lair."

'_And our 'leader' would not be very happy to hear about our failure either. No, it would be better to cut my ties with Akatsuki before he hears about it. Besides, it is not as if I need them any longer. I got all the information I need. At least, all the information they would be willing to share. __Now I should focus on luring Sasuke-kun in…'_

* * *

"This is not good, Jiraiya," Tsunade said with a worried expression. "I stabilized his situation for now, and Shizune is working on the antidote, but I highly doubt we will be very successful at this point."

"Has the poison spread that fast?"

"This is Orochimaru we are talking about.. We both know about his fascination with poisons," she sighed. "If nothing can be done about the poison, I could keep sensei alive for a few days at most."

Jiraiya grimaced, but had already braced himself for the worst scenario. Suddenly, he thought of something.

"Tsunade… Naruto- when he met Orochimaru in the forest of death, he mentioned being poisoned too, do you think there is any chance he used the same poison?"

Tsunade blinked and considered the possibilities. Even if it was not the exact same poison, but something similar, there was a chance that Naruto had built up some resistance against that. "I… I will try. We're in luck, he is only two rooms away from here."

"I know.. I had Gamaken carry him, Shikamaru, and that Sand girl here…"

"Jiraiya… I know you don't want it, but for now you should focus on leading Konoha. I'll look after sensei."

"What?!" Jiraiya exclaimed.

"The village is in chaos now, the wounded are still being brought in, and we have counted at least two hundred dead now. And that number will rise," Tsunade sighed. "Take sensei's place, if only for a little while. Before the clan leaders start messing everything up even further, or that, even worse, someone like Danzo steps in to lead Konoha."

Jiraiya massaged his forehead. "This day… ugh, alright then, I'll do it…"

"And I just saw the Mizukage, escorting that jonin from Sunagakure, it seemed like that guy wants to have a word with you too.."

Jiraiya had already hurried off. He had a lot to do now.

* * *

"Dad?! Mom?" Sakura shouted, finally arriving back at home. Kakashi and several other jonin had closed off the infirmary at the arena when the fighting had started, and left her there to guard the wounded and the medics. Not that any of the invaders had gotten through.

"I'm home!" she shouted, rushing into the living room. She had been worried sick about her parents, but had not gotten a chance to return home earlier. The invasion had 'ended' two hours earlier; after Orochimaru had fled, the remaining Oto-nin had dropped their weapons when they had realized they would not get reinforcements from Sunagakure.

Sakura walked on, into the kitchen, and finally saw her father. "Dad? Why didn't you say anything?" Sakura wondered. "Dad?" she became worried when he slowly turned to her.

His bewildered expression, his red eyes.. Sakura shivered, suppressing the urge to run away. '_No… no, this can't be… it cannot,_' she thought, before her father opened his mouth.

With a cracked voice, he explained that they were going home when the invasion started; that there had been a large snake, charging through the streets. Sakura felt as if her heart broke, as if the ground under her feet fell away, when her crying father told her the news. Her mother had died.

* * *

Standing on the shore, he looked at the crimson tide. The sun finally rose up, heralding a day after this long night. All the burdens lost with time, the sun rose up and erased the shadow it had cast behind it. He heard whispers, but saw no one. Was he still sane? He looked up at the starry skies, which he knew would soon to be replaced by the splendor of the sun, and wondered where he was.

He looked down and saw the shadows created by the rising sun. He wanted to feel free, boundless, but he was tied to the earth. The shadows kept following him, no matter where he went, encroaching upon him like his own doom.

Then he realized that he could only see the shadows because the sun began to rise. That he had already been living in the darkness. Light created shadow. Hope created pain. Love created hatred.

Having longed to see the sun's warmth for so long, he now wanted to escape. He loved the light, but feared it for the shadows it created.

"Choose," a voice whispered.

He looked around. The crimson tide at one side, the darkness of night at the other. He stood in the middle, wondering what he wanted to see. What was it that he was used to seeing? Why did he desire light, but fear the shadows it created?

"Choose," the whisper repeated.

What was he? Where was he? Who did he hear? As he began to think, he saw the doves and birds, the grass and trees. He began to realize that he had been walking around in the darkness of night, blind to the world around him.

"Choose…"

But choose what? The sun crept up, and the more its light filled his world, the more details he began to see. Was that his choice? The warmth and light of life, which was bound to the shadows of loss and despair, or the simple darkness of death and oblivion?

"It is time," the voice whispered.

Yes, he realized now that he had to make his choice. He remembered little from the night, his heart empty and cold, while the sun began to color his life. He made his choice, even if that choice would hurt him. He would bear the pain, no matter what. He would endure.

He turned and walked towards the shore, feeling the cold, wet sand under his bare feet. "I made my choice," he said to the whispering voice.

Even though the whispering voice remained silent, he could feel its approval.

* * *

Bathing in his own sweat, Naruto woke in his hospital bed. It was still in the middle of the night, disorienting him. Where was he? What were all these things attached to him?

Vaguely remembering a nightmare, Naruto felt the thumping sensation in his right hand.

A nurse hurried to him. "Uzumaki-san, are you alright?" she asked him.

Naruto was still dazed and it took him a moment before he realized what she asked. "Yes.. yes, I made.. I made a choice?"

The nurse looked at him, not sure whether he was really awake, or just delirious from his fever. "You should sleep, Uzumaki-san. You need to recover."

Naruto blinked, and dropped back on his bed, after realizing he was sitting up. He was already asleep before the nurse got the chance to tug him in properly. She wondered if this boy really was the fearsome demon that some said he was.

* * *

**A/N**: Yes… I told you all Naruto would eventually have to make a choice. Well, I would say he had already made that choice, even if he had not thought about it. But now he knows he will have to endure pain, if he truly wishes to live a life. As for the voice itself, well, that's something for later in my story!

And as always: please leave your thoughts behind. After all, this is my first fanfic, and I'm doing this all on my own, so feedback is always appreciated! Moving on to my planning: next chapter, the **aftermath**, wrapping up the Chunin Exam arc. Then we'll move on to the 'Chie chronicles', after which the next arc starts. But bad new first: I won't be publishing next chapter next week, as I'm away from home for most of the time. So, there'll be a bigger wait then you all are used from me!

Luckily I also have good news: the Ziltoidian empire has expanded! This chapter is the first one that is brought to you all with the help of a beta! You can all thank **Illuminated** for improving this chapter!

-Z-


	34. Aftermath

**Chunin Exams arc**

**Aftermath**

* * *

After days of negotiations, hearing reports, and giving orders, Jiraiya got some more rest. He had temporarily occupied his sensei's office, considering it was a central position in the village and had access to all the resources he needed.

But he didn't like sitting in a chair that wasn't his.

These days had been a disaster. The official number was 683 civilians and 239 shinobi dead. Not to mention that there were at least eight thousand wounded, including about five hundred heavily wounded. Konoha had suffered a severe blow, that was easy enough to conclude even without reports. The preparations for the attack, which they had expected, had nearly been undone by the sudden turn of many shinobi. Fortunately, when they regained their self-control upon the death of the Akatsuki member manipulating them, the fights had been ended quickly. But many good men and women had already lost their lives, at the hands of their own comrades.

No, the greatest issue was that the Hokage was mortally injured, Jiraiya concluded. Jiraiya had had to spend a lot of time convincing people that Hiruzen had not died yet, Shimura Danzo most of all, and the old war-hawk and council elder insisted on immediate countermeasures against Sunagakure, as part of a campaign of retribution. In the heat of emotions, many people agreed with him. However, Jiraiya had convinced them to stop being foolish, and to focus on repairing the village first. One could not strike when their defenses were in such a bad condition.

In any case, when Jiraiya wondered aloud in council where Danzo had been during the invasion, the man had refused to answer. Jiraiya's question and Danzo's refusal to answer did create a lot of frowns among the people gathered, just as Jiraiya had intended. This was understandable because Danzo and his division of anbu, called Root, were supposed to be good assets, yet for some reason they had chosen to not participate in the battle while the invading army killed Konoha people.

Although Danzo had pulled back for the time being, Jiraiya knew enough to expect him to return in the next council meeting. The other two elders would likely be equally troublesome. This was exactly the reason why Jiraiya had always refused an official position in Konoha: he did not possess the patience to deal with all the idiotic political games while lives were at stake.

Sure, political ploys could save many lives. It was unfortunate that at least as many were threatened by it, Jiraiya groused to himself.

Luckily, not everything had been bad. First of all, the Mizukage was celebrated throughout Konoha for her role during the invasion. Secondly, Jiraiya had had a long conversation with Baki, the jonin commander from Sunagakure who had now held the highest position in their village. With the death of one of the members of Akatsuki, a lot had been clarified.

Baki had explained that that man, or at least, what had once been a man, was the infamous Sasori of the Red Sands; and that the man had been feared because of his ability to not only control puppets, but also had a jutsu to control people. Baki admitted that while it seemed a convenient thing to say now, he and many other jonin had indeed thought that the behaviour of the Kazekage had been strange. After all, the relations between Iwagakure and Sunagakure were bad, so Sunagakure would only have jeopardized its own position by declaring war on Konohagakure.

As such, Baki had offered full apologies on behalf of Sunagakure, and had offered to lead his men in a full scale retreat. In addition, he had also offered to change a few of the current conditions in the peace treaty between their nations in Konoha's favour, which was especially attractive when looking at the trade sector. Jiraiya knew full well that Baki offered this because Sunagakure was not in a financial position to repay Konoha in any other way.

Jiraiya had agreed for now, although he stated that this had to be approved by the Hokage and the council first. Therefore, he had ordered Baki to retreat all Suna shinobi from the land of fire. However, the children from the Kazekage would remain in Konoha as hostages, just as the body of the Kazekage – especially interesting for the bloodline it carried – would remain in Konoha for the time being.

Thinking back, Jiraiya smiled at the reluctance with which Baki had agreed, not really willing to leave his pupils behind. Especially because it also meant that Sunagakure would temporarily lose control of its jinchuriki. But Baki was smart enough to admit that he had no other choice but to accept these terms. Konohagakure had every right to see the invasion as an act of betrayal, and thus declare war. The Mizukage had agreed wight this view, stating that carrying out the invasion while she was present was also seen as an act of aggression towards Kirigakure. Baki had shuddered at the thought that his village would have had to fight two other nations, with Iwagakure undoubtedly ready to exploit the situation as well.

Sasori had put Sunagakure in a situation where it was completely doomed if it had not been forgiven for this invasion attempt.

Regardless, Jiraiya did not like politics. But at least one piece of good news had made his temporary burden a lot lighter. Using Naruto's blood, and the resistance he had created against Orochimaru's poison, Tsunade had created an antidote for Hiruzen. Using this, she had succeeded in healing him. Well, healing was probably overstating it; the fate of Sarutobi Hiruzen had already been sealed, but instead of a couple of days in intense pain, he now had several weeks in relatively good health before the poison would claim his life. All in all, the damage the poison had done to Hiruzen's old body during these last few days had been irreversible.

Jiraiya frowned as he thought back at the expression of his old teammate. It seemed to him like Tsunade would blame herself for yet another person's death. The woman had never changed, always expecting too much from herself. Jiraiya guessed that living under her grandfather's shadow had made such large self-expectations inevitable. After all, the same kind of expectations had caused the untimely death of most of her family…

And Hiruzen accepted his fate, Jiraiya surmised. He knew he did not have a lot of time left to him, but at least the old man could appoint a successor before he died, avoiding a lot of conflict in their village. It wasn't the most honorable death, but at least the man had chuckled when stating that he really still was a shinobi: enduring and doing his duty to the bitter end. And Jiraiya knew that his old teacher valued duty more than glory. But once things were resolved, Jiraiya would finally be able to leave in order to train Naruto properly, especially now that the lad had gained a different social standing.

That was the last of the things that were 'good' in Jiraiya's books. At first, a mob of people had gathered in front of the hospital, demanding that Naruto would be imprisoned, banished, or even executed. However, there were also those who protested against all this. Knowing that the situation could get out of hand, especially because Tsunade would lose her temper, Jiraiya had interceded and the group had dissolved naturally. In the end, rumors of Naruto being the one who saved Konoha began to spread. Jiraiya was curious to see how this would turn out.

Perhaps it was a possibility that the people of Konoha would forget their prejudgment against Naruto, Jiraiya wondered. After all, Naruto had shown in a brilliant way that he was capable of controlling the Kyuubi's chakra. And that he controlled the monster, rather than the other way around, was one thing the people would never have believed before. But now they nodded when Jiraiya said it, thinking about the horror the Ichibi could have inflicted on Konoha, if things had gone differently, if Naruto had not stopped the bijuu.

What Jiraiya did not say aloud, however, was that he was concerned about the Fourth's seal on Naruto. Forcing such quantities of chakra through it would not benefit the seal's strength, to say the least.

* * *

Two days later Jiraiya walked through the hospital, after getting another piece of good news.

"Good morning, Naruto," he smiled widely, after entering the boy's room. Finally, the boy had woken up from his injuries. Well, not conventional injuries… he had nearly depleted all of his chakra, and had remained in a strange sort of coma afterwards. Even Tsunade had not understood why he had not woken up earlier.

"Morning, ero-sennin," Naruto answered. Jiraiya was glad that the boy at least looked pretty good. Much better then when he had nearly died on his mission before the exams had started.

"How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good…" Naruto replied. Jiraiya was a bit bothered by his pensive look. "Seems like I was out for a while."

"Five days, kid," the toad sage sighed. "I told you to be careful with that barrier."

"Did it work? No one wanted to tell me how the invasion ended."

"It worked, and thanks to you the Hokage is still alive." Naruto looked sharply when Jiraiya said that. The word 'still' had not escaped him. "We still have a few weeks, according to Tsunade," Jiraiya sighed. "Needless to say that this is a matter of the utmost secrecy. Only a handful of people are aware of this. But seeing how it was your blood that extended the old man's life, I thought you deserved to know. Orochimaru slipped up when he used his poison against you."

"Tell me about it..." Naruto grimaced. "So Konoha has taken quite a blow," he sighed. "How is Jii-san? Is he in the hospital too? How are the others?"

"The old man is stable now. He is weak, but capable of doing things as long as he takes it easy. But his body is poisoned, and no one can stop the poison from spreading. We just moved him to his office, along with all the medical equipment he needs. As for the others… your team will be visiting you later; apart from some minor injuries, they were fine. They'll also tell you more about the invasion."

Jiraiya grimaced. He did not know how the break the news about Haruki's death, and decided to follow the request of the Hyuga girl, Ako, who wanted to tell Naruto herself. But Jiraiya felt like he needed to give Naruto at least a warning.

"But I will not lie, Naruto… a lot of people have died, and many more were wounded," Jiraiya sighed. "Still, many now see you as the hero who stopped the one-tailed bijuu. Well, I'd say they are equally thankful and scared, but it's an improvement of the former situation, I suppose. But personally, I wanted to thank you. If Gaara had really been unleashed on Konoha, things would have been a lot worse."

"How is he? And Yugito?"

"They are both fine. Yugito killed that guy from Akatsuki, the one who attacked you and Gaara. Gaara and his siblings are currently held in custody, although I have arranged it so that the two of us can visit him any time. Officially, just to check up on his seal, though I admit you did a very good job on it. I hardly found any weakness in it," Jiraiya smiled, proud that his student had progressed so much. Well, he didn't say that there was a mistake in it, but that had technically been Jiraiya's fault, and not Naruto's.

"Hardly…" Naruto chuckled. "Well fine, I would like to talk to him anyway… After all, I suppose he is some kind of brother to me, even if we are not related by blood, we share similar fates."

Jiraiya smiled, and stood up from the seat he had taken. "You get something to eat first. Kurenai and the others will be here in an hour. We will talk about Gaara's seal later."

As Naruto watched his (unofficial) teacher walk away, he worried why the man had such a troubled expression on his face. It fitted perfectly with the sense of 'wrongness' that Naruto had ever since he woke up. '_Something is wrong. But what?_' Naruto frowned.

* * *

After he had slept for an hour, or perhaps longer, as Naruto had lost track of time in the boredom of a hospital, his team visited him. Well, his team plus Ako, who looked extremely uncomfortable- and sad.

Naruto frowned. '_First Jiraiya acting odd, and now Ako too? What… Where is Haruki?_' Naruto realized. "What's wrong, Ako?"

The girl seemed to want to leave when he spoke up, but Kurenai put a hand on her shoulder. "Naruto… we're sorry we have to tell you this… but the invasion," the jonin started, her gentle voice having an odd tremor. "During the exam, someone tried to take Hinata away."

Naruto grimaced. "Who?"

"Don't worry about him, two-leg," Chie said, jumping onto his bed. But even the cat sounded a bit off to him. She did not boast with her usual bravado. "Haruki killed him."

Ako sniffed, and tried to hold back her tears. "But he… Haruki got injured…"

Naruto felt as if he suddenly froze, as he listened to them tell what happened- how Ako apologized for not being able to help, how Kurenai was sorry she was not there, how Chie regretted not being stronger, and how Haruki had fallen while taking down one of Orochimaru's henchmen.

Seeing the emotions the boy was going through, Hinata had to suppress her urge to run to him. Naruto looked so fragile now, so lonely. Haruki himself had asked her to help him whenever she could, but right now... she did not know how to help him. He had just lost the man who practically raised him, so what could she say or do to lessen his pain?

Remaining silent for a moment, as he did not trust his own voice, Naruto decided to speak again. "None of you," he sighed. "None of you should blame yourself."

He noticed the looks of the others, and swallowed. "Haruki told me he was dying- that he had been poisoned- and his body was growing weaker and weaker. I know that this man would never ever blame any of you for his death. And neither will I," Naruto said with a determined look. "You know... he was frustrated because he had become that weak; but now he has gotten the honourable death he wanted."

"What…" the teary Ako managed to talk.

"He never told you, Ako, because you never wanted to hear it," Naruto smiled gently. Though she was several years older than him, he knew her aversion to these kinds of things all too well. She was too gentle, while he never had any other choice but to face the cold facts. His burden did not allow him to do otherwise. Perhaps that was why Haruki understood him, Naruto realized; the man must have seen his illness as a similar burden. Both were inescapable.

"The burial," Kurenai said. "We decided it would be best if the burial was delayed a little, so that you could be there too. And with the amount of casualties, it was not difficult to arrange."

"Thank you," Naruto bent his head, blinking to hold back the tears he felt. "Thank you for telling me. Thank you all…"

"Naruto," Ako said hesitantly, while she rummaged through her pack. "Haruki left this behind, with instructions that it is for you, in case he died. I thought you would want to read it." She handed over a sealed letter.

As they had agreed, the company left after handing over the letter. They knew Naruto would need time to accept this. Hinata knew that, even though he did not lie, he still hid his real emotions. She wanted to talk with him so badly- about Haruki, about him, about his actions throughout the years, about why he had acted as her silent guard. But, she knew she had to wait. He needed time. She could hardly understand what it would be like, to lose someone so close to you.

She had it right. No matter what Naruto knew, it hurt him more than anything that Haruki had died. Losing someone so close to you was worse than loneliness, worse than being hated.

* * *

_Naruto,_

_As a contingency, I asked Ako to keep this letter and give it to you when I pass away. I pray that the seal upon it is still intact, or else I bid you to be very careful as secrets might be leaked, and several people might be in danger. I have written this story in case I died before having the chance to tell it to you myself, as it is a subject that I am reluctant to talk about. I will start with the story of our clan, so that you will understand everything._

_Several generations ago, before the founding of Konoha, and before the system of the hidden villages was established, the Hyuga clan was a wandering clan like many others. Clans which have now become our allies had once been our opponents, as we lived from the money we earned by fighting. History tells us it was a time of chaos and never- ending strife. In that chaos, the Hyuga clan tried to protect its secrets at all costs. The constant threat of other clans pursuing our byakugan created the need for a sealing method that would render the theft of our eyes pointless._

_Thus the seal, the Hyuga's juinjutsu, came to be. This seal had as its main purpose the sealing of the Byakugan at the death of one of our clan member, so that its secrets never fall into the hands of the enemy. It was a seal applied to each and every member, from its highest leader to its lowest servant. But over time it has, as you know, developed into a curse. The main family tells us that it had always been part of our clan, but that has been a lie. Just like the supposed superiority of the main house is a lie. The cursed seal was created after conflict within our clan, before we joined Konoha._

_Our clan has always been proud. The history of the Hyuga clan is said to go back to the times when shinobi first came to be. Like our allies, the Senju, and even the Uchiha, we belong to the oldest clans in the world. But where those two clans had suffered greatly from their rivalry, the Hyuga clan was mostly unharmed. And its power, both in quality and quantity, surpassed that of most other clans. The hidden history of the Hyuga clan tells us that the clan leader at that time refused to join Konoha, and instead aimed to found his own hidden village. However, a part of the clan saw the benefits of an alliance, especially because of the power of the first Hokage, and the threat of the other, new, villages that emerged after taking Konohagakure as their example. But more than a desire for power, there was a strong hunger for wealth._

_Among those wanting the benefits of the alliance, was the youngest son of the clan leader. Historians tell us that it was an accident which led to the deaths of most of the leading family, but it is not difficult to see who benefitted most from the deaths of his family: the same youngest son, who now was the last of the leading family. But many saw through his lies, and tried to defect. However, he and those that followed him deceived the defectors. To enforce his rule, the new clan leader somehow altered the protective seal into the cursed seal we now know. Those that had followed him, and those that had been bribed with his promises of wealth and power, became the main family, and remained free from our curse. And those who had tried to defect from the clan, or those who were simply not trusted enough, then became the branch family. Servants. The history books will never tell you this truth though, and now only a very few know about the truth- and those who know either remain silent or know that they disappear when they talk. _

_The main house will never allow Konoha to know the truth, as it would destroy the foundations of their power. Their pride and reputation would be shattered. They would never allow others to learn about how they have stolen their wealth from the branch. Property was the first thing taken, but over the decades that followed, the repression of the main house, which only formed a minority within the clan, increased. People lost not just their possessions, but over the generations they also lost their rights. One liberty after another was lost, until those in the branch were little more than slaves. Those in power tried to protect their positions, eliminating those who could threaten their positions. That is also why the siblings of clan leaders receive the cursed seal. Or, as it is also called, the caged bird seal._

_The greed and abuse from the main house created much hatred within the branch. When I grew up as a child, I too because a victim of this cycle. I call it a cycle because the hatred and defiance of the branch only increased the repression from the main family. My situation only became worse when I met the women I loved. Like myself, Minako was from the branch family. Our marriage, however, was not approved at first because a man from the main family desired her hand in marriage. But our love was strong and she refused that man, and eventually, because I was the grandson of the previous clan leader – my father was the younger brother of the current clan leader at that time – our marriage was approved. _

_The greatest regret in my life was that Minako died before we could marry. Days before the ceremony, she and her team were sent out on a mission by the Hokage. She and her teammates died that day. But, like with so many other incidents, proof could never be found, yet I knew this had not been a coincidence. In my search for the truth, I inspected the place where Minako had died, and found some traces. I was mad from sorrow and was too reckless, and I walked into a trap. Men disguised as anbu from our very own village attacked me. Though I killed them, they managed to poison me. _

_The main family has a strong position in the political system of Konoha, and was able to hide away the evidence of this attack as well. Official reports stated that the attack had been an attempt from foreign shinobi to capture the byakugan. I, however, was not alone. My cousin, who had recently married the eldest son of the clan head, shared her suspicions of the many crimes committed by the main family. Since I had nothing to lose, I told her my story, and from that moment I worked together with her to uncover the secrets hidden by those in power. The account of the real history of the Hyuga clan that I just gave you is one of our results. _

_After the clan leader stepped down, and Hiashi took his place, I managed to avenge my wife. And with the support of the woman who was now the second-most powerful person in our clan, I escaped from the repercussions. Hitomi, however, urged me to set aside my hatred. She made me see that the hatred that threatened to consume me, as most of the branch, only led to more misery and death. Or else my thirst for vengeance would never be quenched. From that moment on, she and I secretly made an effort to improve the position of the branch. We wanted to give our clan a better system. But first, the branch would have to realize that the hatred was just as much a prison as our cursed seal is. _

_In that time you became the honored guest of our clan, and Hitomi arranged that I would become your guardian as long as you chose to stay with us. In your situation within the village, she saw the same mistreatment as the branch family suffered. And we wished to make you a shining example of how people could, and should, act. Therefore, I hope that you feel no anger or hatred, in case my death too was under suspicious circumstances. I wholeheartedly believe in your strength, Naruto. I know you will aid Hitomi-sama in her quest to redeem the Hyuga. I never wanted you to be involved in this hidden battle, but your protection of Hinata-sama made it inevitable nonetheless- because many in the main family would rather see Hinata dead than have her lead the clan. Yet it is her compassion that is the key to a better future._

_Minako and I always wished to have a son, but unfortunately fate did not allow us this pleasure. But know that I am proud to have been part of your life, Naruto. We may not be related in blood, but I have always seen you as the son I never had. It fills me with pride to see you endure the village's hatred; to see that you, despite the enormity of your burden, remained a good person. _

_If I would have one final wish, it would be to request you to never give in to hatred. I know you had a role in the disappearances within our clan, and I am glad that you use your power to protect those whose lives are threatened by the greed and hatred of our clan. But I pray you will never lose yourself in the burdens of the Hyuga clan. I know how tempting it is to keep chasing for a vengeance you can never have. You are better than that. Your power and talent are unmatched. Remain strong, Naruto, and remember that it is good to dream of the future, but you must always remember that you live in the present. Too many have made the mistake of becoming obsessed by their pasts. Too many have been consumed by their regrets. Too many have lost hope in better future._

_I would have liked to see you realize your dream, and I am sorry I was not able to help you more. But do not grieve too much for me. I have accepted my fate long ago. My death was inevitable, and I admit I even longed for it, to finally be with Minako again, in the afterlife. I wish you will have a long and blessed life. I know you will always do what is right. I know you will only continue to make me proud. You will become the greatest Hokage the world has ever seen._

_Goodbye,_

_Hyuga Haruki._

* * *

Alone in his hospital room, Naruto was finally able to cry. For the first time in many years, he shed tears like a child, without control- tears for losing the man who had been the closest thing to a father to him.

* * *

"Ugh.. I've had enough of this," the Kyuubi's voice resounded through Naruto's head. Shortly afterward, Naruto felt being pulled inwards again, and then saw the demon in front of him.

"What…" Naruto sighed. "I'm in no mood for your games right now."

"Tsk. So much for the 'thank you for your chakra' attitude," the fox grumbled. "But I would like it if you stopped your sulking around. It's getting rather annoying seeing this for hours…"

Naruto shrugged and turned away in his mindscape.

"Are you really that surprised that this clan you lived in was so rotten? I thought you killed enough of their members to know that they are just as hideous as any other human, no matter how conceited they behave. Do I still need to tell you that the more those pathetic creatures try to look perfect, the more horrors they have committed?"

"So what…"

"Then you are grieving for an already dying man who finally found his peace?" the Kyuubi scoffed. "Pathetic, even when he wrote you that…"

"SHUT UP!" Naruto suddenly snapped. "Just because you do not care about anyone but yourself, doesn't mean I am completely indifferent! I wish I was, but I'm not!"

Naruto sat down and looked pensively. "I already knew something was wrong about the Hyuga. But what Haruki now explained to me in these final words of his… it goes much deeper than I had ever expected."

"Did you really expect humans to be capable of being good? I've been around for centuries, and I always see the same pattern. Humans always fall for their greed, gluttony, sloth, wrath, envy, pride, or lust."

"And yet there are also those who do good things," Naruto remarked.

"Perhaps, but it is always a minority. Just look at what this Haruki became. He had fallen for wrath before he was finally shown how wrong he was."

"We all make mistakes," Naruto frowned. "But you are right. It is a minority who is capable of good. But if they are shown the right direction… you should not underestimate the human potential for doing good, you focus way too much on their bad side."

"Ugh.. what are you planning this time?" the Kyuubi groaned. "Your idiotic dream about becoming Hokage again?"

"No.. it isn't me who can change the Hyuga," Naruto pondered, "Though I will become Hokage. And you had better believe me, as you will be the first to see it," Naruto grumbled.

"Perhaps," the fox whispered to himself, after Naruto left. '_But not if I continue weakening that accursed seal of yours. You stupid brat, you'll never become Hokage if you keep accepting my 'help' without thinking about the consequences of using so much of my chakra,'_ the fox chuckled darkly.

* * *

Following the advice both Kurenai and Hitomi had given her, Hinata left Naruto alone that day. They argued that he would need some time alone to sort things out for himself. Not knowing what to do herself, Hinata had decided that they would be right.

But as much as she had wanted to talk to him that day, the following morning she found herself hesitating when she stood in front of the door to his room. '_What should I say? What can I say to make Naruto-kun feel a bit better?'_ she pondered. '_Especially me… no matter what he said, I know that Haruki-san died because he protected me. Surely Naruto-kun knows this. Will he blame me? I should have been able to detect that genjutsu… A true heir would never have fallen for that. If I was not so incompetent, I could have helped Haruki-san._'

Lost in her desperate thoughts, Hinata nearly jumped when the door suddenly opened. A nurse left Naruto's room. With a frown, the woman remarked that Naruto was awake and ready to see others. But Hinata's well-trained eyes saw a lot more. This nurse was afraid, very afraid. But it was not just that, the woman was also intimidated. Not by her, Hinata realized, but by Naruto. It was not very surprising either, as many people now whispered how Naruto had unleashed a terrible power, and used that to save the village from Sunagakure's sand demon. Most of the stories even exaggerated Naruto's abilities. Hinata was happy that no one would ever underestimate her teammate again. But it frightened her when she saw how terrified the people were.

How would they treat Naruto now? At least his actions spoke in his favor. But how long would it take before their fear got the upper hand again?

* * *

"Hinata-sama," Naruto said softly. His face was pale and the bags under his eyes indicated he had not slept well. If he even had any sleep at all.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata hesitated. "Do you mind… i-if I enter?"

Naruto frowned. "Of course not. Please, sit down. I could use some distraction in this boring place. They won't even let me get out of bed. All because of a little chakra-exhaustion…" he grumbled.

"It was more.. M-More than just that, Naruto-kun.."

"Yeah yeah…" Naruto sighed. "Jiraiya has already scolded me enough for it already. Hell, even that cowardly old cow tried to scold me this morning. But I did what had to be done."

"I heard that thanks to you, Hokage-sama survived the battle," Hinata said shyly. "Just as you stopped Sunagakure's jinchuriki before it could be turned against our village… Y-You are a hero now," she blushed lightly.

"Hero," Naruto scoffed. "I'd rather not be a hero of the same people that hate and fear me. Besides, I couldn't even help the people close to me. Some hero I am."

Hinata swallowed. "You c-could not help it that H-Haruki-san died… He… Because of me, he…"

"Tsk. Haruki would smack me if I ever blamed someone for his death. Hell, he would smack me twice if I blamed myself. And I would not be able to count the number of hits if I blamed you," Naruto chuckled softly. He fell back onto the pillow on his bed. "I just wish I could have been there. To have talked… talked one last time with him."

"But…"

"I'm serious, Hinata. I can see it in your eyes, you're blaming yourself because you guys were attacked because that snake-bastard wanted to catch you. There is no need for you to blame yourself. Haruki would not have wanted it," Naruto said gently. "Haruki was already dying. If anything, this gave him the chance to die in battle, rather than in a wretched hospital bed." Naruto turned his head and looked out of the window. "I know Haruki would be thankful. So be at peace, Hinata-sama."

Unable to control herself, tears ran down the young girl's face. No matter what anyone had said, no matter what she knew about him, she had feared he would blame her. She even thought it would have been logical to be angry, after all Haruki was practically like a father to him. Much more than her own father had ever been to Hinata.

But why were people always after her? She was the failure, the unfit heir. Why would others risk their lives to save her?

As if he could see what she thought, Naruto spoke up. "Haruki was a gentle and good man. He could never sit by idly, when the lives of others were at risk." He smiled gently, his bright blue eyes looking at her. "And he was one of the few in the branch family who saw the truth. He knew you would be the perfect clan head."

"Wha… What?" Hinata gasped. '_Did I hear him right? I couldn't have!'_

"The Hyuga clan is a cold and unforgiving place. But you are like your mother. You could create the change your clan needs."

"You… You can't be serious," Hinata spoke with a tremor in her voice. "I… I am a failure! I am not talented, I am weak and cannot even…"

"Hinata!" Naruto loudly cut her off. With her eyes wide open, she stared at him, surprised by his strict tone. "Do not believe your father's idiotic reasoning. Leadership is not about brute strength. And true strength is about more than just ability. Look at your clan. For generations it lived under the impression that strength was everything- that the one who leads, the one with the so called purest bloodline, would also be the strongest. Do you honestly believe that bogus way of thinking made your clan any better?"

"W-Well, n-no b-but…"

"The strong always try to subdue the weak. That's why people fear me. That's why the Hyuga live like this," Naruto sighed. "Look at the relation between the main and branch houses. Look at Neji, and how he suffered. You told me that yourself. You asked me to spare him exactly because of it." He raised his hands. "And now you've seen me… how much did you guess?"

"What… Your fire jutsu… I know… That s-several in our clan d-disappeared. Ako-san and H-Haruki-san. They t-told me what you did… W-Why did you do all that?"

"I would rather ask you why they were after your life," Naruto pointed out. Hinata only shook her head in confusion. "Hinata, those people saw you as a threat. They fear the strength you have. Many in the main house rely on the way they can exploit the branch. If you would come of age, and take your rightful position, would you allow the branch to be suffering as they do?"

"No! No, of course I would not want that… But is that why…"

"Your mother knows. Haruki knew," Naruto frowned. "I, on the other hand, never cared much for clan politics. I merely did what I thought was right. I just sense the malice in people. I noticed people that had bad intentions towards you. And I dealt with them. I told you long ago: you saved _me_. So how could I let someone hurt my savior?"

But Hinata knew that this was not true. He had saved her before he even joined her clan. Hinata remembered exactly how they first met. She often dreamt of that moment. How Naruto had stood there, with doubt only surfacing in his wonderful blue eyes for a moment. How Naruto had risked his life against an opponent vastly superior to him, just to save her.

"Why me?" she asked again.

"Because of you, I could leave the cesspits they call orphanages. That is why I vowed to repay you. To protect you. That is why I killed those that threatened you."

"Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you tell father?"

"Do you think Hyuga Hiashi would believe my word over that of some of the highest- ranking people within the Hyuga clan? Your father has good eyes, but they are still capable of fooling him. He has too much faith in the whole nonsense about the purity of blood. And even if he did choose to believe me over their lies, how would he punish them? If things came to the tribunal, who do you think would be believed anyway? There never was any proof, and any branch member who could testify simply disappeared."

Hinata's eyes went open in shock.

"Yeah... not all the disappearances were my work. They were always careful not to leave traces behind. Ako was not the first branch member who I saved," Naruto sighed. "But she was too close to me, and they were too afraid that I would get involved. After all, the Kyuubi is a powerful asset to Konoha- and the Hyuga clan no doubt gains a lot of prestige by having me around as their 'honored guest'."

"Is that... You once told me that k-killing was inevitable for shinobi," Hinata remarked. "Was that because…"

"Because we live in a world where we either kill or are killed," Naruto said calmly, his voice devoid of emotion. "The chakra of the Kyuubi changed me, in such a way that I could sense the darkness in the hearts of others. Because of that, it was easy to see that some people deserve to be killed."

He left unspoken that it was also his reason why he thought some people should not be killed, why he felt that he would protect Hinata, no matter what. Because, for all the darkness he felt, she was completely different. Radiant and clear like a diamond. '_It's almost as if she is the exact opposite of hatred,'_ Naruto mused.

"Do.. do you really think I could be a good clan leader?" Hinata asked shyly, almost begging for his approval, after being silent for a little while.

"Of course I do! I told you before that you should not doubt yourself so much. But your doubt also means that you are not blinded like most of your clan, with their pride, their greed, and their _traditions_," Naruto almost spat out that last word. "You would be able to lead your clan onto a new path, one that leads away from the curse it now suffers under."

But he could see Hinata was not convinced. Not that he could blame her. She always heard from others that she was a failure, and therefore never had much confidence in herself. Only her mother had supported her. But not even Hitomi could change the opinion of her clan by herself. "Haruki, even though he knew he was already dying, was willing to throw away the time he had left, to save you. He believed in you, Hinata-sama, so much that he bet his life on it."

"He did?" Hinata asked, her eyes wide in shock.

"When he found out that it was me who was behind the killings, he never stopped me. He knew all too well that they tried to hurt you because they could not touch your mother. When he found out, he even trained me so that I would be better able to hide myself. He was a member of the branch family, and he despised the system within the Hyuga clan," Naruto explained. "If you want to honor his sacrifice, help your mother to change your clan."

Confused as she was, Hinata only nodded, not knowing what to say. Her whole world had revolved around the idea that the Hyuga clan was the image of perfection, and that she was a failure unworthy of them. Now she heard her clan was wrong, and that _she_ was right.

Naruto could not blame her for feeling confused. He had spent virtually the entire time thinking, and had reread Haruki's letter several times. '_I never really understood the situation. I merely killed those who tried to kill Hinata, not thinking about the consequences. But this whole situation… Haruki is right; killing more people will not end the cycle. Even if I became the Hokage, it would still be impossible to completely remove this curse. Dammit... Why does this stuff always have to be so complicated? First the whole Gaara thing, and now this,_' Naruto sighed, thinking that things would only become even more difficult when he would become Hokage. Things were so much simpler when a problem could be solved by ripping out someone's throat.

* * *

After finally having been able to sleep for a while, Naruto quickly grew restless. Chakra exhaustion, even if it had brought him to close to his death, was not that difficult to recover from. Not if your name is Uzumaki Naruto, at least. The new things he had learned about the Hyuga had troubled him though. He still second-guessed his decision to tell Hinata. Yet he believed she _had_ to know. After all, he knew all too well that it would only be dangerous to not know one's surroundings. Besides, before she left, he had urged her only to talk about this with her mother, and no one else.

But while his brain told him it was a good decision, his heart said something different. Naruto felt guilty to have burdened Hinata. No, not just guilty- he wanted to get that burden off her shoulders, but he knew he could not. Even worse, if he had kept it a secret from her, it would only have been a sign that he did not take her seriously. But seeing her with that expression... it felt wrong to him.

'_Her physical strength may not be enough to endure her clan's troubles yet, but she has a strong will,_' Naruto tried to tell himself. Yes, he knew she was capable enough. Despite her doubts and oddly shy behaviour, he had seen her determination a few times now. '_And she has Hitomi-sama to guide her…'_

Sneaking out of the hospital, he was almost surprised to see Jiraiya stand in front of him. "I figured you would sneak out by now," the white-haired man chuckled.

"No you didn't," Naruto smirked. When he saw Jiraiya's frown, Naruto's smirk widened. "You should hide your seals better, old man."

Jiraiya was a little surprised that Naruto had so easily spotted the seals he had left behind. "How did you…"

"You were the one to teach me the basics, right? I simply knew where to look, at the place where I would leave such seals," Naruto said. "How's jii-san doing?"

"Well enough, for now," Jiraiya said softly, not wanting to be heard by unwanted ears. "But I hurried over because I needed you to come with me to check up on Gaara's seal. You were the one who made it, after all."

* * *

"What is going on here?" Jiraiya frowned, when he saw people arguing in front of the prison building in which Gaara and his siblings were temporarily lodged.

"Jiraiya-sama," the guard bowed. "Danzo-sama wishes to see the jinchuriki from Sunagakure," he revealed.

"It is well within my right as an elder of Konohagakure to inspect and assess any threat," the seemingly frail old man said, with more than a little annoyance. "We need to know if the creature is dangerous or not, before we can make decisions."

"Right," Jiraiya said dryly. He did not like the 'interest' that Danzo had already shown in the three children from the former Kazekage. Jiraiya had already denied him access to the former Kazekage's corpse, and now he was here again, despite the direct orders of the Hokage. "I thought you were informed about the orders Hokage-sama handed out regarding our three special prisoners?" The visible part of Danzo's face twitched. "Apart from sensei himself, only Ibiki, myself, and Naruto are permitted to see them."

"Tsk, you mean that _thing_ has more rights than a council elder?" Danzo scoffed.

"Uzumaki Naruto is the one who defeated the Ichibi and reinforced the seal placed on Sabaku no Gaara," Jiraiya said, but now without the pretence of being friendly. "If you had not been hiding yourself during the invasion, you would have seen that too," he added dismissively.

The two guards stepped forward, but Danzo signalled them to stay back. "Very well... I will take my leave, for now. But Suna will pay for what it did to Konoha," Danzo proclaimed as he turned and strode off.

"Ugh… troublesome old goat," Jiraiya mumbled.

Naruto looked up and frowned. "Who was that guy?"

"Shimura Danzo. One of the three elders in the Konoha council, so he has a lot of influence.. He claims he would do anything to defend Konoha, but I would not trust him too much. There are too many suspicious things with hints of his involvement," Jiraiya warned him. "But that isn't of much importance now. Once this mess is over, I'll take you out of Konoha and train you properly!"

"So, another unpleasant guy I have got to avoid," Naruto decided, not knowing what more to say about this. Leaving Konohagakure was not exactly a punishment for him, but he did not want to leave his newfound friends behind. Especially now that he knew the full extent of the danger that Hinata was in.

* * *

"Uzumaki-san," Gaara bowed slightly when he saw Naruto and Jiraiya entering.

"How is your seal holding?" Naruto smiled. He could already see that Gaara had caught up with sleeping. He didn't look nearly as exhausted as when he first saw him. Looking around, Naruto saw that their rooms, although equipped with bars and locks, were much more comfortable than an ordinary prison cell. Jiraiya had told him that they would be treated with the honor they deserved.

"It seems to work just fine," Gaara said calmly.

"You can say that again," Temari smiled. "He slept nearly two days!"

"Sleeping was a bit problematic," Gaara admitted, his face still completely neutral.

"I heard that Shukaku ate the souls of its jinchuriki when they sleep," Jiraiya frowned. "I can't imagine what that must be like…"

"Tiring," Gaara deadpanned.

"Eh... right. Might we see your seal?" Jiriaya questioned. "Like I said yesterday, we wanted to come and check up on it."

"I thought you were an expert on fuinjutsu," Temari frowned; "And you looked yesterday."

"Yeah. Seems like little Naruto over here had spent some time on tweaking seals," Jiraiya laughed. "I've never seen such an odd thing. I can guarantee its strength though," he added before Temari could react.

"Hmm, not having to boil you first makes things easier," Naruto smirked at Gaara, who raised a brow. "Seem like it worked out fine. Look, I used the evil-sealing method as the basis, inverted those corners here and here, and then mixed it with the design of a chakra storage seal," he explained to an attentive Jiraiya.

"Mixed it?" the latter frowned. "But how…"

"Chakra storage seals have the same basic function, right? Only they have a built-in function to easily release the chakra they contain. I removed that, and reinforced the design with the barriers from the evil-sealing method," Naruto explained, as if it was completely obvious.

Temari looked at Kankuro, who just shrugged in response. Neither of them had any clue what this was about. "So… um, it works then?" Temari questioned.

"It was the strongest thing I could come up with in one month of time," Naruto said with an apologetic tone. "Especially when you know that I hadn't been in Konoha for most of that month either. So, I've got no idea how long it'll last, but I used the Kyuubi's chakra so it should be pretty durable."

Jiraiya sighed. "It is durable, that's for sure.. But that also means Gaara has no access to the Ichibi's chakra."

"That's good, right?" Naruto shrugged. "I thought that was the point of this whole thing?"

"Not necessarily. Both of you, as jinchuriki, wield amounts of chakra that normal people can hardly fathom. I'd say that the chakra of the bijuu sealed inside the two of you also give you great opportunities, if you use it correctly."

"As a weapon," Gaara said coldly, guessing Jiraiya would make the same argument as his late father.

"No, not like a weapon," Jiraiya paled, having heard how the former Kazekage had treated his own son, as he had read the reports of their interrogations. "I would say, as extraordinary shinobi!"

"So the seal must be removed then?" Naruto frowned. "That's going to be a pain."

Jiraiya chuckled. "No, not removed, but altered. And considering that you were the one who made the seal, you should also be the one to alter it."

"Oh, or it'll weaken due to the different kinds of chakra that are used to construct the seal," Naruto added, seeing Gaara's questioning look. "But how?"

"Well…" Jiraiya hesitated. "There is one thing that I never taught you. One subject I did not give you the scrolls on either. You see…"

"Keys," Naruto cut him off. "I've never found them in the texts, even though there were references to it," he explained.

"I did not give you because I feared you would start to mess with your own seal," Jiraiya apologized. "And, considering how I'd rather not blow up Konoha. At least not when I'm not around. Some idiots here deserve being blown to oblivion," he chuckled darkly.

The two of them looked at the sand siblings. "Then Gaara has to stay for a while longer," Jiraiya added. "At least until Naruto is able to build a keyhole into his new seal."

"What?!" Kankuro did not like the idea of being imprisoned that long.

"Well, it's either that or waiting until the Ichibi accumulated enough chakra to blow up the seal," Naruto frowned. "And Gaara along with it."

"Don't worry though, because the Ichibi is sealed off completely, it won't be able to gather chakra that fast," Jiriaya added, seeing their faces. That was enough to convince them.

* * *

A while later, Naruto and Jiraiya left the prison building, but not until after Jiriaya had made Ibiki swear an oath to not let anyone else meet with the three children of the late Kazekage. It would take him a few days to arrange for a new place where the three could live.

"Gaara seems quite different, don't you think?" Jiraiya smiled, after they had been silently walking through Konoha for a while.

"You can say that again," Naruto chuckled. "I'm glad I did not kill him."

Jiraiya patted the boy on his head. "So am I kiddo, so am I.." He smiled, thinking on how surprised Kankuro and Temari had been about Gaara's change in behaviour. It seemed like Naruto had really struck a nerve with the kid. And not surprising either, considering how similar they were. Though perhaps not related in blood, they certainly were brothers in a different sense, as they both carried the same kind of burdens.

'_Who knows... Sabaku no Gaara has the potential to get an important function in Sunagakure. Perhaps even serve as Kazekage, if the people there can let go of their irrational fears. His bond with Naruto could be quite beneficial for Konoha too, not even mentioning how much it could do for the squirt himself.'_

* * *

Just before the two of them arrived at the Hyuga complex, they were approached by an anbu shinobi.

"Ah, yes. I forgot to mention," Jiriaya quickly said. "With all the things you have done lately, I guessed it would be wise to assign you a guard."

"You mean Konoha thinks the Kyuubi needs to be better guarded?" Naruto frowned, somewhat surprised that this came up.

"No no, nothing like that," Jiraiya put up his hands in defence. "No, I just wanted to make sure no one attacked you, because of some illogical fear. Besides, Hyuga Hitomi more or less ordered me to increase your security. Apparently, you've been messing around in their clan's politics… not that she shared many details."

Naruto nodded. "I'll explain that later. So who is this guy?"

"Hmm. Let's just call him Yamato," Jiraiya suggested. "He's one of the elite within the anbu. I picked him myself, because of his skill, and also because I know I can trust him. Unless you disagree, of course," he added, knowing all too well that Naruto had better senses when it came to seeing through people.

Well, not that Jiraiya doubted himself. His people skills were pretty awesome. In his own opinion, of course.

'Yamato' nodded, and bowed to Jiraiya. His face was hidden behind a mask that resembled a cat's face, he had brown hair, and wore the standard anbu attire. Yet something was off about him. Naruto felt that this guy was not a pushover like most of the anbu. Well, Naruto knew it was a little unfair to compare others to himself. By now, even many of the jonin did not have the chakra to stand on equal footing with him, though he knew their control was superior to his own.

"Hitomi-sama said that Yamato could stay in an empty cottage near your own," Jiraiya explained. "Though I expect him to stay on guard tonight, as many will think you're still weakened, and perhaps will try to exploit that."

"Yes, Jiraiya-sama," Yamato accepted his orders.

Naruto sighed and shrugged. He just wanted to go home, to see Ako, Chie, and perhaps even Hinata or Hitomi. They would have enough to talk about. However, Naruto was not looking forward to the burial tomorrow.

* * *

After her conversation with Naruto, Hinata had spent a lot of time thinking- about her clan, her position within it, and about herself. What did she want to do? Up until now she had struggled to gain her father's, and her clan's, acceptance. She wanted to prove that she was not a failure, but she was turned down at every opportunity.

But suddenly, her life got turned upside down. The killings which had shocked her clan were committed by Naruto, and now even her father had said he would not blame Naruto, and stated that those who had been killed were traitors to the clan. Naruto had been the one who killed those who wanted to assassinate her, and now Naruto had revealed why…

The idea that people expected so much from her terrified her. To be sure, she resented the way many of the main house (mis)treated the branch. But even though she would not do such a thing herself, it had been 'normal' to see it done by others. After all, this was the environment in which she had grown up.

Too occupied with the idea of needing to change to fit in the clan, she now heard that she was the one who should change the clan to fit _her_.

If anyone other than Naruto had said that to her, she would have thought it was just some kind of sick joke, but it was not. While telling her mother what she had learned, Hinata could see her story confirmed merely by looking at her mother's face. Though usually carefully controlled, Hitomi's expression had ranged from sadness and guilt to irritation and determination.

"I… I must apologize," Hitomi started, after Hinata had finished talking. She sighed. "I should have told you sooner. Well, not about the things Naruto-kun has done for you, as even I had only suspicions and did not know for sure. But I should have told you about the dangers within our clan."

Hitomi sighed. "There are… groups within our clan, who only strive to keep things as they are. They are clinging onto the idea of conservatism, and fear anything that might endanger their position," Hitomi shook her head in distaste. "They refuse to see how wrong the current system is, where our follow clan members are exploited merely because they were born in the branch family rather than the main family."

"But mother… if you think it is wrong, why didn't you…"

"Such strong traditions are difficult to change," Hitomi grimaced a little. "Every step forward created more resistance. And when I found out they had begun to target you, I was forced to hide my efforts. My cousin Haruki made a lot of progress, for instance by uncovering much of our clan's history, but I had but few people who supported me. Even your father is not willing to see the truth."

"Naruto-kun said the Hyuga clan was blinded," Hinata frowned.

"He is right… even your father is too accustomed to the current situation to see how much suffering the clan's laws cause. But even if he had another opinion, he would still be reined in by the elder council of our clan. And those five old goats would never allow any change to happen that would endanger their own wealth and power."

"But they always say that the clan is the most important."

"Yes, they do," Hitomi smiled. "But their actions do not align with their words. I suppose I will now start to teach you on the more advanced topics."

Hinata's eyes widened. She knew very well her mother was no master when it came to the juken-fighting style, but her skill with the byakugan was unsurpassed within their clan.

"I should have done this earlier," Hitomi continued with an apologetic tone. "But, this knowledge you now have gained, and all the things I will need to teach you… they will only increase the danger I put you in. I wanted you be free from worries, and give you the carefree childhood that any mother wants to give her child. But my desire to shield you may have only created more danger for you. I wanted to protect you, even though I knew."

"It's all right, mother," Hinata said, a bit startled by the doubt her mother now showed. Hitomi had always been a bastion of self-assurance, to which the young girl had been able to cling as she doubted herself. To Hinata, it seemed as if all the fixed values in her world had suddenly shifted.

She longed for another mission outside Konoha. Just her, Kiba, Akamaru, Kurenai-sensei, and most importantly, Naruto. Perhaps she'd even manage to eat at Ichiraku's with him again. She still felt shaky whenever she thought back at the last time. It had almost been like a date.

But first, she had to figure out what her mother wanted to teach her.

* * *

With all the casualties from the invasion, the cemetery had become a busy place. Many families and friends mourned the loss of a loved one, and most of the time at least one burial was taking place. Naruto was thankful that the Hyuga possessed their own private section on the cemetery. Actually, Naruto wanted to be alone, yet he knew he could not be alone right now. He was glad amongst friends, though. Besides him, Ako, Chie, and two other branch members were present. Both of them were related to Haruki, and Naruto recognized one of them as the woman he often had helped taking care of the gardens. On behalf of the main family, Hitomi and Hinata had come.

For the first time, Naruto saw the grave of Hyuga Minako, as Haruki would be buried next to his beloved. It still saddened Naruto that he had never asked more about Haruki's personal life. But Naruto had been too occupied with his own troubles.. Let alone knowing how to talk about emotions. He silently thanked Haruki for all his hard work, because he believed that without the efforts of his guardian, he would have been a vastly different person. Impatient, naïve, and most likely even rude and ignorant.

Naruto barely noticed that all the others had passed Haruki's chest and photo, and were looking at Naruto to say his goodbye. Walking had never been so difficult. His throat felt too dry, and his eyes itched from the tears that wanted to break out. But he would not cry. For Haruki, he would show his restraint. For years, this man had taken care of him. For years, this man had guided and taught him. And now was the last time… the last farewell.

* * *

"Are you alright, two-leg?" Chie quietly sat down next to Naruto. He had gone to the forest of death again, to have some time alone. But after he had been gone a few hours, Chie had become worried.

"I'm fine," Naruto sighed. "Well, I should be. Haruki… he knew he would die. He did not want me to be sad about it."

"That's not true," Chie corrected him softly. "He would never forbid you to have emotions. He would be happy that you cared so much about him, and still do."

"Perhaps," Naruto said, wiping away a tear. "Maybe this pain is a consequence of losing those you love."

"Endure it. Cherish the memories you had with him!"

"I know," Naruto sighed. "I know feeling nothing at all is even worse. Thanks, Chie."

"You're welcome," Chie purred as the pushed her head against his arm, begging to be petted.

After a while, Naruto seemed to become a bit livelier. "I must ask you something, Chie."

"Yes?"

"Whenever I'm not around… can you promise me to look after Hinata?"

Chie looked up, curious that he asked. Naruto never asked for help- ever. He always tried to do things alone. What could be enough for him to ask for help? "Is she in that much danger?"

Naruto simply nodded. "I'll let you read Haruki's last letter, when we get back."

Chie did not like being pinned down by some random promise. She did have bad experiences with contracts, after all; but she felt like she had no choice in this matter. Her failure to beat the grey-hair-two-leg had led to Haruki's demise. So in a sense, it now was her responsibility to look after the person he had sacrificed himself for. And she had learned to take her responsibilities seriously, in the past.

"I promise," Chie nodded.

"Thanks Chie…" Naruto sighed, relieved as he knew he would likely have to leave Konoha soon.

"By the way. You're aware that the masked-two-leg is near, right?"

* * *

**A/N**; Well... that was by far the most difficult chapter to write so far- and rather long too, as the word count passed 11k. Central to last chapter was Naruto's choice for 'good', rather than giving in to his negative emotions. In terms of symbolism: he has to endure the shadows if he turns to the light, or else he would have to remain in the nothingness of night. Well, not that it is that simple, to just make a choice and be done with it. But every journey starts with a first step.

I'd say that the central issue of _this_ chapter was the Hyuga history, and that Hinata became aware of her own position within the clan. Shy and introverted, Hinata always questioned herself rather than her surroundings. Thus I had Naruto, even though he had to deal with his own losses, break that 'illusion'- so he could give her a push in the right direction. Just like how she kept him on the right path. In addition, imagine how horrified the Hyuga must have been. They are a clan of people who see virtually everything, yet murders happened among their ranks which even they failed to see.

As I had announced before, and despite all the serious affairs going on right now, I will be taking a little break from the main storyline and focus on the backstory of Chie. Don't worry though, these chapter are connected to the main plot, and as such, the Chie chronicles will be published as chapters of this story. Initially, I intended to publish them as a separate story, but I need to comply to the rules of the website, which state: "_Chapters of the same story are not allowed to be submitted as separate entries._" So, I would like to convince you not to skip the chapters, although the choice is obviously yours. But if you do, there might be things happening later on which I'll explain in Chie's story.

Thanks again to **Illuminated** for checking my work. And to all of you who leave reviews too! It amazed me that my own story suddenly has better stats than several of the ones I am following myself! My story has more than 500 followers!

-Z-


	35. Chie chronicles pt1: Suzume

**The Chie chronicles **

**Part one: Suzume**

* * *

_Twelve years ago.._

* * *

Life was boring.

Very boring.

As the smallest of a nest of five, the young cat was regarded the weakest of their group- and her lack of talent when using chakra made her inferior to most. Yet, she had a curiosity that could never be satisfied- that's how she earned her name. Too small and frail to fight, Chie had focused on knowledge. She couldn't beat her stronger brothers and sisters, but at least she could out-smart them!

Though Chie had little doubt that her name, which meant 'wisdom', was also a subtle insult from the elders of her clan.

The elders of her clan were always dismissive of her curiosity about the outer world. The tribe of the Bakeneko was secluded, and did not like to deal with humans too often. Humans, they told their kittens, were violent and rude. As such, the elders left it up to their adult clan members to decide whether they wanted to have their own summoning contracts or not. But any form of clan-wide summoning contract was forbidden.

Besides, the elders knew the truth: the Bakeneko may be fierce and deathly, but their abilities lagged far behind in comparison to other tribes. They did not have the history or knowledge of the greatest of the three tribes- the Snakes, the Slugs, and the Toads- nor the power of the four guardians of legend, whose abilities were mostly shrouded in mysteries.

No, for a young and impatient kitten such as Chie, this place equalled boredom.

What was '"this place"? It was a remote island, where the Bakeneko lived surrounded by sea and isolated from anything human. The island was nothing particularly interesting, and mainly consisted of one large mountain, in the centre of the island, surrounded by forest. Spread across the island lived the Bakeneko, most of them individually, some with their young in small groups.

It was not that the Bakeneko clan lacked organization. On the contrary; their elders, six of the oldest cats, lived on the northern slopes of the mountain, in the temple where their clan's laws were written. Not that the Bakeneko had strict laws governing them. They were rather carefree- not very interested in the outside world. They were barely even interested in each other.

Apart from when they felt the urge to find a mate, of course...

However, with their long lifespans, Bakeneko never had many kittens on their island. The fact that Chie's nest, despite already being ten years old, was the last nest on the island apart from two cats that were now in their fifties, said enough. Their long lifespans were especially visible when looking at the oldest of the six elders. Haruo was many centuries old, and the one who was responsible for having the entire clan moved to this island.

This was because Haruo despised humans, and anything that had to do with humans. Which was rather ironic, considering the clan's most useful skill. Not that any humans dared to set foot on the island of the Bakeneko clan. The few who had survived doing that had scared all others enough so that no one really tried again. Apparently, being used as a scratching pole did not appeal to the humans- not with regular cat, and especially not when it involved five-foot-long cats.

* * *

"What is it this time," the older cat sighed when he saw Chie approaching.

Tomio was an older cat living near Chie's family. Her grandfather always told her to stay away from the red-furred cat, but Chie never really listened to him. Tomio's stories were far too interesting. "I'm bored, Tomio…" Chie complained.

"Tsk. You're far too curious for a normal kitten."

"You always tell me that, yet you never refuse to tell me a new story," Chie smirked. It would be hard for humans to recognize that Chie could smirk, or smile, or frown. But among the Bakeneko, they could easily see each other's expressions, mainly due to their whiskers.

Pondering that, Chie got an idea. "Tomio, is it true that humans have no whiskers?"

"Where did you get that idea?"

"Well, Yasu and I were talking, and she did not know what humans would look like."

"Of course you two would not know that," Tomio sighed. Yasu was Chie's less impulsive sister, so neither of them was old enough to know _anything_ about the outside world. They would have to wait for another century before Haruo would even bother to think about allowing them to get off the island.

"But... is it true?"

"Yes, Chie, humans do not have whiskers."

"But how do they communicate? I mean, that must be impossible for them!" Chie managed to say while giggling at the absurd idea.

"Humans look differently, so they cannot be judged by our standards," Tomio explained patiently.

"Then... what do they look like?" Chie finally asked the question for which she had come to Tomio. The other day, Katsuro, her grandfather, had slipped up and said that Tomio had once held a contract. So, she knew Tomio could answer her. And by the look of her whiskers, Tomio also knew there was no way out of this.

Only once had he tried to refuse to answer her. But for such a curious little creature, she turned out to be surprisingly persistent. On the fifth consecutive day of nagging, he had finally given in. Looking down on the black and white kitten, he sighed, knowingly she would not give up this time either.

"Humans… humans are strange creatures, completely different from us," Tomio started. "They somehow manage to walk on only two legs, and they can even do that without a tail."

"They have no tail?" Chie gasped. "But how? They are really able to move like that?"

"Yes, Chie, they are," Tomio chuckled. "A little slow, and not very agile, but they manage just fine. No, what is even stranger is that they hardly have any fur. Only on the tops of their head, the humans have some hair. Some even have very long fur there. Others, those without the strange bumps on their chests, even have some fur on the lower end of their heads."

"There are different kinds of humans?"

"There are," Tomio nodded sagely. "Just like we have males and females, so do the humans."

"Two legs, mostly nude, strange bumps," Chie summarized. "But, you said they were completely different. Surely there must be more differences."

"Well, apart from their strange looks, they also behave quite differently from us. Humans are very social, usually, and often live in large herds. Well, we might call it a herd of humans, but they call it villages or cities."

"Cities?"

"A city is a place where many humans live, Chie. Every human lives in their own house, well, every family. Parents live together, and it seems like humans consider it indecent when they mate with various others."

"They do? But… how do they reproduce?"

"Humans choose their bond-mate, and they live their entire lives together. Though, there are humans who try to breed with other humans aside from their mate, but like I just said: humans seem to think that this sort of behavior is indecent."

"Strange. Don't humans ever grow tired of each other? Don't they wish for some solitude?"

"They do, actually… but human behaviour is full of paradoxes. For one: they talk about desiring peace, but that desire always brings them to war. Humans are rather odd, and they often attack others when thinking they protect what is theirs. Everything that seems to be at odds with their way of living is usually considered as something hostile."

"But... doesn't our clan also think like that? I heard Haruo doesn't like you because you think differently from him."

"True," Tomio chuckled. "But the difference is that I'm not treated like an outcast, and I even might have been part of the elders if Haruo thought differently about me. Lady Nibi knows I'm old enough for it."

"Do the humans also worship Lady Nibi?" Chie asked curiously. Lady Nibi was the figure their clan worshipped, their goddess, so to speak. Her grandfather often told Chie stories about how they lived on this island because Lady Nibi– her true name was only known by the elders of their clan– had brought them here. It was even said that Haruo was her first follower, and that his power and wisdom exceeded their own because of the gifts that Lady Nibi had bestowed on him.

Tomio knew that from a human perspective, Haruo wasn't just the 'worldly' leader of their clan, but also their spiritual leader. Sadly, Tomio had also come to think that their patriarch had gotten more and more convinced of his own greatness. Over the centuries, their old leader had become more intolerant and strict, allowing but few of their clan to leave their island.

It is also why Katsuro, in all his wisdom, tried to limit Chie's seemingly boundless curiosity as much as possible- a practice that Tomio thought to be unhealthy. '_We cannot refuse to allow our kittens to grow. But if our young are held back because the old don't dare to tread any further... perhaps I should just try to teach Chie the truth about the world; perhaps she can change our world.'_

"The humans do not worship Lady Nibi, as they have different gods from ours."

"There are multiple?" Chie nearly fell over. Ever since she was born, they were told about Lady Nibi, who was interwoven with their clan's history. How could humans be so different from the Bakeneko?

For most of the day, Tomio told Chie about the things he had seen in the human world. How he had made a contract, nearly two centuries ago, with a strong woman who wished to protect her herd. He told of how he had fought alongside her; how the humans had both a terribly dark side to their nature, but also were capable of good. Humans could be the monsters that Chie's elders told her they were, but could also be better than any Bakeneko. Still, Tomio had convinced her that the human world was a dangerous place.

How else would such an esteemed Bakeneko get such a scar on his back...

* * *

"Where did you go this time?" Katsuro grunted, lifting his head as he had just woken from his slumber.

"Just walking around, gramps," Chie responded defensively.

"Tomio again?"

"What do you care, grandpa? You never bother the others when they are away!"

"They don't have that… defect you have," Katsuro grumbled dismissively.

"Ugh, quit your nagging already!"

"SHOW SOME RESPECT," Katsuro lashed out, startling Chie. While Chie was still young, and smaller than a regular house cat, Katsuro had lived for several centuries, and had reached the full adult length of five feet long ago- not to mention that his tail had split completely. This was quite an honor for a Bakeneko, considering that only a very few achieved this. Perhaps only ten of the cats living on the island had fully split tails. Even Tomio, Katsuro's senior, had not achieved the twin tails status.

"Earn it," Chie countered, as she jumped off in the woods again.

* * *

"You really should be a little more careful," a voice sounded from behind Chie.

"What?" Chie grunted, annoyed that her sister Yasu had sneaked up on her again.

"Gramps is quite pissed," Yasu chuckled. "You know very well it's dangerous to piss off old grey-fur."

Chie chuckled weakly as she heard her sister talk about their grandfather, whose grey fur really befitted his stern attitude. "Who cares, I already know our brothers are his favorites, and I am by far the least favourite."

"Chie... don't be so hard on yourself..."

"I know sis. But it's just... it frustrates me so much," Chie admitted. "Everyone expects me to be something I'm not. Everyone demands some kind of behavior of me that stands at odds with who I want to be. I'm just tired of not being accepted. You and Tomio are the only two who even willingly talk to me. And look at how that ends up for you, gramps ends up scolding you whenever he thinks that I did something wrong. They never want me to be curious. They don't want me at all."

Yasu lied down next to her smaller sister, and pushed her head against Chie's. "I know you want out of here. But please don't. It's dangerous. I don't want to lose my little sister, no matter how crazy she is. That's what makes you unique, you know," she smiled.

Chie sighed.

'_Thanks Yasu. But even you don't understand what it is to be seen as something inferior. You're just like mom, strong and independent, yet still caring and friendly to others. While I am all alone. Chie, the nosy little outcast of the Bakeneko clan_', she thought bitterly.

'_Why do we even live on this stupid island? Why can't I escape this stupid place?_'

* * *

Three days later, Chie again searched for Tomio, with new questions, of course. However, Tomio was not at his house. Thus, things became a challenge for Chie. She wasn't as playful as her rather ignorant and carefree family, but she enjoyed making a game out of these kinds of things.

Pretty soon, imaginary humans hunted the little cat, as she spurted through the forest in search of her 'teacher'. These imaginary humans didn't look anywhere near actual humans, but were rather a bunch of demonic creatures, towering over her as they were as large as the trees surrounding her. In her little fantasy world, they howled out with mindless and foul voices, as they wished to eat the tiny cat.

Chie would not allow them to 'catch' her- she might not be as strong as her brothers and sisters, but she was every bit as elusive and nimble.

* * *

Crashing down from the trees – though still landing on her four paws – Chie finally found the cat whose scent she had been tracking. Tomio was sitting at the beach, with a somewhat sad expression on his wise red-furred face.

"Tomio!" Chie exclaimed, failing to see his sadness in her own enthusiasm. After all, she _was_ rather proud of outrunning her (imaginary) human pursuers- a big feat, to her young mind, considering how much longer their (imaginary) legs were compared to her own. Though, this was logical, now that she knew the humans only clumsily toddled around on two legs, without even having a tail.

Tomio sighed and looked behind him. The much larger cat had heard something crash through the forest, but had not expected to meet the young kitten here. "Why are you so far from you home, Chie?"

"Who cares how far it is, can't get out of here anyway, right?" Chie said, as her whiskers made a gesture equivalent to the human 'shrug'.

"But why?"

"I had a question!"

Tomio looked at the blatant curiosity in her eyes. "Again?"

"Gramps lectured us on the three great races, the toads, the snakes, and the slugs," Chie rattled, not paying attention to Tomio's exhausted sigh. "But he did not want to tell us about the four guardians!"

"Because there is not much known about them, Chie," Tomio said as he stretched himself. The little kitten couldn't even let him get some rest...

"So you do know _something_?"

"What do you know about the Bakeneko tribe, Chie?"

"Eh? Our tribe learned to manipulate chakra from the teachings of Lady Nibi. We grow very old, and our adults have split tails to indicate that they are the most powerful as well."

"Yes, and?"

"Well, they say we only get access to our full powers when our tails are split."

"And you know about the exception?"

"The summoning contract? Well, you once said we Bakeneko could increase our individual chakra reserves by cooperating with humans who signed contracts with us?"

"Exactly- but that is just the extent of our power. Compared to the other tribes, that isn't something special at all," Tomio explained. "What does make us different is our ability to change our appearances. If an adult Bakeneko so wishes, he or she can change into a humanoid form. How did you think we created our buildings, Chie? Or wrote our books?"

Chie's whiskers revealed her surprise.

"But our ability to transform- even though it is unique, even compared to the human 'henge no jutsu'- is still not enough to make our tribe stand out. Chie, you know why the three are elevated above all other summon tribes?"

"Humans can transform too?"

"Yes, but their skill is different from ours. Our transformation is no illusion, but something far more real. But that was not my question," Tomio remarked.

Chie sighed, and paused for a moment to think. "Gramps once said something about those tribes holding secrets, and something vague about 'sjutensu' or something."

"Senjutsu," Tomio corrected her, "otherwise known as the only method to absorb the energy from the nature surrounding us: the sage mode. Because of that, those three tribes hold power far greater than others. I know, we have our ability to shape shift, something giving us the advantage in some cases. But the power of those three tribes is far greater than the few tricks we, or most of the other clans, have. The only exceptions are formed by four beings that have become legends in their own right, not even needing something as potent as senjutsu to prove their power."

"So who are those four? Haruo? Lady Nibi?"

"No. No, Lady Nibi is something different- perhaps even stronger, if the rumors are correct," Tomio replied, as he wandered off with his thoughts, reliving memories back from the time he still had a summoning contract. Only once… only once had he seen something that massive, with chakra that seemed to be limitless. And Lady Nibi was supposed to be of the same kind as that massive five-tailed horse-like being.

"What rumors?" Chie asked curiously, and too impatient to wait until Tomio continued by himself. "Tell me!" she hopped around the much older and larger cat.

"I cannot. But I will tell you about the four guardians. They are known as such, because they each hold power given to them in the times when even Lady Nibi was said to be young. Those four never grew old, though their bodies changed over time- almost as much as their abilities. You must understand, Chie, that those four hail from different times, when the world was said to be vastly different from the current one. Imagine, they were times when Lady Nibi and her kin could walk freely across the world.." Tomio sighed. "It was also the time when the humans rose up; and in their youngest days, the four guarded and guided them."

"Wow! They must be really old," Chie said, her eyes spurred wide open. "They must be even more ancient than Haruo himself."

"Never let him hear you call him ancient," Tomio chuckled. "But yes, they are older then perhaps even we can imagine. Let's see. If I recall correctly, each of the four hails from a different species, one being a turtle, another a tiger, then a bird, and lastly there is a dragon."

"A dragon?! Do they really exist? Like in the stories?"

Tomio laughed gently, touched by the childlike innocence of the kitten. "No, this is no dragon unlike any you have heard of in your books. This dragon is actually the only one of the four of which even a little is known, as he is the only of the four who I heard of has made a contract with a human."

"A dragon and a human?" Chie exclaimed in disbelief.

"Those two have become legends amongst the humans, as far as I understood from those among us who have wandered the human world in more recent times."

"Were they that strong?"

"Apparently, the human was already exceptional, and the dragon had given him the control over his element as a gift. Wood," Tomio added, knowing what Chie wanted to ask. "Far less is known about the others, though our oldest books say that the turtle holds power of water, and the bird has control over fire. The tiger is mostly shrouded in mystery, but it is presumed that it holds control over metal.. Or was is ice.. I actually don't remember," Tomio frowned. (Well, his whiskers did.) "Anyway, the turtle is rumored to be located somewhere north of us... not that anyone knows precisely where it is."

"Why are they so secretive?" Chie wondered. "If they are all so strong, there is no need for them to hide, right?"

"I do not know, Chie. Perhaps they do not like other species, or perhaps they just want to live their lives in peace and quiet. Who knows... I mean, if you could be that old, and know that you would not die either. I can hardly imagine what that must be like."

"Seems rather boring," Chie agreed.

"I suppose. After so much time, it would likely be difficult to learn something new," Tomio nodded. "But… what are you looking at, Chie?"

"The shores. It's like the sea withdrew while you were talking," Chie wondered.

Tomio's hair stood out when he heard something massive grumble and approach.

They had nowhere to run…

* * *

Kenta was annoyed. Though he was the strongest, he was also the youngest of their group, meaning that he had to listen to his 'senpai'. Kenta was a tall and thin man, not extremely muscular, but rather very sinewy. With his hollow eyes, and rough, medium-length hair, he had quickly gained the nickname "Yokai," the black apparition of the hidden mist. This was mostly because Kenta had excellent sensory abilities, which he combined with stealth. The vast majority of his victims never even heard him coming, before Kenta's blade ended their lives. If it had been wartime, someone with Kenta's abilities would have surely have become part of the legendary seven swordsmen. At least, that was what Kenta believed.

The Mizukage had certainly made a grave mistake by letting that young Zabuza take the only remaining sword. With the civil war, many of the seven had defected, and some of the blades had even disappeared entirely… but Kenta would make his own legend, sword or not. The black apparition of the mist would become feared outside their country as well.

Though he had to first follow orders and go on another tedious purge mission. After all, during the temporary truce, the shinobi had to do something useful, and hunting down those abominable bloodlines always kept them busy. Perhaps now, after two years of not being hunted because the hunters were too busy fighting in the civil war, those monstrosities would be more careless...then a good sensor like Kenta would surely find _someone_.

* * *

Her body hurt…and why was her fur all wet? Chie groaned as she tried to get up, but found that she couldn't. "Too tired..." she sighed. "Where am I, anyway?"

Only now, Chie noticed she was lying on sand. On a beach, she saw as she turned towards the sound of waves. But how? Her headache was inhibiting her ability to think properly.

'_Let's see.. What is the last thing that I remember..'_ Chie mused. She had been tracking, and she had found Tomio. He had taught her new things, and then something happened. Chie's eyes widened in shock as it came back to her.

* * *

"_What are you looking at, Chie?" Tomio asked_

"_The shores.. It's like the sea withdrew while you were talking," Chie wondered._

_Tomio's hair stood out when he heard something massive grumble and approach._

"_Get to the forest, NOW," Tomio suddenly shouted._

_As both cats ran for their lives, Tomio knew they would never outrun the wall of water that was approaching. But what could he do against it?_

_The two had barely reached the first trees as the water crashed ashore. In a split-second decision, Tomio, pushed the tiny Chie behind him, as he created a barrier of chakra._

* * *

Tears started flowing down Chie's cheeks... "Tomio," she shivered. "Why... why did you do that?"

* * *

'_I'm running out of chakra...' Tomio realized. The water didn't stop coming. Chie, completely terrified, lay curled under him, seeking protection. 'I could abandon her, and grab a tree in the hopes that I wash ashore.. But how could I do that?'_

_No. Tomio realized his responsibility. The elders denied their kittens the right to develop freely, as they valued their own positions too much to ever risk a change in the way they lived. But the future belongs to the young...the elderly, like Tomio, had one true obligation: to protect the new generation._

* * *

Chie felt lost. It had been over an hour since she had regained consciousness... but she did not have the will to move. Tomio had sacrificed his life so that she could escape. She couldn't fathom why... but he had expended all his remaining chakra to get her to a log… After that, she only remembered flashes, of how she had to cling onto that log; then storm- thunder- darkness.

All was wet. She felt as if even her bones were soaked, even the bruises she had collected. But none of it mattered.

She was alone now. This island was clearly not the one she grew up on.. Bakeneko island had no shores like this. Not with this view..

But even if she were home… Tomio was the only one who did not treat her like a burden. Even Yasu, while caring for her, only saw her as a loved, but troublesome, little sister.

On one hand, she realized that this was her chance to explore the world. But, after knowing that she had lost her only real friend…

* * *

Chie woke up again later, with the sun indicating it was past noon already. She groaned as she felt something poking her.

"Quit it, Yasu," Chie grumbled, not fully realizing where she was.

The poking stopped. Good. Her body hurt too much to have someone poking her. '_Wait.. pain?_', Chie wondered for a second, before all the grief caught up with her again. Saddened, she curled up.

She heard someone gasp for breath, and the poking started again.

"Staddup, sweep head," the thing babbled.

'_Wait.. I was on a different island.. That's not Yasu!' _Chie realized, as she observed who was bothering her.

A tiny two-legged creature with a wide grin stood next to her. It was covered in some kind of blue-ish piece of cloth. And strange enough, it had no fur, other than some pink – nearly red – fur on the top of its head.

"What.. what are you?" Chie wondered.

"Zoozoo," the pinkish-two-leg exclaimed. "Zoozoo found you," it pointed proudly at its chest.

"You're.. no, you are far too little to be a human.. Are you some kind of ape?"

"Pape?" the creature tilted its head, as if its confused expression wasn't clear enough already. "Wadda pape?"

Whatever it tried to say, Chie was completely confused. Apes shouldn't be talking, right? Unless it was another tribe of summons, like her Bakeneko clan.

"I am Chie," she finally decided to show some proper manners. After all, if it wasn't human, Chie should at least show some respect. "What clan do you belong to, pinky?"

"Amshi?" it wondered. "Hi amshi! Me Zoozoo," it laughed. "Mommy!" it charged off.

Chie was puzzled. What was an amshi? Or was the creature dumb enough to mishear her? In that case, could 'Zoozoo' be its name?

"That pinkish two-leg makes no sense at all. Is it of some tribe of intoxicated dwarves?" Chie wondered. Fairy tales always had dwarves in them, and it was common knowledge that those dwarves only drank the forbidden drink. "Yes... it must be... that would explain why it talks like that!"

Chie knew, as she had seen some of the older cats of her tribe talk like that too, when it was the season for the drink. That was also why her grandfather had told her that this would be a 'forbidden drink' for her, until she was at least be a century old..

Torn, as she was both curious to see where the dwarf had gone, and hesitant to leave the beach, Chie looked back at the ocean once more.

But she knew... no matter how much she wished it, Tomio would not return- and he would scold her if she gave up now. So Chie stood up, her body still hurting but not as badly as earlier, and walked in the direction at which the dwarf had gone. Although when she reached the edge, she looked back once more. '_I am sorry Tomio... I will never forget you,_' Chie said to herself. '_Goodbye.'_

* * *

Scared, Shiori paced through the thin line of trees that was between their house and the beach. Her child had run off again. "I swear, I should almost tie that girl to a chair," she fumed to no one in particular.

A crack, a voice, and Shiori felt like she could breathe again.

"Mommy!" the little girl charged at Shiori, completely oblivious of her concern.

Shiori sighed as the girl hopped around her, in an attempt to tell her something about a 'plushy', but she didn't have the time for this.

"Suzume," she kept her voice strict, though the abrupt change from the cheering girl into a slightly shocked look amused her that much that she could hardly keep her face serious. But she had to. "Suzume, what did I tell you? Didn't I tell you to stay indoors?"

"Yes mommy," Suzume nodded her head, obviously ashamed, even though Shiori doubted that the child fully understood what she did wrong. After all, it had been hardly a month since Suzume had celebrated her second birthday.

Then, more sounds came from the shrubbery next to them, as a black cat, covered with white spots, appeared. "So you found a cat?" Shiori asked Suzume.

"She Ashie!" her daughter smiled broadly.

"Tsk... I told you it was Chie, not Ashie or Anshi," a voice sounded. "It's a bit unexpected to find such a large dwarf too.. But the books said dwarves always lived in packs or herds."

Startled, Shiori looked around. But there was no one here. "Who is that," she questioned, as she pulled her daughter close to her.

"Errm... down here, two-leg…" the cat spoke up, almost with a sarcastic tone.

Shiori looked down.

The cat looked up, at the taller version of the dwarf. This taller two-legged creature had the same strange hair colour, only much brighter and redder. And the same strange lack of fur. Now that Chie looked better, she also noticed neither of the two-legged creatures had tails.

"What?!" Shiori screeched.

Chie tilted her head. "Please don't scream like that, loud-two-leg... my head hurts..."

"You.. you.. you talk? What are you?"

"Yes, I can talk," Chie sighed. "What, is this the first time that you are seeing a cat?"

"N-No..." Shiori stumbled. "But they are supposed to be… well... you know..."

"Tsk... Hey, pinkish-two-leg, is this red-two-leg your two-leg?" Chie shifted her focus from the flabbergasted woman to the smiling child.

"Mommy!" Suzume pointed to the taller woman, as if that explained everything. Chie looked, and noticed that the taller woman had the same kind of face and eyes as the shorter one.

"You're her kitten?" Chie wondered. "What kind of thing are you?"

"Err… We are humans... what else?" Shiori frowned.

"Humans? That's impossible!" Chie exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Humans are much taller, and savage!"

Shiori lowered her head, and looked sad. "I can't deny that. Many of us are savages..." she paused and sighed. "But not every human is like that. Now, can you tell me who you are? Or even better: what you are."

"As I told pinkish-two-leg, my name is Chie. I am granddaughter of Katsuro, and member of the Bakeneko clan."

"Clan? Are you a shinobi?" Shiori asked as she pulled Suzume, who tried to get to the cat, back.

"I am a Bakeneko, not a shibio or whatever," Chie scoffed. "Don't you humans know anything?"

* * *

Tired, but content, Mitsuo returned to his home. The brown haired, rather plain-looking man was in his mid-twenties. He had just spent the entire day in the field, ploughing and sowing the seeds for the next harvest. It was exhausting work, but rewarding enough. Not that he and Shiori owned much, but they had enough to support their little family. As long as they had enough to feed Suzume, and themselves, Mitsuo would be happy.

After all, wealth would only draw attention. In this accursed region, attention was the last thing they would want to have. After all, these islands were too close to the influence of Kirigakure. Anyone carrying a bloodline limit in this region had to be careful. The hunters were always watching.

Mitsuo sighed. Luckily, their little island only had two little villages, one with a harbour, and lived off agriculture and fishing. The people here weren't exactly rich, but they had enough to be content. In addition, the land was rich enough to afford the 'protection' fees of Kirigakure, which amounted to protection from Kirigakure, most of the time. Their shinobi were arguably worse than any regular band of bandits.

But, it had already been more than two years since the last time anyone on their island was attacked. Still, Mitsuo knew that he shouldn't be fooled by a false sense of peace. Especially now that Suzume would grow up. Perhaps, in a few years, she would show the first serious signs of possessing the same ability that he possessed. It would be a disaster if anyone saw that. All these things brought a slight frown to Mitsuo's face, apart from him being tired from the long day working.

"Honey, I'm home!" he called out upon opening the door. He smiled as he heard a shout, and the quickly approaching little footsteps, as he saw his daughter charge at him.

"Daddy!"

* * *

Chie frowned in her Bakeneko fashion. So, on one end there were two-legs with strange bumps on their chest, while the other did not. So far, she understood it, as Tomio had told her that. The chibi was more confusing.

Kittens were supposed to be similar to their parents, but smaller. Why did this 'child', because that is what big-red-two-leg had called her kitten, seem so different from the adult species?

Not even mentioning the appearance, the behavior of the chibi was even stranger to Chie. '_The little-two-leg is completely helpless, and ignorant of everything, even when its curiosity is even worse than my own,_' Chie considered. '_At least the bigger two-legs seem to be aware of it. Yet, they say it is normal.. Humans are truly odd.. Perhaps this is why they live in herds? Though this herd only seems to consist of three two-legs. Well, and me now. Strange, why did the flat-chested-two-leg accept me so easily? And the big-crimson-two-leg truly seemed to be concerned about my condition? I thought humans were monsters.'_

Needless to say: Chie was completely confused. Her elders had always told how despicable humans were. Yet these three, so far, proved the complete opposite of it. Humans were strange, and with nowhere to go, Chie decided that staying with them would just prove to be a good opportunity to study them.

"Zoozoo sweepy," the child yawned, walking up to Chie. Before the cat realized what the child was doing, Suzume lay down and cuddled up to Chie.

Chie looked at the child, somewhat bewildered by its behaviour. "Sleep tight, chibi-two-leg," Chie whispered gently, folding her long tail around the child to keep her warm.

* * *

Kenta had sensed something. It was faint, but that was to be expected. After all, those abominations with their bloodlines had been able to survive the earlier purges, so they ability to mask their chakra was expected to be good.

Still… something was wrong about the chakra Kenta felt. He couldn't explain it, thus annoying his captain, but somehow there was something inhuman about the trace he felt. It was more inhuman than any other bloodline freak he had met before this moment. Although Kenta had urged caution, the group went out to see what they had found.

To their collective surprise, they found a single man sitting near a campfire. At least, if you could call it a man. His pale skin and yellow eyes made him look creepy. Almost like a snake. And this close, Kenta could feel what was wrong about the man. '_He is not just hiding his chakra, he is also suppressing it- to a much larger degree than I've ever felt before,_' Kenta realized.

Looking up into Kenta's eyes, the man chuckled. "Now what do we have here…"

"Senpai," Kenta whispered, turning to his captain. "We need to get out of here. Now."

"I suppose you already know it is too late to run," the man in front of them hissed. He looked curiously at Kenta's expression. "Interesting… so you would use them as a diversion?"

Kenta grimaced. How could this guy see through him like this? Who and what was this guy? Anxious, Kenta tried to step back. If his idiotic team wanted to fight, then they could throw away their lives. Kenta refused to go down with them.

But Kenta couldn't move. "What? What's going on?"

The pale, snakelike man stood up and walked towards them. "It's been a while since someone managed to track me down like this."

"Should I kill them?" a voice sounded up from behind Kenta. '_Shit. Shit! Shit! I focussed too much on that freak and missed the other guy? Damn it all!_' Kenta mentally cursed.

"No... Not the black-hair, Kazu. He intrigues me. The others are disposable. Get rid of them."

"As you wish," the voice answered coldly. Frozen at his position, Kenta could not even turn his head, but from the corners of his eyes he saw black objects pierce his companions, while his captain was strangled by a similar black thing.

"Another bloodline freak?" Kenta grumbled softly.

"He is a Nara," the snakelike man replied casually. "So yes, I suppose that fits your less charming description. But tell me: who are you?"

"Depends, what do you want from me?" Kenta countered, as he quickly realized he made a mistake, feeling something slide over his body, grabbing and almost crushing his arms.

"Now now, no need to be too rude Kazu," the snakelike man said suavely. "I am not the kind of person who likes to throw away people who have a lot of promise. You are the first one in several years who managed to track me down when I didn't want to be found, so I would like to see if you are worthy enough to be recruited."

"Recruited?" Kenta frowned. "Why would I risk getting hunted by Kiri?"

"I offer power in return," the man smirked. "There are many jutsus that I can share with you, so that you can grow beyond what you are now." Orochimaru knew that the man had caught the bait, the moment Kenta's eyes spurred open, and the Sannin suppressed his smirk. After all, it had not been hard to see that this man had a strong desire for more power. And greed was so easy to use…

"Hmm. It's not like I have any choice, and I'm not going to throw away my life for that shitty village," Kenta decided. "My name is Kenta, also known as the Yokai, the black haired ghost of the hidden mist. I may not be the strongest of Kirigakure, but there is no better tracker in my village. Former village."

Orochimaru's smile widened. Skilled, proud, _and_ selfish. This kind of man would be a very suitable servant. Though, Kenta had yet to prove his loyalty to him. "Good. I am Orochimaru, of Konohagakure.. And as I promised, I will give you more power. But before you get your reward, I need you to track down someone. You see, there is a certain someone that I am looking for…"

* * *

In the following weeks, Chie found out how weird humans were. Eating, for instance, was done at set times, and always together with the entire herd. All kinds of strange rituals were also conducted with the food, something which Shiori called 'cooking.' Sometimes food actually tasted better, but most of the times, especially when considering vegetables, Chie was just glad she had her own food. After all, a Bakeneko had different tastes than an ordinary human.

That was another thing Chie found extremely strange: humans always seemed to live together. On her island, Chie was used to everyone pretty much living their own lives. But here.. humans were much closer. Especially when it came to Suzume, of whom Shiori and Mitsuo were extremely protective.

While Shiori was mostly at home, doing all kinds of chores, Mitsuo was away from home for most of the day. This was a ritual that they called 'work,' Chie found. Just like the food ritual, the work ritual was done daily. Strangely, these rituals also happened at some set time. That was another confusing thing for Chie: they had a time-controlling device which Shiori called a clock. Well, Mitsuo called it a 'damned annoyance,' but that was something that he should not say, as Shiori considered it rude. Chie understood the woman's carefulness, as the device seemed to control their daily schedule. Chie could only imagine the horrors that would occur if the device was angered. Especially to her, as her daily milk and food were prepared at the same times the humans had their food.

But while the two older humans were oddly organized, the little one seemed to do everything in its limited power to disrupt that organization. As such, it had become Chie's 'chore' to look after the child.

It was a rather dangerous occupation, considering Suzume's obsession with Chie's long and furry tail: once the child got hold of it, it proved exceedingly difficult to break her grasp. But still... Chie found that the little one needed her protection the most. The child was completely oblivious to everything, and continuously charged on with an enthusiasm that Chie found almost absurd, though equally endearing. The hugs and kisses the child gave weren't too bad.

When it was eating or drinking, Chie knew that it would be better to stay away though. Human kittens were messy eaters, and Chie hated for her fur to get dirty- especially after Shiori introduced her to the torture device the humans called a 'bath.' At that moment, Chie fully understood Tomio's warning, and realized how horrible the humans could be.

Yes, humans were strange to Chie. Even their mating behaviour was strange. They virtually threw the cat out of the room when she 'interrupted' them one day. But as odd as they were in the eyes of the little kitten, Chie could not say they were anywhere near foolish when it concerned their own safety. However, it eluded her why they were so scared of other people, at least until that one night, when Mitsuo sang his daughter a bed-time song.

Listening in, Chie felt the chakra flowing from the man, creating a mild and soothing illusion. Before the cat really knew what happened, she was as fast asleep as Suzume herself.

* * *

**A/N**: Indeed! The first chapter of my little 'spinoff' that focuses on the early years of Chie, a bit about her youth on the secluded Island where the Bakeneko lived, as well as the events that eventually left her stranded in the woods where Naruto eventually found her. These events take place roughly twelve years before the main story began. I made the assumption that Orochimaru was still living in Konoha at that time, considering how he was forced to flee from Konoha at some point after Minato's death.

Credits: though Chie, the Bakeneko, Kenta, and Mitsuo's little family are my own creations, Nara Kazu needs to be credited to **Scarease**, who is so generous to share ideas on new characters with me. Another of his characters will appear in the next chapter! And is Suzume an OC? You'll find out soon enough. And of course also a big thank you to my beta **Illuminated**. As well as to those of you who cheer me on with your reviews.

-Z-

**PS**; meanwhile, the manga ended.. I still don't understand why Kishimoto decided to rush things so much. Seriously, there were so many things that deserved to be expanded! What as compressed in two chapters could, and should, have been twenty chapters. Ah well, at least it gave me inspiration for my own little story! After all, I started this fanfic thing due to a combination of love for the story, and criticism on what Kishimoto did with it.


	36. Chie chronicles pt2: taken

**The Chie chronicles **

**Part two: Taken**

* * *

"Do you actually trust that man to retrieve his target?" Nara Kazu repeated, with a cynical tone. He was sitting near the forest line where they had set up camp. After all, their 'guest' needed to rest.

"He is a greedy man," Orochimaru chuckled. "So yes, if he is as capable as I think he is, he will succeed."

"Tsk. So much trust in an unknown man."

"Kenta-kun wants to gain power. And, he doesn't care about the methods. Didn't you notice how he acted?"

"I did," Kazu frowned. Even though it was a while back, he could recall that day perfectly. After all, he was a genius- a genius worthy to lead his clan- if he had lived in a reasonable world without favouritism. "You said Kenta noticed you, Orochimaru-sama."

"That wasn't all, Kazu-kun," Orochimaru smirked, pausing to let the Nara figure it out by himself.

"He noticed you, and knew something was wrong. That is why his team took the cautious approach. Kenta knew well enough that his team was already dead, so he set up the formation so that he would have the chance to escape," Kazu reasoned.

"Indeed. Like you, Kenta is only loyal to himself. His sensory abilities surprised me, as well. If what he told us was true, he noticed me far sooner than anyone should have been able to. I suppressed my chakra to such a degree that even that fool of a Jiraiya should not have been able to track me down… No, this boy is special, and quite the useful pawn in the game that will unfold."

"Still, you only gave him the least important target," Kazu deduced. "Of course, we knew the location of our target, after his foolish clan nearly annihilated itself with that pointless assault on Kirigakure. And this bloodline is far more important."

"Indeed. I was dying to get my hands on the shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai," Orochimaru whispered, as his long tongue hang out of his mouth. "So keep the boy safe in the hideout, Kazu. I would not be able to forgive you if you lost sight of this boy. I need focus on the experiments first. Let me know when Kenta returns."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama," Kazu bowed, not completely able to suppress the shiver of excitement he felt when hearing the threat. In this boring world, Orochimaru was one of the few who could instill this fear; Kazu loved that emotion. In fact, there were but few things that triggered any kind of emotion with Kazu- well, besides torture, of course, he conceded to himself.

* * *

"What was that, yesterday, Mitsuo-two-leg?" Chie asked.

"Ah.. You mean that song?" Mitsuo said, cautiously. "I suppose there is no harm in telling you…"

The man sighed, and looked around. "My father was a shinobi," he started. "He lived in Kirigakure, at least until the wars came. Well, it wasn't just the war that forced him away, but rather how people responded to it. You see, all those wars created a very strong hatred amongst the people… hatred against the bloodlines which had caused the most victims. As such, the families cursed with a bloodline limit had to hide. Like me, completely hiding our chakra from anyone, and being cautious for every single moment."

"Bloodline limit?" Chie questioned.

"It is the condition when people are born with certain skills that no one else can master. For instance, there are people who can somehow create and manipulate elements like ice. But such a feat is virtually impossible for anyone who does not have that specific bloodline limit. It would require a very specific balance and control of multiple types of chakra, which is extremely difficult for anyone not born with such a gift. In the wars between nations, as well as during the multiple civil wars, the people with bloodline limits were feared the most. Because of that, the ordinary people began hating those with bloodline limits. Consequently, most bloodlines within our nation were exterminated."

"And what you did by singing… this is because you have a bloodline limit as well?" Chie deduced. "So that is why you are so secretive, and keep yourself and your nest away from other herds?"

Mitsuo blinked. "I possess the ability because of my father, but my wife possesses no such ability, as she doesn't carry that bloodline. We cannot be completely sure about Suzume, as she is too young to show us if she has the same ability or not. But if she does have it, and people find out…" Mitsuo half-looked over his shoulder, "She would have no control over it at this age, making it too dangerous for her to be around other people. That is why we forbid her to sing. Because, if others find out, they will hunt us down and kill us," Mitsuo sighed.

"Why not leave?"

"I once asked my father that same question. He told me that the other nations would be dangerous for us to go to as well. Foreigners are usually distrusted- especially foreign shinobi. It would be hard for us to start a new life in another country, especially if it meant that we had to leave everything behind. You see, migration is something which the bloodline hunters are the most suspicious of. If we had to leave, the normal way at least, we would have to go to the docks and take a ship towards the great harbor on the island north of us. From there the shipping routes lead to the mainland. With the ships, either they check your blood, or you have a chance that you are trapped by slavers."

"I see… travel is too dangerous in the lawless lands…"

"Yes, Chie, and though the mainland is said to have calmed down a little now that the wars have ended, I still don't want to risk the safety of my family. Not when things here seem to be calming down at last. It has been a while since we've last seen the hunters on our island. So for as long as no one suspects us…"

"…that means as long as Suzume doesn't give you away," Chie deduced. "I see, I suppose I will have to be more careful now. Especially with the kitten. Child."

"Thanks, Chie," the man smiled.

* * *

Seeing Suzume waddle around, Chie felt sorry for the child. '_Just when I think the humans are not as bad as the stories made them look like, I hear something like this. What kind of insane creature would persecute other creatures solely for the fact that they were born? As if a two-leg like her has any choice! No creature has. We are born innocent; we cannot help what we are.__'_

Chie couldn't decide whether it was the ignorance, or the long-lasting hatred itself, which was the problem. People like Mitsuo and Shiori showed that humans were capable of good. But why were there other humans that would label these people as 'evil', just because of their blood?

'_Even if they have dangerous abilities__…__ it says nothing about the intention they have,_' Chie mused. '_As if a tool could be evil__… __it__'__s not, it__'__s the will behind it that is good or evil. No bloodline ability could truly be evil.__'_

It frustrated her a bit. Just when she thought she had figured the humans out, Chie realized that she didn't understand humans at all- especially if they were as hateful as she now heard. Would she even want to know any more humans? Were the humans really the scum that her elders told her? Lost in thought, Suzume used the distraction to sneak up to Chie. Before the poor cat knew what happened, the child grabbed her, lifted her up, and ran with her to the shoreline.

"O no… Not this again!" Chie uttered in despair. "Lemme go! Lemme go! Not the water."

Splash. Laughter. "Nooooo."

* * *

Of all the feeding rituals the humans had, one way was by far Chie's favourite. It was a little slippery creature, which did not even have any legs at all. The humans called this no-legged creature 'fish'. Unlike the regular ritual, this was preceded by something called 'fishing'. Chie didn't see the logic of it, considering how humans weren't 'porking' before eating pork meat. Nor were they 'cowing' because of eating the meat of that four-legged creature. But hey, Chie wasn't expecting any logic at this point. She had lived amongst humans for several months now, so she had accepted that understanding their logic in naming things would be a never-ending struggle with little to no reward. Most of the time, Chie just described things as she saw them, rather than making the effort to remember the human name of it.

The same went for the names of humans themselves. Though, she did use the names of those who had earned her respect.

But today, Chie joined Mitsuo on his 'fishing' ritual. Even if this involved a lot of water, as the no-legs had found a way to stay alive under the water. The latter was quite remarkable, as they never seemed to be very intelligent. Chie hated water with a passion, even more so due to the events that had brought her to this island. But the rewards outweighed the risk of getting a wet fur. Thus, Mitsuo had taken off with a small wooden construct that floated on the water. From there, he used some strange device: a long branch with a rope on it. According to Mitsuo, those things were used to catch the fish.

But so far, Chie remained rather skeptical.

Mitsuo, on the other hand, smiled as he saw the black-and-white cat stare at the bobber that floated on top of the water. "Don't be too impatient, Chie, they'll bite eventually."

Chie looked up, in what Mitsuo recognized as the 'what do you mean' look. This was usually followed by the 'explain everything you know' look that Mitsuo had grown wary of. "There is some bait at the end of the line; when the fish bites, trying to eat the bait, it will be caught as the hook on which the bait is attached latches into its flesh," he quickly explained, before the little cat would add all kind of odd fantasies to it.

"Are those no-legs really that stupid?" Chie wondered. "So, the fewer legs a creature has, the less intelligent it is?"

"No," Mitsuo nearly choked in laughter after the cat had still managed to catch him off guard. "Legs don't mean a thing. Really, I am still surprised that you have never seen other people before."

"Humans were not welcome on our island," Chie sighed, though she did think the man made a good point. After all, of the three humans, Shiori seemed to be the most intelligent, while Mitsuo had that odd looking, and seemingly useless little third leg.

So apparently the number of legs did not determine how smart a creature was. '_Perhaps it__'__s the lack of whiskers_,' Chie mused.

"Hmm.. So you said before. But you never really said much about your home. What was it like?"

"It was just an island, much like this one, but with a big mountain in the center. The forests were a lot denser though," Chie said, though with some reluctance. She didn't like to think too much about the home she had been forced to leave behind.

"Sounds like a perfectly peaceful place," Mitsuo smiled. "Why did you leave? I know you've been avoiding answering it, but still you-"

"I suppose it is right to question it, considering the information you entrusted me with," Chie cut him off. She sighed. "But my home… I didn't leave by choice. Like I told you, I was swept away by a large tidal wave. The reason why I didn't want to talk about it was because my only friend, my teacher, threw away his life to save me."

'_So that is why she always appeared to be so sad,_' Mitsuo realized. "I am sorry… I didn't know."

"Don't be. I now know it was Tomio's own choice. I know he could have saved himself, but he did not want to leave me. I suppose I can understand now... I wouldn't leave someone who is helpless, like Suzume, behind in order to save my own whiskers. No, the only thing I regret is that I was helpless. I never want to be helpless again," Chie declared, though almost whispering at the end.

"You shouldn't blame yourself, Chie. Nature has a will of its own. We mortals have just got to live under its reign," Mitsuo sighed. "You should proudly live your life, in his honor."

"How could I be proud, two-leg? He died," Chie shook her head. "Sometimes… sometimes I wish I could just forget it. Stop feeling hurt."

"You don't want that. Never forget about him. Even if it would give you a false sense of freedom, it would be the bad thing to do. Your memories of those you lost are the only things you have to remember them by. Love does not end where life ends."

"I know you are right… but it does not change the way I feel."

"Have I ever told you how I met Shiori?" Mitsuo wondered. Chie shook her head, a gesture she had copied from Suzume. "Twelve years ago, my father and I arrived at a nearby island, looking for a job. We were disguised as fishermen, I believe. Or was it as sailors? Well, it doesn't matter. We were on the run for the bloodline hunters, who had nearly caught us a few months before that, so we tried to build up a new life."

"And there you met Red-hair-two-leg?"

"No. Well, yes, I did meet her once, when I walked in the village, but she didn't really notice me. You see, she was the daughter of the mayor of that village, so she would not take notice of a poor brat like me. Though I do admit I was fascinated by her hair. I never saw someone that beautiful," Mitsuo smiled as he thought back. "No, we came to know each other a few weeks after that.. The hunters that had been tracking us believed we had come to that island, but they were frustrated because they couldn't find us. My father had drilled me in chakra control ever since I was a little boy, so they could not sense us as we hid outside the village."

"So the hunter-two-legs left?"

"No," Mitsuo sighed. "The hunters… a normal village has little manpower. Only a couple of guards, often not even trained properly. But the hunters, they were fully trained shinobi, each able to easily defeat a dozen regular warriors. The hunters knew they could do whatever they want to, as there was no one to stop them. I've seen that happen many times now… when people who normally live under a very strict regime suddenly gain the freedom to do whatever they want they turn into something worse than animals."

"What did they do?" Chie asked, not liking where this was going.

"They captured several women… for their 'amusement'. I heard that the mayor just stood by as they dragged away his wife… but Shiori ran away. She was young, and the cruelty they would inflict on such a young girl…" Mitsuo grimaced as if he remembered something bad, but Chie was afraid to ask. "By chance, she ran towards the place where my father and I were hiding. Two hunters ran after her, seeing the chase as just a game before they could have their fun. When I saw them catch up with her… I couldn't control myself. I knew I had to keep hidden, or risk getting killed myself, but I couldn't abandon that girl to such a fate. It was a good thing the hunters had already drank too much, as the second man could not respond after I killed the first. That day was the first time I ever killed someone," Mitsuo frowned. "But it also meant we had to run away again. And, that Shiori's life would be forfeit if she stayed there… I convinced my father to take her along, and she was desperate enough to agree. Well, cutting a long story short, ever since leaving that island, we moved three times, just to cover our tracks, before we arrived at this place. We built this house here and started living as simple farmers. And after a year or so, Shiori and I got married. My father died three years after, when Shiori was pregnant with Suzume," Mitsuo concluded with a sad sigh.

"That was… I never knew Shiori-two-leg had had such a rough life," Chie frowned in her feline way. "The three of you always seem to be so happy."

"It is because we know pain, that we enjoy life so much."

"Hmm… I suppose you are right. But when are those no-legs going to bite?" Chie faced away, trying to change the subject as he had given her much to think about. For one of the first times in her short life, Chie began to think that she had too much to think about.

"Patience, Chie. Patience."

* * *

In the end, Mitsuo caught too much fish. So, the day after, he sold what was left in the neighboring village. Chie, on the other hand, took some 'time off'. She wandered the landscape for a while, not so much out of curiosity, but rather to have some time alone. After all, Mitsuo's words had made her think about what life and death were truly about.

And those were not the things to think about while a two year old did her absolute best to catch your tail… a game that Suzume loved to play. Despite the risk, Chie never had the heart to tell her to stop. In fact, Chie doubted she could ever deny the child anything. Well, bathing was an exception…

Lying on top of a tree branch, Chie suddenly jerked up her head. '_Something is off_,' she immediately realized. '_What is this chakra?_'

Chie hadn't wandered off far, and quickly ran back. Standing outside the house, was a tall and thin man, with black hair that reached to his shoulders. The man carried a short sword in one hand, and a pink-haired bundle in the other.

"Suzume!" Chie cried out as she charged at the man. The man's smile vanished as he looked dismissively at the incoming cat. If he had been surprised by seeing a talking cat, he didn't show it. With the flat side of his blade he lashed out, knocking Chie away.

"Apparently it isn't just human stupidity to shout before charging," the man mumbled as he looked down at the unconscious creature. Not that it would have mattered, as he sensed her come near anyway. Though the odd chakra signature had given him the idea he would have faced something more interesting than just a little cat. He sheathed his sword and walked back to the house. The woman he had knocked out, after taking the child, was still on the ground, with the wounds on her body, especially the cuts on her face, bleeding profusely.

Kenta sighed. '_I wasted enough time tracking this damn kid down already. I can__'__t understand why he wants to have this specific bloodline in his possession__… __That damned island he sent me towards was obviously a dead end, and this entire search felt so freaking aimless. But I doubt even I would have been able to track it down if it had not been for this stupid kid to be singing. Ah well, I better hurry back now. Too bad for this woman. Even after that beating I gave her, she looks good enough to be a nice little plaything for a while longer, but dragging her along would only slow me down._'

"And I had my fun with her anyway," Kenta chuckled out loud, thinking back. He loved this part of his job as a bloodline hunter: the power over ordinary people, the power to do whatever you want to do. Although Kenta preferred somewhat chubby women, punching them or cutting them, all women just looked so beautiful when in pain. The added despair she had felt due to him having her child in his hands made torturing her even more fun. "Now I had better get rid of the evidence," he frowned. He knew his fellow hunters would recognize his work if they saw this woman's mutilated body. His twisted hobby was something that caught the attention of others, though Kenta himself never understood why. Well, not that he really cared about the others in the first place. It was not his fault that they did not see the beauty of his art.

Placing a few explosive notes, Kenta walked off. As he reached the shore, he heard the house explode. "Bye bye, redhair," he mumbled as he hummed a song. He threw the unconscious child in his boat, and pushed the boat back into the water.

"And now it is time to claim my reward from that snake," he grinned.

* * *

**A/N**: Yeah.. I know it's been a while people. And I'm sorry about that, but I had little choice in the matter, as I've gotten quite ill, and this severely screwed up my agenda. Bigtime. Seems like these things always happen at the worst moments… So, I have to focus myself on my studies even more, to catch up with my schedule again. This in turn means that I have less time to write new material for 'The Honoured Guest'. So I hope you all will be patient and forgive me for my weak health.

I had planned to write more in this chapter, but the part that comes after this just gives me a giant headache. I know where to go, but writing the part and being satisfied with it.. Maybe this is what's called a writer's block? Perhaps I should try to see 'The Last' soon. From all the things I've read about the upcoming movie, it would seem that it would be a good source of inspiration for my NaruHina-colored heart!

Thanks again to **Illuminated**, my trustworthy beta. And to all of you who take your time to support me! THG passed the 150.000 views last week, and also has over 600 followers now. Perhaps my crazy dream of writing one of the top fanfics could come true after all ^^

-Z-


	37. Chie chronicles pt3: Lost

**The Chie chronicles **

**Part three: Lost**

* * *

Void.

Mitsuo couldn't remember ever having felt so empty. He had felt sorrow when his mother died, but his father had been at his side. He had grieved for his father's illness and death, but Shiori's love helped him through it. But now… even the memory of burying his wife's remains was vague. It was as if some gray fog clouded his mind, numbing each and every emotion. All that was left was a dull pain in the back of his mind.

He still could not fathom what had happened. How were they found out? No bloodline hunters had been sighted on the island for years. And why now? Why did they strike when he was not at home? Why did Shiori have to die? Why wasn't he there to protect her?

Mitsuo looked up, but even with the wind blowing in his face, no tears could come. He hated himself for it. Why couldn't he even cry? He wanted to rip his own eyes out… he wanted to die. What was the point of living on without his family? Anger, sadness, despair- all the emotions struggled inside him to come forth. But they all lost to that gray void that filled him.

He sighed. Family. The attacker had taken Suzume away. Mitsuo did not understand why. Hunters were known to kill even babies, as they slaughtered everything that even reeked of a kekkei genkai. Even relatives that had never manifested the ability were murdered, just to be sure. So why had that man taken his daughter? Suzume was now the only reason he still lived. Chie had more or less dragged him on, urging him to follow the kidnapper. He didn't know how the cat knew where to go. And frankly, he couldn't care either. Setting out on the seas with their little fishing boat was more or less suicide anyway. Mitsuo had learned sailing from his father at an early age. The paranoia had driven his father to educate Mitsuo in each and every aspect of survival. Somewhat wearily, Mitsuo remembered his father's lessons. The most urgent one at this moment was that crossing the seas in a small fishing boat like this required the sailor to be completely focused.

But Mitsuo knew he was everything but focused.

* * *

Chie looked back at the grieving man. She herself had barely recovered from the injuries she had sustained. Even though the attacker had not aimed to kill her, the sheer force of his blow had caused several internal injuries.

It was a good thing that Tomio had taught her the basics of using chakra to heal herself. The only thing she regretted was that she had so little chakra. But that had both been her curse and her blessing. Her small physique had always meant she was weaker than her siblings, but it had also compelled her to learn everything she could. While her brothers and sisters had fooled around in the woods, Chie had read many of the scrolls her grandfather had kept, as well as many of the scrolls that Tomio had lent to her.

At an early age, Chie had understood that she could overcome her physical limitations by outsmarting her opponents. Now, one of the many things she had learned could be put into practice. If she had not marked Suzume with her paw, she and Mitsuo would have never stood a chance of tracking the child down. At least now they knew which direction to go, provided that they hurried, she fretted to herself.

Chie was quite aware that her sensory abilities were far beyond what was considered normal for most of her clan, even at young age. Her small reserves had at least made it easy to gain perfect control over her chakra. However, the range of her sensory abilities would still have some limitations. The kidnapper already had a head start, so any delays now would mean the child would be lost forever.

Because, in this large world, how would someone retrieve a kidnapped child?

* * *

"Oi, two-leg," Chie woke her companion. In the four days on sea, Mitsuo had barely slept, and eaten next to nothing. She had watched the man gradually lose his fight to stay awake. It was not a big problem, because miraculously, they never had to face any storm or bad weather. Eventually the shores in the distance had become noticeable, spurring Chie to sharply call "Mitsuo!"

"What," the man grumbled weakly. Chie frowned a little when she remembered the smiling and happy man she had once known. His face radiated the weariness he felt, and his eyes… Chie shuddered when she saw the empty look in the man's eyes.

"There's land in the distance."

"Is Suzume there?"

"She is in that direction, yes."

Mitsuo sighed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I might be young, and considered weak compared to my siblings, but I do know a thing or two about tracking." When the man remained silent, she sighed. "I marked your kitten with my paw. It is a mark that is untraceable by anyone other than me. You and Shiori," she saw the man grimace a little, "asked me to keep an eye on Suzume, so I thought that marking her made the most sense."

"How long until the seal vanished?"

"Seal?" Chie blinked. "I marked her. I do not know if it is a seal or not. A Bakeneko can mark one target. It is usually done when they have a partner," Chie confessed, a little embarrassed that she did something that was considered that intimate for her kind to the child. "When we touch the person we want to mark, we… well, the easiest way to explain it is that it connects the chakras of two creatures. Though, it is true that the signal which the one chakra gives to the other weakens over the years, at least with a continuous separation between the two, yes."

"Chakra? But Suzume…"

"Your kitten barely had any, yes, but the mark doesn't really require anything from the target," Chie explained. "Every living thing has some chakra inside it, even if the creature cannot use it. It a mixture of physical and spiritual energy, remember? But still, we need to hurry or your kitten will be out of range. If that man takes her too far away…"

"Right. I understand now," Mitsuo sighed, although his posture for the first time showed a little energy. Chie had been concerned that finding his mate's body would have broken him, but apparently there was still a bit of the old Mitsuo there.

* * *

Kenta looked up and sighed. '_Can'__t even get a damned rest in this rotten place,_' he grumbled inwardly. After staying at sea for a few days, he had finally reached the shores of the mainland, the land of Hot Water, if he had the geography correct. Then after having travelled for a full day, he had seen a nice place to set up camp and to take a long overdue nap. However, he now saw over a dozen filthy-looking bandits had surrounded his position, led by one with an impressive physique. The leader and his followers were equally dirty, no, not just dirty, as the men had all painted their faces and bodies black, Kenta observed.

It was not such that it bothered Kenta much. From one quick look, Kenta could see that only their leader had a little control over his chakra, while his cronies were little more than cannon fodder for a shinobi like him. Still, while casually looking at the painted men, Kenta wondered why the leader had his brown hair so well groomed. His hair was obviously long, but tied into a complex knot that fell to the side of his head. It was not the kind of haircut Kenta had ever seen before. It boggled Kenta when he noticed that the men had painted their whole bodies, yet not their hair. Suppressing a yawn, Kenta stood up. '_These are not the first weirdos to try and attack me…__maybe I shouldn__'__t keep my chakra suppressed all the time.__'_

"Who are you shitheads, and why the fuck did you wake me up?" Kenta demanded, looking at the tall leader of the little bandit group. '_Damn, I'__m not that tiny, but this guy even towers above me… I feel like a goddamn dwarf_' Kenta grumbled, as he saw that the man was at least seven foot tall.

"Awww… I saw that pretty, long, black hair of yours and I thought I could finally have some fun with a woman again," the man smirked, showing Kenta a set of dirty yellow teeth. Obviously the man cared more about his hair than about his teeth. '_Ah well, some say pigs are hygienic too…__'_

Casually, Kenta stretched himself. He had seen enough. '_Apart from their leader, these goons had little to no access to chakra, and even that leader__'__s ability seems shaky at best._ _No need to worry. Hardly even a reason to wake up.'_ Still, these guys had disturbed his sleep, Kenta thought. It was enough to piss off Kenta, especially taking his previous lack of sleep into account. However, Kenta had to admit to himself that their overconfidence amused him.

"I don't give a damn," Kenta grunted. "Get lost or I'll kill you morons. And you'd better throw your pissing insults somewhere else, or I'll cut that tongue out of your filthy mouth."

The leader barked a laugh, which was quickly followed by those of his men. "You got some guts there, little boy," the man nodded, as if he seriously appreciated it. "I might even offer to let you join my tribe."

"Why on earth would I do that," Kenta frowned. '_Is this guy really this clueless? What a fucking moron.__'_

"The Swartas Skelthús are the first tribe to go south in over a century," the leader boasted. "It is a testament of our strength. No foot soldier ever stood a chance against our might. Even those puny shinobi fell to our blades."

This time it was Kenta's turn to chuckle. "You must never have met any real shinobi then… Ever seen a jonin in combat? No, you can't have, or you and your bunch of weaklings would all have perished long ago. Hell, even a decent group of fresh genin should be able to drop a bunch of losers like you," he smirked.

Agitated, one of the men close to Kenta moved forward. Though not for long, as Kenta's short sword pierced the man's throat. In a sudden cloud of mist, the jonin completely vanished from the bandits' sight. "I told you to piss off," Kenta whispered, appearing behind the 'leader'. Well, not that he led any men at this point, as his dozen of followers had become a dozen of corpses. "But I guess I have to change my mind.. Take me to your camp. You and your men will follow me, I'm sure my master would like some extra muscle."

The bandit leader started to sweat a bit. He had seen nothing: in one moment the black- haired man had vanished without a sight or sound, by the next moment his men had fallen and he had felt a blade in his side. Instantly. Although he didn't like it, he knew when he was beaten. "Fine then… I accept defeat, and you will be my chieftain," the man grunted.

"You can swear your loyalty to my master, not to me," Kenta said as he pulled back his blade. "Now, we should hurry up. I got to bring that brat to my master. What do I call you?"

"My name is Immore, chieftain of the Swartas Skelthús," the man replied. "You defeated me, so by right, you are my leader."

"Ah, just shut up, you moron," Kenta grumbled. "Immore? Odd name. You said you came from the north?"

"Yes. There is a shortage of food on the land I came from, so I led the warriors of my tribe down to your lands," he (partially) lied. Kenta saw that the man had tried to lie, but didn't really feel bothered. He guessed that the giant was too proud to admit the true reason. They did look more like criminals than soldiers anyway, so they were probably driven out and this ass-wipe attempted to make it look a little more heroic.

"And this Swartas Skelthús stuff has a meaning as well? I don't get it, what kind of fucked up language is this?"

Immore grimaced for a moment. "It is because we paint our bodies before combat," he explained. "We are the warriors of the night, or literally the 'black shield' of our people."

"Tsk. Then they're screwed if they have a bunch of fucks like you to protect them. Fine then," Kenta grunted. "Fetch your men and come back here. I'll pack my things. Don't try to trick me, because I can already sense them close by, all twenty-seven of them. So, unless you want them to end up just like these fools over here…"

"Aye."

Confounded and pissed off, Immore walked back to his tribe. He was proud, but not foolish enough to ignore the fact that the puny black-hair could murder the lot of them in seconds if he so wished to. '_Damn you, you filthy little rat. Nobody humiliates me like this. I__'__ll get you for this, even if it is the last thing I do!_'

* * *

After four days of running, taking as little rest as he could spare, Mitsuo could not remember ever being so tired. Four days ago, he and Chie had set foot on land, and chased Suzume's fading mark. For the last day, Mitsuo had even carried Chie, so that the feline could conserve all her energy for tracking the mark she had placed on the child; but they were not fast enough.

Chie eventually sighed. "I'm sorry… I can barely sense her anymore- that man is just too fast."

Feeling defeated, Mitsuo bashed the back of his head against the tree that he had slumped down against. For the first time since he had found his wife's corpse, Mitsuo cried. Silently, the tears flowed down his cheeks. His shoulders shocked. His throat burned.

'_I lost Shiori.. And now I have lost Suzume too? Why, Kami? Why? What did I do to deserve this fate?__'_

As little while later, Chie returned. Mitsuo had carried her, so she had gone out to hunt down some food. She saw his desperate expression, and sighed.

"Two-leg… there is one method- only one method that I know of to forcibly increase my chakra," Chie hesitated. "But it comes at a cost…"

Mitsuo's head jerked up, his red and teary eyes absently pointed at the cat. "How? Anything… I'll do anything for my daughter." Chie remained silent. After little while, Mitsuo importuned, "Tell me, Chie, please. If there is any chance of getting my daughter back, I'll take it. I don't care if it costs me my life!"

"It won't kill you, two-leg," Chie sighed, having made up her mind. "But there are several… complications."

"What do you mean?"

"The only way I know of to increase my reserves, and thereby to increase the range at which I can sense the chibi-two-leg, is to form a contract between us."

"A contract?" Mitsuo blinked a few times.

"Yes, or did you forget that my species is a summoning tribe? Forming contracts with you two-legs is what my tribe usually does, though normally only when we're a lot older. By clan law, I should be at least a century old before they would teach me how to form my own contracts. So… that's one of the things that would make this proposition dangerous."

"Because you don't know how?" Mitsuo frowned.

"I know the basics," Chie shrugged. "Otherwise I wouldn't even have mentioned it. Why would I waste our time with false hope? It's just that if I form a contract outside the laws of my clan, I truly become an outcast. A criminal, so to speak."

"You would break your clan's laws for me?"

Chie looked up at the surprised man. "Why not?" she said simply. "The only one who truly cared about me died when I was swept away from the island. Any ties in blood that I still have are… well, I honestly doubt they would even miss me. I always was the failure anyway," Chie said with a hint of bitterness in her voice that surprised Mitsuo. The cat never spoke much of her home. "I was always too small. Too weak. Too curious. Too bothersome. No… you, Shiori, and Suzume are my clan now. My family. If saving Suzume means that I have to become a criminal in the eyes of my old family, then so be it."

"Are you sure about this? Family… I'm sure that they care about you, Chie."

Chie laughed, a short laugh that virtually dripped of the sarcasm it was filled with. "The months that I spent with you and your family only made their lack of love for me even more obvious. No, I have made up my mind. I'm sure I'll come to regret it, especially considering the short life-span you two-legs have compared to me, but I think it is worth it."

"I… thank you," Mitsuo bowed his head, touched that the feline would go that far for him and Suzume.

"Hmm. You don't need to. You never wanted to accept my thanks either," Chie retorted with some of her cheeky attitude returning to her voice. "But first I'll give you a short crash course on what my tribe can do. We don't have much time, so pay attention." Mitsuo nodded and sat down again. "First of all, the primary skill my species possesses is our ability to shape shift."

"Like the henge no jutsu?"

"No, it isn't a cheap illusion or anything, our transformation is real. That means it also requires a lot of chakra to perform, even though the upkeep isn't that high because it is far more efficient on my chakra reserves. If we would form a contract, I could draw onto your chakra reserves, and thus I would be able to transform into a much stronger form." Mitsuo nodded, understanding the principle. "And like I said, if my reserves increase, I would also be able to expand the range at which I could sense my mark on Suzume. However," Chie's whiskers moved in a way that Mitsuo had come to recognize as a sign of annoyance, "there is also a downside."

"What do you mean? It all sounds pretty useful."

"True, but me drawing from your chakra means that I have to adjust to it and it takes some time before my own reserves will expand. Like I said, I am too young to normally sign contracts… my limited reserves will mean that my body will require some time to adjust. From what I read, I anticipate that it will be a bit painful. Overloading my reserves is something that should cripple me for a while. I don't know exactly how long though... none of the scrolls ever told me anything on it, other than that it was forbidden to form contract when we were too young."

"But... if you use my chakra like that, would that mean that my chakra-"

"No," Chie cut him off. "I will draw some chakra from you, yes, but it is nothing you can't recover from. You two-legs have bigger bodies and bigger reserves than I have. For me, however, it means that my body will be overloaded, and according to the terms of the contract it will forcibly expand my reserves. It will cause some pain, but a little pain is not the issue. The real issue is that it will destabilize my chakra control, and as such it will also affect your chakra control, the very moment we activate the contract."

"I see…"

"Do you? You do realize that the man who took Suzume away is an excellent sensor, if he was able to pick up the chibi's chakra? Even I barely ever sensed her, and I was close," Chie emphasized. "That trait makes it probable that he will sense us the moment our chakras bond. Because, at that moment, neither of us will be able to properly hide our signals."

"Then we have to move fast."

Chie nodded, but doubted that the man, in all his desperation, understood that they were outclassed by the black-haired man that had stolen Suzume. Not to mention that the man probably moved at a speed that was casual for him, while they were moving as fast as they could and still lagged behind. Then again, the mark was nearly out of range now, so it wasn't as if they had much chance. '_Perhaps the man will not sense us, after all he shouldn__'__t be expecting us to follow. And if he does sense us, there is always a chance that he would try to ambush us, but I doubt he would be able to hide from me__… __and if my combat abilities increase as much as the scrolls suggested, then we might be able to take him on, or at least manage to take Suzume away from him,__'_ Chie mused. '_Mitsuo will know this too. He has been on the run for most part of his life, so he will probably understand it even better than I do__… __well, not considering how he is still grieving for his mate.__'_

Chie sighed. No matter how she thought about it, they had no other choice. Not for the first time since the chase started, Chie wished that Tomio was still at her side. He would've known what to do. He would have been able to stop the man when he took Suzume away.

"Alright, put out your paw, two-leg, and place it against mine..."

* * *

Looking at the seemingly motley crew in front of him, Kenta couldn't help but laugh. He dropped the child that he carried over, she was tied anyway, and found himself mildly amused when he saw that she cowered away behind him, terrified by the painted men and their atrocious clothing. Apparently in the eyes of the child, these savages were even worse than he was, and for a kid so small she certainly seemed to hate him with a passion. But in front of these fools, Kenta could do nothing but laugh. "And you guys wanted to face shinobi?" he panted, catching his breath. "Heh that's by far the best joke I heard in months. Absolutely fucking priceless. Any decent jonin would rape your asses in a matter of seconds."

Immore gritted his teeth while the black-haired man continued his laughter. "This is _my_ tribe."

"Hmm. Well, we'll see how useful they are," Kenta chuckled. '_Damn, that was a good one. Even that red-hair didn__'__t give me as much fun as these idiots, I might just keep them around to see what kind of stupidity they might pull next…__'_

Besides, the few things he heard about (and from) the Snake Sannin gave Kenta the idea that the man wouldn't mind a few bodies more to experiment on. The giant that led them would likely make an especially nice addition, Kenta conceded. He estimated that with his physical ability, the giant should be able to grow into a decent warrior once he properly learned how to use his chakra.

Kenta wasn't going to take any risks; he would first give the group a set of coordinates of a place near the hideout where he was supposed to meet Orochimaru. As he explained this to Immore and his men, Kenta suddenly felt a spike of chakra.

'_Now what was that?__'_ Kenta thought, narrowing his eyes. _'__Two signals, one small, one a bit larger, perhaps chunin level__… __quite distant even. Hmm. And now they move in our direction again. And the small signal feels familiar.__' _Kenta frowned a moment. '_I know! It__'__s that talking cat that I met when I picked up the brat. Perhaps the other signal is the brat__'__s father. She did keep whining about her daddy the whole freaking day- w__ell__, until I gagged her fucking mouth. Damn brat. Hmm__…__on the other hand, if those morons managed to track me, then either he or the cat is a pretty damn good sensor. Not to manage that they came this far without me noticing them__… __I might not want to underestimate them too much. Then again, they don__'__t know about these painted idiots.__'_ He cocked his head a bit, and concentrated.

Kenta grinned. "Change of plan," he shouted. '_Do I only get to meet idiots today? Why would they travel at that pace when they are already exhausted? Doubt they'll even be able to cast a jutsu or two. Fucking numbskulls.__'_

* * *

"Shit… he must've sensed us," Chie suddenly cursed. Mitsuo carried the now exhausted feline. True to her world, they had formed a simple contract, one that enabled her to drain as much of his chakra as she deemed wise, all for the goal of helping him retrieve Suzume.

"Where is he going?" Mitsuo panted. The amount of chakra she had drawn from him, combined with his already exhausted state due to running for several days, made it extremely hard for him to keep going. If not for Suzume being in danger, Mitsuo doubted he would even have had the strength to take another step.

"Same direction, but it seems he picked up the pace."

This in turn elicited a string of curses from Mitsuo.

* * *

"Are you sure about this, chief?"

"He gave us the coordinates, and a promise that his master would make us stronger," Immore grunted. "And we all know that we need more strength. That black-haired fucker killed our comrades in mere seconds. I fucking hate to admit this, but we are too weak. But imagine us becoming as strong as that asshole. If we returned with that power, we could even best those damnable Herthaganautoz and kick that moronic thane from his throne."

This prospect drew some eager nods from his men. None of them had forgotten the defeat they had suffered at the hands of the thane's elite. It was only logical that the Herthaganautoz were stronger, being the elite of their nation, as only the strongest and bravest warriors were allowed amongst their ranks. Still, they had not imagined that their tribe would be so much weaker, and it had cost them dearly. Half of their men had died, Immore's eldest among them, and their village was raided and enslaved. Their people faced punishment for their defiance. And the Skelthús knew they only faced execution if they remained…

But with the strength they saw in Kenta, it would be possible for even a handful of them to overthrow those in power, to free their family, and to exact their revenge on the families of those that drove them out. None of the group ever dared to doubt Immore's persistence. Their leader was the former second in command of the Herthaganautoz after all. It was too bad he had annoyed his commander once too often- well, raping the commander's daughter would probably be considered as more than just an annoyance, but still…

"But this guy, the one the skinny faggot was talking about, wouldn't he have the same magic?" one of the men voiced his concerns.

"Kenta said that this guy would be weak. That he was exhausted or something. Don't ask me how he knows."

"How do we know he didn't just make this shit up to get rid of us?"

"If he wanted to get rid of us he would've killed us." Immore hated to admit it, but they had been at this man's mercy. They were completely powerless compared to the jonin, and if he had wanted to, he would've gotten rid of them. After all, who would want to leave witnesses? "We have little to lose, but far more to gain. So unless you maggots lost your guts, I say we wait till this moron comes close, slit his throat, cut his body apart, and then go the area where that asshole said we should wait."

* * *

With her sore body resting in Mitsuo's strong, though exhausted arms, Chie had to struggle a bit to stay awake; perhaps this was what caused her oversight. They were so fixated on chasing the man who had taken Suzume, that she never considered the possibility that he would have accomplices.

Now the two stood there, surrounded by at least two dozen men. If she had had the time, Chie would have asked what this particular kind of human was. It was black, and that color was painted on their skin, as far as she saw. It certainly didn't seem natural. It was a most curious habit, of which the cat would have loved to know more, but this was not the time for such curiosity. These two-legs carried a variety of weapons: axes of all shapes and sizes, and even the long, flat slabs of metal that Chie once read about, called swords. It eluded her as to why the black painted men would attack them, but again: they did not have the luxury to ask them for a reason. Mitsuo once told her that other humans attacked without reason, without any cause or aim.

These men stood between them and Suzume, and much to her panic Chie realized that the man they were chasing had again stepped up his speed. It would just be a matter of time before he would be out of her range, and this time they would have no possible way to continue tracking her…

With a short exertion, Mitsuo lashed out and tore open four throats with his kunai. Chie herself gathered all strength she could muster, preparing to fight even in her weakened condition.

Mitsuo, on the other hand tried another way out. He realized they were outnumbered, and in their exhaustion also outmatched, but these men were no shinobi. He hardly sensed any chakra, and the way the men reacted to his speed showed him that they weren't able to boost their speed either. Had Mitsuo not been so exhausted, he would have annihilated these bandits in moments, but now...

"Why don't you guys pull back while you still can," he tried. "You are obviously no match for a shinobi, so let's avoid any further unnecessary bloodshed."

To his disappointment, only laughter followed. At first it was hesitant, but after the tallest of the adversaries joined in, the others grew more confident.

"We already follow orders, puny man," the tall man bellowed.

With a grimace, Mitsuo looked up. '_Damn.. This guy must be at least seven foot tall. And with those muscles, he would be a serious adversary, even with my training and chakra control. Shit. Why do I keep having this bad luck?__'_

His bad luck would not end at that. Five men rushed forward at him, so taking a deep breath, Mitsuo again accelerated and lashed out. Three corpses fell to the ground, and two men cursed and screamed as they looked at their wounds. But when Immore looked closely, he saw the worn-out expression on the man's face, and the jerky movement of the man's chest as he gasped for air. Despite the loss of his men, Immore couldn't suppress his wolfish smirk.

"Keep him pressured," he ordered, his smirk widening when he noticed Mitsuo's glare. "Like that bastard told us, this idiot is exhausted; just keep attacking him and he'll fall."

'_Damn… __that giant isn__'__t as dumb as he looks. And here I was hoping that scaring them off might work,_' Mitsuo gritted his teeth, grimacing as his body ached from pure exhaustion. He couldn't remember ever feeling this tired, not since the time those bloodline hunters had nearly caught him and his father. But that happened when Mitsuo was eight years old. Glancing over, he saw Chie's tensed body suddenly blur and inflate. Only for it to disappear in a flash of black and white, lunging at the throat of the nearest of their assailants.

Even Immore grimaced when he saw the suddenly abnormally large cat claw at the man's face and throat. The victim's screams made him shiver, and he knew that he wouldn't soon forget the sight of the eyeball that was halfway torn out of the man's skull, only for it to remain attached to a few muscles and nerves.

Chie, on the other hand, didn't give herself the time to think about what she did. All that mattered to her was to eliminate the threat, the obstacle to their rescuing the little pink-haired girl that she had learned to love, the first two-leg she ever laid eyes on. No one would keep her away from the child.

And these last days of horror had only added to the rage the feline felt and now unleashed upon this filthy-looking group of two-legs. There was rage due to Shiori's death, rage due to being so helpless, rage due to feeling her opponent getting away while they were stalled here. Adding to her fury was the knowledge that Mitsuo would not last much longer. She saw him dodge one strike after another, but he already had various gashes on his body, and his dwindling speed made her fear the worst.

She herself would not be able to fight that much longer either. Chie knew her chakra reserves were sinking fast, especially after her transformation into the four-foot long cat that now tore down another man. But each time she came close to her partner, another of the black-painted two-legs stepped in and forced her to back away. They had not managed to hit her yet, but she knew all too well that her own speed was dwindling too. Each new opponent she focused on took longer to eliminate.

Distracted by the large axe a man swung at her, Chie failed to note the leader had circled behind Mitsuo. But after Chie rushed past the muscular arm that held the axe, and tore a nasty wound in the man's neck, tearing the flesh out of him with her teeth, Chie froze at what she saw. Sitting on his knees, surrounded by several corpses, Mitsuo looked down at the point of the blade stuck out of his chest.

Immore laughed, bloodlust filling his mind, as he pulled his blade from his opponent's back. '_These people, even when completely exhausted, can cause us losses like this,_' the tall man realized. '_Hah! Exacting my revenge will be all too easy once that bastard gives me what he promised! No one would ever get the chance to stop me ever again!__'_

So engrossed by having dealt the mortal blow, Immore never heard the cry that Chie had let out when she desperately rushed forward. Blinking, the giant man could only lift up his blade to force the monstrous feline back, but not before receiving four long cuts on his chest. These four long scars he would never talk about to anyone else. After all, what kind of warrior would not feel ashamed by being wounded by a mere cat, no matter how strange the cat was?

Stumbling back, eyes narrowed from the painful surprise, Immore saw the feline circling around his fallen foe. Though he could see the man had yet to die, his fate was inevitable. Immore knew enough about the human body to realize that even if he had missed the heart itself, the wound itself was far beyond healing. The final wound was compounded by the added blood loss from all the other wounds the man had gotten during the short battle.

"Enough," Immore signaled his remaining men. He grimaced a little when he saw he had lost another eleven of his tribe, with another six being wounded. "Our target is already dead, even if he is too stupid to realize it yet. Get back, and take our wounded away from that demonic cat-monster!"

* * *

Smirking to himself, Kenta looked down at the unconscious pink-haired child he carried underneath his arm. "No more daddy for you, you filthy blood-cursed freak," he said happily, not that she would hear or even understand him. The signal he felt vanishing at this distance only meant one thing.

"Hmm. Perhaps I should tell Orochimaru about the location. In hindsight I should've ordered those morons to bring the corpse with them," Kenta mumbled to himself, slightly annoyed by his own oversight. "Ah well, if that snake wants to examine the corpse I could always retrieve it. I hope those fuckheads don't mess up the corpse too much though."

* * *

Breathing was hard. So hard. '_And what is that, that water running down my__ body__? It is so warm__… cold… __Why am I so cold,__'_ Mitsuo exerted himself, drawing out all the power he had left to force himself to wake up.

"Stay still." Mitsuo heard his partner's voice. Where were they? Why does she sound so concerned? '_Ah... the ambush.__'_

"Chie…" Mitsuo muttered. "Are you… alright…"

"I'm fine, don't worry." Again her concern filled him with wonder. '_Why did she talk like that? Last time she had that strange tone in her voice was when she found me sitting next to Shiori__'__s__…__'_

Slowly opening his eyes, Mitsuo understood the reason of her despair. The warm liquid flowing down was not water. It did not rain. "Chie... my pocket... the scroll… take it."

"Two-leg, you shouldn't-"

"I… I'm… alright," Mitsuo smiled weakly. He didn't understand it, but what was that familiar feeling? "I know… death… the scroll… my diary… pictures… take it… give it… rescue… Suzume," he coughed, and somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that his left lung didn't function. He coughed up blood. But Mitsuo didn't care any longer. '_I'__ve been running away for so long.. I wish I could__'__ve lived with Shiori and Suzume for just a bit longer. I wish I could__'__ve seen my little angel just one more time…__'_

Tears flowed down from his eyes, and Mitsuo felt the strange cold sensation spread through his body. Yet, he still had that strange feeling, as if someone was close. There was a smell… it was so familiar, it made him think of home, of the peaceful years, of the nights he would just lie next to the woman that had stolen his heart, of those loving eyes that stared down at him when they…

As he felt his body grow numb, Mitsuo's smile widened as he realized who it was that got so close to him.

He was home again.

* * *

Surrounded by the deep darkness of the forest at night, Chie sighed deeply.

How many years had gone by since the man she had formed a contract with had died? Ten? Twelve? Chie could barely remember. She looked down at the small pouch that she had put at the back of the burrow she moved into last winter. She knew that the scribbles and images of the two-leg were in there. She knew she had missed him, and his family.

But after all these years, she only felt empty and bitter.

She still remembered dragging away and hiding the corpse of the man she had formed a contract with, as clearly as if she had done it the day before. She still remembered when she realized the contract would not end with his death, but only when the child, Suzume, would be freed. And even to this day, she knew the child was alive, as the contract was still in place. But no matter where she had gone, she never sensed even the faintest trace of the mark she placed on the child. Until one day, she had grown tired of it.

Yes, the marking would last long, although they had been separated for years, but its signal would have diminished by now. Besides, after all these years, what could she still do for the child? Chie wouldn't know Suzume any more, nor would Suzume even remember Chie. At first, it had hurt her to acknowledge that she had failed to fulfil Mitsuo's final request, but over the years that pain gone turned into a dull ache, and then into the faint memory and frustration that it was right now. But who could blame her for giving up, apart from herself?

Chie could still remember the sunshine-filled day with the family of humans she once loved, the family that made her laugh, the warmth and happiness. The laughter of the child, hugging her, chasing her to catch her tail. Perhaps these humans were, apart from her teacher, the only beings she really ever cared about. Over the following years, she had seen so many humans, but each one seemed even more worthless, selfish, and disgusting than the other. In addition, the animals she encountered were all ignorant and savage, nothing like herself. Those sunshine-filled days were long behind her. The people she cared about were either dead or missing without a trace. All clues she ever had found led to nothing. Nowhere did she see the black-haired man that kidnapped Suzume. Nowhere did she see the painted men who had ambushed her and Mitsuo. Nothing. All hope she once held, had vanished like smoke in the wind.

Like she had feared all those years ago, the moment that the man had moved the child out of her range, Suzume had been lost forever. Chie sighed, exhausted in body and mind. Survival in the wild area she now lived in required her to transform into her full-grown, five-foot long form, and keeping that up eventually strained her. It was especially concerning now that there were some dumb two-legs hunting her.

Again.

She didn't bother to count the times shinobi had tried to find her. They had never been successful. The two-legs were too stupid to ever find her, and it was meaningless. They were too stupid to find even a single trace. Not that any of it mattered. She was an outcast to her clan, and on top of it she had broken her oath, after her summoner had died and left her stranded in this horrible place. Perhaps death wasn't such a bad option, Chie pondered. She had always wondered if there would be a life after death, and the only way to satisfy her curiosity would be to find something willing to kill her. It would not be difficult in this region.

In that state of mind, Chie buried the pouch containing the memories of her lost 'family'. She then said her goodbyes and moved out of the burrow and slowly stepped into the night. She took a deep breath and calmed herself, noticing that for the first in a long time she felt a bit excited. The massive and malicious chakra that was approaching would be her final opponent. She was tired of life. Whether that demonic presence would kill her or not, she hardly cared any more. Perhaps having one last fight would be amusing.

The only thing that really kept bugging her was that she wanted to know more about the thing that would end her life. How could anything feel so foul and massive? She had never even felt anything that came close to this presence. And then Chie saw a short, blond human boy walk forward, talking to what smelled like a toad. '_A boy? With a toad summon? Now that is interesting__…'_ the black and white cat mused.

"Hush," she heard the human whisper. "Something is near. And it seems unusual to me, not a regular animal at least.. Can you figure out what kind of creature it is?"

'_Smart, for a two-leg.. But this is the creature that radiates that foul chakra. This form must just be disguise to fool the other two-legs. Perhaps designed to catch its opponent off guard? Things are getting even more interesting now_,' Chie smirked to herself. '_Well, time to show myself, I suppose. _

She hopped down, drawing the creature's attention. _'__And to either end my story or to begin a new one.__'_

* * *

**A/N: **And thus ends the Chie chronicles. Well, it actually continues in chapter six. And I know, its not the most cheerful one to date, but it was a necessary one. And at least we now all know how Naruto actually saved Chie. Andt maybe the sad atmosphere is just befitting my own mood considering all the shit I went through during this last month. Surgery sure is a bitch. But I'm getting better now. Finally.

Special thanks to **Scarease** for providing ideas for Immore. Though I changed and tweaked things, credit should go to those who deserve it, right? Speaking of credit: give a round of applause to **Illuminated** too, thanks to his beta work you guys get a better written chapter!

**I wish you all a happy and healthy 2015!**

-Z-


	38. Promotions

_The previous chapter ended the 'Chie Chronicles', so here is a little summary of where we left at chapter 34:_

_During the final round of the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru launched an attack on Konoha. His village, Otogakure, was joined by Sunagakure, after its Kazekage had been deceived by Orochimaru__'__s partner Sasori. __ However, the invasion failed, as Naruto stopped Gaara from unleashing Shukaku and wreaking havoc in the middle of Konoha, and Sasori and Orochimaru were stopped as well. Sasori fell at the hands of Yugito, as the jinchuriki of the Nibi was enraged by the Akatsuki__'__s attempt to capture her 'younger brothers__'__. Orochimaru managed to poison the Hokage before he was chased away by Jiraiya. Also, in an attempt to get his hands on another doujutsu, Orochimaru sent out Kabuto to kidnap Hinata. Haruki managed to prevent this, though at the cost of his own life. With Orochimaru fleeing the field, leaving behind his grunts to be slaughtered, Sunagakure surrendered. Suna's temporary leader, Baki, saw the snake sannin murdering his Kazekage, and realized they were betrayed. The Kazekage__'__s corpse and his children were left behind in Konoha, when Suna departed, as part of the truce negotiated by Baki and Jiraiya. Kohoha's successful resistance nonetheless left the Hyuga clan in turmoil, as it was evident that Hizashi had broken their clan__'__s laws by teaching his son forbidden techniques, and Hinata found out that people from her own clan had attempted to kill her- attempts that were stopped by Naruto._

* * *

****Chunin arc****

**Promotions**

* * *

Several days after the burial of Hyuga Haruki, the Konoha Council came together; also invited were the four jonin-sensei whose students had reached the later stages of the exam. In addition, the jonin-commander Nara Shikaku, and most of the other clan heads were present. It was an important meeting because the topic was to decide which genin had earned promotion for their actions throughout the Chunin Exams and during the following invasion.

Not fully trusting his councillors to make the right decisions, the Hokage had postponed this meeting in order to be there in person. Sarutobi Hiruzen had weakened significantly due to the poisonous attack from his former student, but with the help of Tsunade and Naruto he at least managed to recover in part. In all honesty, Hiruzen had to admit to himself that a noble death in battle would have been nicer, but he was a shinobi down to the very core. To his last breath, he would do his duty; glory was not something a shinobi should pursue. Their profession was not about glory and heroics, but doing what needed to be done from the shadows. However, he somehow never really managed to get that aspect of his profession into Jiriaya's head, Sarutobi noted. Then again, even as a boy Jiraiya had always been a dreamer, in contrast to the practical mentality Hiruzen had himself. '_Maybe that mentality prevented him from collapsing like Tsunade did,_' Hiruzen mused as he was walked into the room, flanked by Jiraiya and Tsunade.

When the old Hokage found that despite his expressed wishes, the meeting had already, unofficially started, a deep frown settled on Hiruzen's old and tired face. Led by the three elders, Mitokado Homura, Shimura Danzo, and Utatane Koharu, the clan heads were already in a heated discussion regarding the validity of the exam. '_Ahh.. I expected this to happen. I haven__'__t even properly drawn my last breath and they are already fighting for power- and Tsunade wondered why I refused to tell them that I am dying__…'_

"…but the exam was interrupted, therefore any results should not be valid," Danzo urged.

Hiruzen coughed, making his entry known to his three former teammates. Since they had seats facing away from the door Hiruzen had used to enter, since he came from his own office, they had not seen him. After all, the elders were supposed to be the Hokage's most trusted, the ones who knew each other well enough to show each other their backs without hesitation. '_How long has it been since we were just team members? When did we lose the unconditional trust we had in each other? Not long after Tobirama-sensei died, I think..'_

Hiruzen tried, and failed, to suppress a chuckle when two of the three froze in their seats. Then again, Danzo always seemed frozen, so he didn't really count.

"I suppose this saves me the trouble of starting this meeting, even though I would have preferred it if you three had waited until the moment this meeting was actually _supposed_ to start. But enough of that. I think we have seen enough to at least consider whether a few notable genin deserve promotion," Hiruzen said dryly as he took his seat. "I'd say that the interruption of this exam did not give any of the genin a real disadvantage.."

"I agree," Aburame Shibi, who represented his clan, argued. "All of the candidates had participated, with the exception of the one contestant who withdrew, and his opponent."

"Still, Sunagakure clearly sent in three genin who were far above the level of what ordinary genin should be. Their fights should not be…" Yamanaka Inoichi started.

"Tch, you're just sour because your daughter lost," Shikaku chuckled, earning him a sharp look from his old friend. "Kirigakure did also send one of the new generation of their seven swordsmen, not to mention that boy with the hyoton bloodline.."

"Those pups were rather unusually skilled this time," the Inuzuka elder said. "Small wonder that amidst that carnage, most of our youngsters hardly did anything noticeable."

"With one exception," Shikaku countered. "The boy surely made a lot of progress, especially considering his… well, let's call it a handicap."

"The Kyuubi-brat has only proven to me that he lacks the control to be allowed to walk freely around in this village," Danzo grumbled. That remark earned him a surprised look from Hiruzen, who gestured to the annoyed Jiraiya to stand down before doing anything foolish.

"I'm afraid you let your prejudice get the better of you, Danzo. _Again_," Hiruzen sighed. "Uzumaki Naruto did the opposite of losing control. No matter how much he was incited by the actions of Hyuga Neji, he did not lose control of the Kyuubi for a moment. Similarly, no matter how hard the jinchuriki from Sunagakure pushed him, Naruto never lost control. In the contrary: Naruto even showed us how he could use the chakra from the Kyuubi to defeat the Ichibi, that _he_ is in control, rather than the other way around. In my opinion, he proved his worth, and certainly showed that he is worthy of a promotion to chunin. After all, Naruto did something that none of the previous jinchuriki of the Kyuubi managed to do. Something of which I suspect Minato had his hand in, before his untimely death."

Against this, Danzo could not protest, not when the majority of the clan heads seemed to be agreeing. His only hope was the civilian representative, but that man could only bring forth his fear for the demon itself. As a last resort, Danzo turned to the jonin-sensei present. "We have both a former sensei and a current sensei of the Uzumaki amongst us," Koharu spoke up, after a signal from Danzo. "Let them give their opinions about the boy, before we put the matter to a vote. Hatake Kakashi?"

The jonin stood up and bowed his head slightly to acknowledge all the members of the council. "I have only seen Naruto for a few months, and I have seen his growth," Kakashi said, seemingly uninterested as always. "Uzumaki Naruto is the most surprising shinobi I know, a fact that he has proven from the very first day I met him," and he reminded everyone of how Naruto had managed to succeed in the usually impossible test. Kakashi doubted that any rumor had been spread faster through the village than that one, though he still did not know who had leaked that little piece of information- not that Hiruzen would tell.

"His potential, both in skill and chakra capacity, is likely far beyond my own, yet his burdens are also great. But it is the way Uzumaki Naruto deals with those burdens that impressed me the most. He has a remarkable spirit, and never gives up on anything. I understand that people fear the demon, but those that would take the time and give Naruto a chance will see the truth."

The last comment certainly caused a lot of murmuring. Not surprisingly either, considering how Kakashi was known as one of the strongest (if not _the_ strongest) jonin of Konoha. The other being Gai, but people always had trouble of giving that man the respect he actually deserved. And if a man of this calibre praised someone to this extent..

"I fully agree," Kurenai continued before Koharu could speak up again. "Though, I must say that Uzumaki Naruto has suffered more from the prejudice caused by the Kyuubi, than from issues with the demon itself. Naruto has shown several times that he capable of things most people can only dream of, yet he has never once shown that he could be corrupted by that power. Some of the genin I have witnessed during the exam were overly confident in their own power, and would likely sacrifice anything to gain a power like he has, but would only be corrupted by it. Uzumaki Naruto is my student, and I have the utmost confidence in him. Not just as a shinobi, nor as a jinchuriki, but as a human."

"Has the Uzumaki child ever shown power like we witnessed during his fight with Sabaku no Gaara?" Homura questioned. "Did he ever lose control?"

But neither of the jonin could tell the old councillors what they wanted to hear, so Hiruzen added finally: "Well, I am certainly glad Naruto made good use of the demon's power, or I would not be around today. And I have little doubt that many more would have died during the invasion."

"Without the intervention of Uzumaki Naruto, the unleashed Ichibi would have been turned against our village," Shikaku spoke up to silence the murmur in the hall. "Upon investigation of the shinobi we captured from Otogakure, we discovered most of Orochimaru's plan. Though I think that this plan should be described by the one responsible for uncovering most of the information," he gestured to Jiraiya.

"The strategy of Orochimaru consisted of three parts," Jiraiya explained when all faces turned towards him. "First, with the aid of the snakes summoned by specialists from Otogakure, shinobi from Sunagakure and Otogakure were to have flooded through breaches in our walls. Second, Orochimaru had planned to use the Kazekage to steer the unleashed Ichibi, and to cause enough chaos and destruction so that our troops on the walls could not be reinforced. Third, he planned to assassinate the Hokage, thereby crippling the leadership of Konoha, and creating further chaos."

Jiraiya did not add the fourth point, that Orochimaru's partner was supposed to capture Naruto, and most likely Gaara too. Over the years, Jiraiya had heard several worrisome things about the Akatsuki organization that his former friend and teammate had joined, but that Akatsuki would be after the jinchuriki was something he had yet to fully comprehend. As much of this was as yet unconfirmed, Hiruzen had agreed that as long as they had no more information on them, the details about Akatsuki would remain classified. Only those who had seen and heard Sasori knew a little about this, and they all had received their gag order on the subject.

"In short, Uzumaki Naruto prevented the second part of Orochimaru's plan from happening, as well as aided in stopping the third," Hiruzen continued with a clear voice. "He risked his own life to save Konoha, showed remarkable strength and intelligence, and as far as I'm concerned, a promotion is the least Naruto deserves for his heroics. If you do not want to promote him because of a technicality, that his match against Gaara was outside the bound of the exam, then I will be forced to issue a field promotion."

Danzo gritted his teeth when he saw the vast majority vote in favor of a promotion for Naruto, especially now that many now came to realize the full extent of what Naruto had done for Konohagakure. In contrast, Jiraiya and Kurenai both smiled widely, as both felt proud that the boy finally gained some of the recognition he deserved. Even Kakashi, in his own stoic way, silently cheered for his former student, and his teacher's son.

'_Looks like I have to deal with the demon in another way…__'_ Danzo thought, prompting the assembled to switch to another subject. "Let us continue with the other candidates. The last of the Uchiha clan performed rather well during the first rounds as well as in the preliminaries, but had the bad luck to draw the hyoton user during the finals."

"His mastery of the chidori was certainly unexpected," Shikaku agreed. "However, his tactical insight certainly has a lot of room for improvement. From what I heard, the Uchiha had faced this Haku before, did he not, Kakashi?"

Kakashi nodded. "We met Haku and his sensei, Momochi Zabuza, while on a mission in the country of waves," he explained to the others. "They were still missing nin at that point, having rebelled against the previous Mizukage, much like the current Mizukage. At that time, Haku defeated Sasuke with relative ease."

"So he knew what he was up against but still charged right at him?" Shikaku frowned. "Not quite the mind-set I would expect from a chunin- especially not from an Uchiha. After all, their clan's shinobi usually excelled in analytical abilities, exploiting every opportunity to use their sharingan to gather new skills. Even if I take the age of those kids into account, I know it is unrealistic to expect great leadership skills, as they still lack experience, but still… if they do not have the tactical prowess to understand their position, or at the very least show a certain amount of potential in that account…" he trailed off.

"True, the performance of the Uchiha seemed to be based upon the notion of brute strength," Inoichi agreed with his friend. "That is how he tried to overcome a much faster enemy. I must admit I was quite disappointed to see him lose like that. I expected the boy to have a lot of potential, especially after all the stories had I heard." He didn't add that many of these stories came from his daughter, who wasn't exactly impartial when it came to the last Uchiha.

Hiruzen had no intention of revealing that Sasuke was burdened with the curse seal from Orochimaru, but it was another thing which made him think that the young Uchiha should not be promoted. Not yet, at least. Unlike Naruto, Sasuke had yet to prove that he could either contain such a vile power, or use it wisely when having no other options. Hiruzen realized that he had already worked out his opinion regarding the Uchiha. "I am afraid I cannot allow a possible promotion of Uchiha Sasuke," he spoke up, when some of the heads started to argue why Sasuke should be promoted.

"What?" some exclaimed. "Why?" Several more voices protested. Hiruzen sighed. '_Why can__'__t they look beyond the blood? The Uchiha kekkei genkai surely is a powerful asset, but it does not necessarily mean that the boy is a good shinobi.__'_

"Uchiha Sasuke is the last of his line. Well, the last of his line who is still in Konoha," Hiruzen said, cutting off any further protest. "I cannot allow him to be promoted. In the best interest of Konohagakure, Uchiha Sasuke should live and grow old enough to at least make sure he continues his bloodline. As long as there is still doubt regarding Sasuke's mental and physical abilities, I cannot allow him to be promoted and thereby allow him to face even greater risks. Konoha cannot afford to lose the entire Uchiha bloodline. Under the current situation I would only recommend Sasuke's promotion when I would be certain that he would not face an unreasonably high risk to die. Konoha cannot afford to lose the sharingan."

"If it is about risk, couldn't we just.. Well, you know, gather his genetic material, as a backup?" the Inuzuka elder suggested.

Hiashi was not one to show much emotion, but this made him frown. Deeply. "Artificial insemination?" he grumbled. "Surely you know of the risks of that regarding kekkei genkai?"

"Allow me to explain," Aburame Shibi spoke up. "Though the process is already complex, even with a medic as skilled as Tsunade-sama, there are too many risks when a kekkei genkai is involved. Why? Because the delicate balance of chakra within the genetic material is easily disrupted. In the regular reproduction process this already involves a chance where the offspring will not inherit the bloodline abilities of the parents, but the chances of success are even lower using artificial means."

"It is only to be used as a last resort," Hiruzen agreed. "For now, the value of the Uchiha blood outweighs the risks of having Sasuke promoted. Not even considering whether he even deserves the promotion or not." He knew very well that this was a touchy subject to many clans, and any form of research into the matter in order to increase the odds of success were always opposed by the clans. Not that the Inuzuka felt bothered by this. Their bond with their ninken was not relying on blood, so even if many of their skills were indeed depending on genetic factors, such as their improved senses, the Inuzuka were the clan who was least dependant on bloodties. Ironic, considering that the Inuzuka were also the ones who valued family the most. But of all the clans, they were the ones with the least issues regarding the topic of adoption. Nor with other forms of reproduction. '_Well, they wouldn't treat humans any differently than they do their dogs, so it does make sense. But we cannot let the fate of the Uchiha clan depend on such a risky procedure.'_

Again, a majority agreed with their Hokage- and again, Shimura Danzo was left disappointed. In his eye(s), Naruto was the one who should have been kept at a short leash, as the Kyuubi was a dangerous but nevertheless a very valuable weapon for Konoha. In contrast, he thought it would be much wiser to eliminate the last Uchiha, as that clan only posed a risk to Konoha. Their power combined with their questionable loyalty had always been a thorn in Danzo's eye. But he knew very well that Uchiha Sasuke could not be eliminated by him. '_Not in Konoha. No, a death while on a dangerous mission would be far easier to explain,' _Danzo ruminated. And Danzo had yet to forget the threat Uchiha Itachi had made before he left Konohagakure. None of the elders would forget. And Danzo did not feel ready to risk a confrontation with the infamous Uchiha yet.

"From what I have seen, there is still one more genin who we should discuss. The Nara boy has also shown capacity that is worthy of a promotion," Hiruzen spoke up. "Because of his actions, Naruto was able to breach the barrier that separated me from my reinforcements. Nara Shikamaru showed much promise in the earlier two rounds too, where his intelligence and skill ensured that his team progressed through the stages. It is also highly impressive that he managed to trick and defeat one of the new generation of Kiri's swordsmen."

Shikaku frowned, pleasantly surprised to hear his son getting such a recommendation from the Hokage, not to mention that Yoshino would be overjoyed when she would hear that their son had been promoted at this age. However, there was little doubt regarding his son's response to talk of a promotion- he would either find the whole thing troublesome, or he would lazily remark that it saved him the effort of taking another exam. '_Still, two rookies getting all the way through the exam and earning their promotions was something that hardly ever happened. Even if one of the two was a jinchuriki, it was still against all logic.'_ It made Shikaku all the more proud of his son, not that he would tell him. '_The moment Shikamaru learned that he did good, he would put in even less effort…' _

Shikaku guiltily admitted to himself that he could not blame him. Yoshino never failed to rub it in that Shikamaru got that trait from him. '_Troublesome women…' _On the other hand, Shikaku smiled at the thought that his son needed extra attention with training now. Few things were more enjoyable than relaxing while others worked their asses off.

* * *

Tsunade frowned as her green-glowing hands moved around to inspect her old sensei. "You should have called a break, be a bit more reasonable," she scolded him. "If you keep overexerting yourself like this…"

"You know as well as I do that these matters had to be discussed as soon as possible," Hiruzen sighed.

Jiraiya could only defend his sensei. It was a shock to the Council when they heard that he and Hiruzen had accepted the official apologies from Sunagakure, in which Suna openly admitted that the Kazekage had been controlled by one of Orochimaru's henchmen. For a village, this was probably the greatest disgrace they could face. And publicly, on top of it all. Normally, it would be as likely to happen as a blushing Danzo, but in this case.. Suna had attacked Konoha, and in the process Kirigakure and Kumogakure had gotten involved too. If Suna did not go all out in an attempt to fix things, it could potentially face a war with three nations at once. And knowing the reputation of Iwagakure, Suna would have to watch their northern borders as well. Sunagakure had no other choice than to swallow its pride and grovel in shame. And beyond those concessions, Jiraiya had even got Baki's agreement on a collateral: in order to ensure that Sunagakure would not betray them, Konohagakure would, for the time being, retain the body of the deceased Kazekage, as well as his children, as hostages.

Of course they had not shared with the Council that Jiraiya had explained to Baki that the sealing on Gaara had been vastly improved, and that Naruto would help to improve Gaara's seal even further, minimizing the future danger of the Ichibi's rampages. Furthermore, it had been agreed that the siblings would not have to remain in their cells, but would soon move to a secure place within Konoha. As a safeguard, Jiraiya had arranged that either he or Naruto would remain as Gaara's guards, until the new formal peace treaty, featuring the improved trade conditions for Konoha, was signed.

A smile crept across Jiriaya's face as he remembered Baki's look when the Sand nin had realized that Konoha would effectively give Sunagakure a supersoldier that would potentially double Suna's power. After all, the Ichibi was considered to be undefeatable when able to take advantage of the vast deserts surrounding their village. Baki had thanked Jiraiya for this, telling him that this would make it much easier to convince the council in Suna to agree with the terms.

And the same had turned out to be true for Konoha's council, which had reluctantly agreed, as no one could go against Jiraiya on this- especially because Naruto had proven strong enough to fight the Ichibi on his own.

The second treaty that they presented had created even more chaos in the council, Jiraiya recalled, nearly causing a heart attack or two among some of the elder members. Even Danzo's visible eye had twitched significantly, something even Jiriaya – who had the habit of trying to sell his Icha Icha series to Danzo with every new release – did not see very often. The conventional wisdom was that Kirigakure had a long history of treason, so how could they accept a treaty between Kirigakure and Konohagakure? _'They would have taken me to a mental institution if no one had witnessed the actions of the new Mizukage. The way that she and her detail had aided in the defence of Konoha had left a strong impression, and certainly helped in getting this proposition to pass. The trade interests came in a close second place though. Greed made it easier for people to forget past transgressions.'_

Jiriaya sighed when he heard Tsunade squabble more about the old man's health. They all knew that Hiruzen had more or less a month before the poison would get the upper hand and end his life. '_Even the antidote that Tsunade had derived from Naruto__'__s blood could not help him live much longer. While Naruto already was immune to most poisons due to the Kyuubi__'__s influence, the antibodies he had created after being poisoned by Orochimaru only broke down the poison to a level that was tolerable to him. However, what was tolerable to Uzumaki Naruto would still kill most others.'_ Intrigued by the ramifications, Jiraiya grinned at the idea of trying to get Naruto drunk. He would never pay for that- if the boy could resist such poisons, there was little doubt that it would take a very serious amount of alcohol to get Naruto floored. Jiraiya stored the thought for future use; perhaps he would goad Tsunade into a drinking contest with the boy. With the debts she had already gathered, she wouldn't mind a little more.

But for the meantime, Hiruzen's condition depended upon Tsunade's ability to create an antidote to the poison that Orochimaru had used against him. It had proven to be virtually impossible. While the poison was similar to the poison used against Naruto, the latter had been less potent. Apparently, Orochimaru had kept this specific poison for special occasions. Apart from that, all three knew that Hiruzen was old, and that his body would not last that much longer even in the unlikely event that Tsunade found a cure. The damage was already done. All they could do now was to prevent the old man to suffer too much. It was a good thing that the partial antidote based on Naruto's blood at least minimized Hiruzen's pain and allowed the man to do his work to some degree.

Jiraiya already dreaded the headaches and chaos that he imagined would hit Konoha once Hiruzen announced his plans to step down again. Last time, Minato had been the perfect successor, but this time there was no shinobi that stood out enough. Jiraiya had wanted to wait a bit longer before taking Naruto away from Konoha for training, but with the way he felt now, Jiraiya intended to leave Konoha the first moment he could. Especially with the likelihood that Danzo aimed for the position of Hokage. If the old war hawk managed to get that, Naruto would probably be forbidden to leave Konoha.

'_Damn politicians,_' Jiraiya sputtered to himself. '_Perhaps __Tsunade is really right in that only idiots would want to deal with this crap.'_

* * *

Neji and Hizashi found themselves confined to their individual rooms at the Hyuga compound, imprisoned and awaiting the judgement of the elders of their clan- waiting for Hiashi to punish his brother for the blatant transgression of their clan's laws, a fate even Hizashi knew he had brought upon himself.

Neji had first spent several days at the hospital. The wounds on his chest had recovered pretty well, but because the open wounds had been burned, it had resulted in four long and hideous scars. The medics had attempted to restore the skin as well as they could, and had promised that the scars would diminish over time, but Neji knew that they would never completely vanish.

But compared to the pain that those four scars cause him, his forehead was likely far worse. Naruto had likely burned away his seal, and most of his skin along with it. The doctors were forced to transplant new skin to his forehead, because the wounds were too bad to be healed with regular methods. Neji had not seen the results of that procedure yet, as his head remained covered in bandages all of the time. But the looks from his caretakers/guards when changing his bandages had been enough for him; Neji knew his body had suffered as much as his pride.

'_How could I ever think I could oppose Naruto.. I don__'__t know what he is, but he is not human_,' Neji pondered, still trying to figure out how he had lost. '_How was it possible that someone could reopen his tenketsu, even when they were all closed? All of them!' _No chakra storage seal should have been sufficient to do that, and that left aside the puzzle that someone, not of Hyuga blood, could reopen an individual tenketsu. The few within his own clan who could do such a thing had to possess remarkable chakra control and noticeable strength.

'_Unless…_ _his chakra _is_ insanely strong.. If that's the case, his tenketsu must be extremely strong to support such strength… could he have just forced so much chakra through them that they reopened, without having his tenketsu break from the strain?__'_ Neji mused. It might have been a possibility, Neji conceded, although he would have probably still thought that it was impossible if he had not seen Naruto's power, that one moment- if he had not seen those crimson eyes, and that seemingly limitless amount of chakra. '_Those eyes... as if I was looking into a bottomless pit of chakra. What on earth was that?'_ In his dreams following the exam, while delirious from the fevers, those eyes had kept looking down on him. Haunting him.

'_I owe Hinata-sama my life and my freedom.. Why did he say that? What did he mean with that?__'_ Before, he would have discarded those words as nonsense. But Neji now knew that Naruto had been the one behind the disappearances and murders within their clan. But why? Normally, the only logical conclusion that Neji could reach was that those people had been threatening Naruto. But now… he recognized that Naruto would not do that against someone who tried to take his life. But if they were after Hinata… Neji now understood that Naruto only became merciless when he defended others.

Neji had seen how the blond had fought Lee. He had heard how he had spared Gaara, even though the medics and the guards refused to share any details of the event. But when Naruto fought for the sake of someone else… Neji had merely received mercy because Hinata had asked, no, because she had _begged_ Naruto to spare his life. Why would someone of the main family humiliate herself like that? But Neji knew... despite her birth right, Hinata was not like any of the main family. But what did it say about Naruto's behavior?

If his assumption was true, then Naruto had killed all those people because of someone else. '_Because of Hinata? Why would all those people have been after Hinata__'__s life?' _Neji wondered,_ e_specially because most of the people who had been murdered came from the main family itself. Some of them even had possessed high-ranked seats within their clan. '_What could have been the reason for them to be after Hinata__'__s life?'_

He had always heard his father complain about decadence of the main family, about how the branch was cursed by them, and had to suffer the main branch's abuse. Hizashi had even claimed that the branch would gain more support if Neji had beaten Hinata. But when Naruto had stepped in, Hizashi had claimed that the blond needed to be beaten as well, because he had acted as a champion of the main house. The world needed to see that the main family was not as powerful as they pretended to be, his father had explained to him. More than anything, the world needed to know about the crimes they committed against the branch family.

Neji began to doubt his father's words now. Hinata had always been considered weak, both in her ability, which had always been below expectation, to the point where even her younger sister could fight her equally, and in her mental strength. '_An heir of the Hyuga clan could not be that gentle. But it was that gentleness that had saved me,'_ he marveled. Neji had beaten her so badly, and still she had it in her to forgive him. Why? Was that weakness? Neji didn't think so. Then, it dawned on him.

'_That gentleness… if she was to become head of the clan…__'_ Neji suddenly made a projection of how her rule would be, based on what he knew about her. If she could forgive _him_, a person who had been willing to kill her, then she would not allow the continued abuse of the branch either. If she stopped that 'tradition', then many of the most powerful in the main family would lose much of their wealth and power- that was the threat they wanted to get rid of, before she could come of age and ruin the wealthy position of the main house. Moreover, if Naruto had somehow found out, he would not have remained passive, which would explain his involvement. Neji could not claim to understood why, but the fierce loyalty of the blond toward his cousin was, to him, beyond discussion.

Neji knew it was a crazy idea. But if it was real... and, what other reason could anyone from the main family have to target her? Why did the branch help them? '_If that would be true... __why didn__'__t father tell me?__'_ he wondered. _'He always talks about plight of the branch family. But if I am right, why didn__'__t we support Hinata-sama? Why did father even scold me for not killing her? Unless..__'_

* * *

For days, Hizashi had been imprisoned in his room, only a short distance from his son. His guards hardly told him anything about what had happened outside, nor anything about Neji's condition. Hizashi had seen his son's wounds, and couldn't help but feel worried. He grimaced when he thought back to how his own brother had turned against him, how Hiashi had ordered his imprisonment, as soon as he saw his brother. Because of that order, Hizashi had been confined ever since the invasion.

But the plans had failed. Neji had fought admirably, but the demon-boy was too strong. It was like many had feared: the boy himself was a monster as well. Even Neji's mastery of the famed Hakke Rokujuyon Sho, the sixty-four palms, had not been enough to defeat the demon-child. Hizashi couldn't even describe the pride he felt that his son had achieved the impossible by mastering a technique like that, without anyone to instruct him. Even Hizashi himself had failed to master the technique, despite the number of times he had seen his brother do it, or the times when he had peeked in on their father training Hiashi. Even with that incomplete information that he had passed down, Neji had managed to pull it off. His son was a genius, proving the system wrong about the 'power of blood'.

In addition, from what Hizashi had heard from the audience, people had thought that the fight itself had never been fair. That unfairness simply was another illustration of the unfairness the branch always had to face. So, even though his son had failed to defeat his opponent, he still had proven his power, and fought bravely for the branch's cause, Hizashi rationalized. So, the bigger failure was that, despite his arrangements, Otogakure had failed to capture his niece. Hizashi felt troubled that he had failed to comply with the orders given to him, but it was hardly his fault, was it? He had ensured that the girl would sit apart from the rest of the clan, that she would be without any notable guards. His sister-in-law never suspected a thing. Only her teammates, a maid, and some cripple were near her. '_Orochimaru would have certainly sent a trustworthy minion when the byakugan was within his reach, so what could have gone wrong? It had been the perfect opportunity to cripple Hiashi__'__s family even more…'_

It was not that he had anything against the girl, but Hizashi knew he had to follow his orders. He believed that, even though it would be hard to follow them, those orders would only improve the position of the branch. _'My first responsibility is to the branch. But still… I failed to follow orders.. I failed.. I failed.. Failed_,' echoed through Hizashi's mind. _'Must never fail again.. Never. Avenge__…'_

Hizashi knew all too well that his master would never allow a second failure, if Hizashi even survived his first..

* * *

Despite all that had happened recently in Konoha, there were still little things that gave life a bit of color. Upon his return from the Council meeting, Hiashi informed his wife about the news, and asked her to tell Naruto, as he himself would be busy. The chaos that had followed after the invasion had buried each and every clan head in paperwork, not to mention the Hokage himself. Last that Hiashi had seen, the old man's desk was barely visible.

Jiraiya came to feel dismay later that day, when Hiruzen requested his former pupil to help him. Well, requested wasn't quite the term. It was either help, or risk Hiruzen handing over certain pieces of information regarding certain activities involving hot springs where after certain accidental events Jiraiya had seen things he was not supposed to see, to a certain woman who would certainly punish Jiraiya severely- just like the last time she had caught him peeking. The poor sannin rubbed his scars when Hiruzen made that 'request'.

However, the Hyuga were unaware of the Toad Sage's torture, and Hitomi had decided to not go to Naruto herself. Instead, she had sought out her daughter. Hinata had been confused by the revelation that people from her own clan had wanted her to die. Moreover, it wasn't exactly normal to hear that someone else has been killing people that wanted you to die, either. But still, Hitomi was proud that her daughter was more troubled about the boy's situation than about her own issues. Hitomi knew like no other that it was that empathy that would allow Hinata to reach the true pinnacle of insight with their kekkei genkai.

Naruto was not exactly depressed, but he had not been seen with his usual smiling façade ever since Haruki died. The boy seemed extremely contemplative, which was no small wonder either. Hitomi had seen how close Haruki and Naruto were, Haruki had clearly been important to Naruto, especially when one contemplated how hard it was to actually get that close to Naruto.

As she walked towards her daughter's room, Hitomi chuckled at the thought that both of the kids were equally shy, but manifested it in completely different ways. She couldn't help but look forward to how the both of them would develop. Hinata's affections were pretty obvious, to all but Naruto at least, but Naruto himself might be more of an issue. _'Well, at the very least, he seems to see Hinata as an exception to all the other human beings around him. That's a start,' _Hitomi smiled to herself primly.

But even Hitomi didn't know how Naruto would think about a subject like love. If he even considered it at all. '_Well, he is still young…_' Rounding the last corner, Hitomi knocked and walked into her daughter's room. To her amusement, Hinata was busy reading. Scrolls on ninjutsu, if she saw it right. '_She__'__s training. Even now… And Hiashi-kun keeps saying she doesn__'__t take her position seriously._'

"Mother?" the girl asked with some confusion. She couldn't figure out why her mother smiled that way.

"Hinata, I would like to ask you to do something for me," Hitomi began. When her daughter nodded, Hitomi's smile broadened a bit, and she continued. "Just now, your father returned from the Council meeting. It seems that two of Konoha's genin earned their promotion, the first being Nara Shikamaru, and the other is Naruto."

With a slight blush and a much larger smile than she had shown in days, Hinata listened to her mother and nodded again. "I knew Naruto-kun would get promoted," she smiled.

"Well, his "burden" raised some concerns among some of those who sit in the Council, but his actions during the invasion were rather… convincing," Hitomi added finally. "Considering how Naruto-kun more or less became the hero that saved Konoha from a lot of suffering, they could hardly refuse him a promotion, right?"

"Yes, Kurenai-sensei said Naruto performed even beyond what could be expected of an experienced chunin," Hinata nodded, recalling her sensei's words from the day before. "But why are you telling me, mother?"

"Well... your father asked me to tell Naruto, but I thought you would rather tell him," Hitomi smiled gently, hiding her own amusement when she saw her daughter's blush. "I'm certain Naruto would be happy too. It looked to me earlier like he could use something to cheer him up."

Hinata nodded. "I'll tell Naruto-kun right away," she smiled, hurrying away.

* * *

Sitting with his back towards the wall, Naruto looked at the training field. On this very field, he had spent many, many hours trying to improve his taijutsu under Haruki's guidance. Sure, Hizashi had been there every now and then to spar with him after Haruki's health had gotten worse, but Naruto had never really felt much for the stoic twin brother of the Hyuga clan leader. He had been friendly enough at first, for a Hyuga at least, but the bastard had eventually become as cold as his son.

Over the past few days, Naruto had been thinking a lot about the last few years. He had accepted Haruki's death; he had known it was inevitable anyway. However, it didn't stop him from missing the man. In a way, Haruki had been like a father to him. He had been one of the few adults who had been there for him, to help him, to guide him- one of the very few who had acknowledged him.

Now Naruto had to fend for himself, without the man's guidance and insight, he acknowledged. It just left him with a feeling of loneliness, and that was a feeling which Naruto knew far too well from his past experiences. This loss also left a strange gap inside him. _'The normal feeling of loneliness felt empty, but this, i__t hurt__s,' _Naruto noted. Perhaps it was because this feeling also showed Naruto that he had not been alone for these last years. '_Bonds..__'_ Naruto mused. '_How many more do I have? And why do I only fully realize that I care about someone when it is too late? Fate is way too cruel._'

In such a mood, Naruto stared into the space in front of him. It left him completely oblivious to everything that he could not perceive as a threat. As such, he never noticed that Hinata had been looking at him, that she had been hesitating for a couple of minutes wondering whether to walk up to him or not.

In her eyes, it seemed almost rude to interrupt him when he was so lost in thought. Beyond that, she thought he looked sad, making her wish that she could help him, although she didn't know how. Still, she wanted to tell him about his promotion. No, she had to tell him- especially because her mother had told her that Naruto would be invited to the family dinner that evening.

"E-Ehm.. N-Naruto-kun?" she asked shyly, trying to draw his attention.

"Hinata?" he frowned, as he hadn't even felt her approach. Well, his 'other' sense would not help him much with her, not in the regular way at least. He sighed, knowing that he should stop dozing off and pay attention.

"Ah… I am… I was…" Hinata didn't really have an idea how to say what she wanted to say, which was becoming quite obvious to Naruto.

"There's a bench over there, shall we sit down over there?" Naruto gestured. He considered it rude to ask her to sit on the ground next to him.

"Ah… S-sure…"

"So, what is it you wanted to say?" Naruto smiled when they sat down.

"Erm.. Well, father just returned from the Council meeting. I heard you got promoted," Hinata smiled weakly, trying to suppress her usual blush from being so close to Naruto.

"Promoted?" Naruto frowned again, confused for a couple of seconds. "Ah… Yes! Chunin. Of course, the Chunin Exams," he slapped his own head and exclaimed, "I completely forgot about that!"

She giggled softly, despite her concern for him.

"Yeah. Well, the whole invasion thing, and Haruki…" Naruto frowned. "Well, it just slipped my mind. Can't believe they promoted me though," added, scratching the back of his head, showing his surprise.

"Why not?" Hinata blinked. She really didn't understand him now, as he had exceeded everyone's expectation by a large margin, and then some.

"Well, you know…" he rubbed over his stomach. "I thought most people wouldn't like the idea of _me_ becoming a chunin," he smirked. "I thought I was bound to be an eternal genin," he chuckled.

'_Guess that also means I__'__m going out of team 8..__'_ he thought reluctantly. _'Well.. Not that it matters that much, I was supposed to leave Konoha soon anyway_,' he recalled Jiraiya's plans for training him. It was not that he was completely happy about it. He knew that he would miss his team. No, they were not just his team, they had become his friends, Naruto admitted to himself.

Seeing the change in his mood, Hinata wondered what he was thinking. "Mother.. M-mother said that you were invited for dinner too," she tried to cheer him up.

* * *

Dinner was quite awkward, as both Hiashi and Naruto stayed rather silent. Hiashi had congratulated Naruto on his promotion, but the latter was not exactly overjoyed with it, and Hiashi found himself feeling rather distracted as well. He was burdened by his brother's actions. With the elders of his clan breathing down his neck, Hiashi would be forced to make a decision soon- especially now that it turned out that the guest he had been protecting for years had turned out to have murdered several of his kin.

Hanabi was not aware of these undercurrents, though. She only saw the strange atmosphere at the table. Her sister had also been acting odd for the last few days now. Her mother seemed a bit agitated too, as much as Hanabi could see... her mother was a bit mysterious to her. As close as Hanabi was to her father, her mother drew more to Hinata. A fact that constantly annoyed the proud scion of the Hyuga clan.

Naruto felt mildly disturbed because of the way they were seated. He had joined the family for dinner in the past, yet most of the times Hizashi and Neji had been present as well. Naruto had already heard about their current situation, and did not really care about their fates. However, he was thinking of a way to make sure that Neji lived through this. After all, Naruto wasn't planning on letting the lives of those he spared get wasted. What really disturbed him was the way Hinata and Hanabi had changed seats. Naruto had learned from Haruki that Hiashi, as head, sat on the head of the table. Hitomi was seated on his right, as his wife and matriarch of the clan. And on his left, Hiashi would position the heir of the clan. The Hyuga were extremely picky about these traditions, some even got to the point that they literally resorted to killing people just to get a better seat at the table.

Tonight, it seemed like Hinata had lost that position as well. She was the first born, but over the years, that position had slowly been corroded. This saddened Naruto, as he knew it was the privilege of Hiashi, and Hiashi alone, to decide about the seats at this table. It was one of the many reasons why Naruto believed that the clan was suffocated by all the rules and traditions. At times, sitting on a certain chair could mean the world to them, yet they called it 'civilized'…

After finishing their meal, Hiashi seemed to wake up again. "Hanabi, would you please excuse us?" he surprised his youngest daughter. Although reluctant, she abided by her father's wish, walking out of the room with what passed for a curious look among the more strident Hyuga, at least to Naruto, who had several years of experience at reading the expressions of these people.

"Naruto. There are several things I would like to ask you," Hiashi shifted his attention back to Naruto.

"Hiashi-sama?" Naruto asked, patiently waiting for the questioning he knew that was to come.

"You demonstrated a jutsu, during the exams, which seems to be tied to a number of deaths within our clan."

"You're asking me if I killed those people?" Naruto asked calmly. "Yes. I did."

"Why?"

"Simple, they wanted to kill Hinata-sama, and I had sworn to protect her when I was accepted into your clan as a guest."

"Why did they want to kill Hinata? How did you know that?" Hiashi frowned, his eyes seemingly piercing right through the blond boy.

Naruto chuckled. "You want to learn how deep the corruption is spread within your clan? I'm afraid even I don't know that." He shocked Hiashi, and Hitomi as well; they had not expected the boy to take such a direct approach. Then again, Naruto was never really known for subtlety, not in the area of human interaction at least. "I guess it was over two years ago, that I sensed someone who had exceedingly bad intentions," Naruto remarked. "Killed that guy, found out he had received his orders from someone else. Etcetera."

"These… senses," Hiashi questioned. "You mean the ability to sense malice, which you have due to the Kyuubi?"

"Yes. Because of that, I found a guy who tried to sneak into Hinata's bedroom. Well… it wasn't like anyone had not attempted stupid things before, but this guy was different. Worse… much darker than usual. So, I went up to him and asked what he was doing. Well, he just attacked me. Not sure why though, because he was rather weak," Naruto shrugged. "I killed him, and disposed of his body afterwards. I figured that people wouldn't be all too happy about me killing someone from the clan."

"How?" Hiashi demanded.

"How I killed him? Snapped his neck," Naruto gestured with his hands, at which Hinata twitched a little more. "And I threw him in the forest of death, just like the others I found after that incident. The wildlife there didn't mind having some extra food, and it's the best way to get rid of someone without leaving a trace.."

Hinata paled when she heard the calculating and emotionless tone he spoke with. _'I knew that Naruto was used to a much harsher reality, but this…'_

"How many did you… no, wait, how often did it happen?" Hiashi frowned.

"Well, the first few times it had been branch family members, and when I got curious I found out they were forced to do it by one of the main family," Naruto answered emotionlessly. By now he had completely dropped his usual façade, showing his serious side to the family. "I got a little angry when I found out I had killed people who were forced into that position, so I decided to get to the bottom of it."

"From the main? Was that Hajime?" Hitomi guessed. This man had been one the first of the main family who had mysteriously vanished, and he had held a very high-ranking position within the clan.

"Was that old Scarface's name?" Naruto shrugged, not caring as he had only remembered the man with the nickname he had given him due to the scars on the man's face. Hajime had not been the first of the main house to suffer from an attempt to steal the byakugan. "Well, it doesn't matter. He died easy enough- he never had much chance, because of my stealth seal. He never saw me coming, so disabling him was easy. But still, he refused to talk… stubborn fool."

Hiashi rubbed his forehead. So this had been the truth about Hyuga Hajime. The man had been one of the five clan elders at the time, and had amassed a large position in Konoha's real estate market. His loss had created a bit of an issue in the clan, because his inheritance had to be spread over two sons and a daughter. The headaches that Hiashi had suffered from dealing with their infighting returned with a vengeance when he thought back to how much time he had wasted trying to mediate their squabbling.

"After I killed that guy, things stayed quiet for some time," Naruto continued on an indifferent tone. "Then I heard Haruki talk about people from the branch who suddenly disappeared without a trace."

"You were not involved with that?" Hitomi frowned. She knew that nearly a dozen people had gone missing in the period after Hajime's death.

"Nope. Someone else was getting rid of loose ends, I guess. And thoroughly as well, because I never found out who was behind it," Naruto explained. The icy look in his bright blue eyes made Hinata shiver. "But after a while, they tried again. And knowing that someone had been copying me, probably in an attempt to making it all look like the doing of a single person, I started using a new jutsu…"

"Did you find out who was behind it that time?" Hiashi wondered. After Hajime, no one of his standing had been 'involved' in this matter. At least, none of them seemed capable of being the mastermind behind it all.

"The peons who were sent out to harm Hinata-sama always died when I managed to catch them. I think it was because of some kind of seal that killed them when I got them to talk. I never found out how they did it exactly, but I know that it wasn't that seal on their head," Naruto said coldly. "And the few of them that I could confirm were involved, they were never in the really high positions."

Naruto held back from the family that he had strong suspicions that two of the elders were involved. The elders had increased their guardedness after Hajime's 'disappearance,' making it difficult, even for Naruto, to get through without being noticed. The fact that one of them was Hiashi's own father didn't help either. _'Besides, even with the stealth seal, they were still Hyuga. So getting away with it without being detected at all was problematic at best.'_ Naruto had had no intention of fighting a full guard detail by himself.

"But why my daughter," Hiashi demanded to know.

"Some people feared that she would become the next head of the clan, while others just tried to harm the main family. Seems like Hinata's kindness is seen as a threat," Naruto shrugged. He saw Hiashi's brow rise, indicating a slight surprise. "It makes her a potential danger to those who profit most from the current system within the clan. If she thought of loosening the main's control over the branch, and restricting the idiotic privileges which the main family has…"

Although Hiashi was not a great advocate of the system in which the branch was ruled by the main family, he stiffened nonetheless. This was a deep tradition which Naruto had just insulted, and a necessary evil. History had shown that a grant of such liberty would only be exploited. It had been rules and traditions that had kept the Hyuga unified, which had kept the Hyuga strong, Hiashi reassured himself.

The very notion that his weak daughter would change a system which had worked well for many decades was rather ridiculous to him. While it was not a system without flaws, in Hiashi's opinion it was the best option they had. What would these _children_ know about it? Hiashi had smoothed many of his father's harsher laws regarding the branch, and now he saw how Hizashi – his own brother – repaid that. His own father had not neglected to remind Hiashi of it over the last few days. If he gave the branch a tiny bit of freedom, they would just proceed to chaos, and the fall of his clan.

Hitomi recognized his train of thought, and sighed. As much as she loved her husband, the burden of his position had made him cynical about human nature.

"Being strong is no guarantee of being right," Naruto remarked with a harsh voice, shocking the Hyuga. Hitomi realized that the boy was far sharper than she gave him credit for. How much had Haruki taught this boy? "Both the people from the branch, and the people from the main family, they are both human beings- capable of good _and_ evil. Bloodlines say nothing about the quality of a person."

Hitomi nodded. "There are also good people on both sides, both in the branch and the main family," she agreed. "But the fate of the branch puts quite a strain on their people-"

"The way Hizashi-sama will be treated will be seen as exemplary of how the branch is treated," Naruto interrupted her. "Or should I say: _another_ example. I know this is not really my business... but if the branch is cornered even further, things will end up badly."

Naruto stood up and bowed to his host and hostess.

"And other than Hinata-sama, I am not planning on taking take sides in this conflict, if things should really get out of control," he remarked while moving towards the door. "But if Hinata-sama is harmed in any way…" he growled lowly, revealing a deep inhuman voice. His head turned towards them and a pair of crimson eyes pierced into Hiashi's white eyes. "I will not spare a single soul if I am forced to retaliate. No matter their position, no matter their blood.. I have sworn an oath, and I will keep it."

Hiashi sat and looked as Naruto closed the door. He could hardly believe that a boy of his age had the guts to talk like that. But he knew the threat was not baseless- the sheer killing intent that had radiated from the boy was a proof of it. Not to mention that Naruto had proven that he would not sit by idly when his Hinata was in danger. _'Considering the rate at which his powers were expanding, and what he had already showed during the finals…' _Hiashi paused. He couldn't deny that Naruto was right, the branch was indeed growing restless. But unlike him, Hiashi wasn't naïve enough to think Hizashi's actions could be left unpunished.

Hinata looked at her mother with a pair of eyes which were wide open in shock. Hitomi knew she had a lot of work to do before her daughter would fully realize what was going on in her clan. But the first thing the girl would need to know was the real history of her clan. This would be a busy time.

* * *

A day later, three letters were delivered to the Hyuga estate. Three copies of an invitation which left Naruto feeling rather conflicted.

"It might be good for you, you know," Chie remarked. She had lazily curled up on top of Naruto's chest, with him flabbily lying on his couch. His apartment was a mess, with scrolls lying all around, but he didn't really care. He didn't feel all that energetic. There were so many things that he wanted to focus his thoughts on, and now another subject had entered his mind. After having read the letter, he had dropped it to the ground, and had closed his eyes, slowly drifting away while he was lost in thought.

"What, a party? To celebrate? Now?" Naruto shook his head.

"Especially now, you dumb two-leg," Chie continued, when she saw that the blond didn't understand. "There has been enough drama now. Like Haruki himself would have said: it is time to move on. Besides, white-eye-two-leg-hime would probably want someone to escort her to the party…"

"Maybe.. But me? Me at a party? What the hell am I supposed to be doing there?" Naruto sighed. "I'm not really in the mood, and considering the show I gave during the finals I bet they would rather not have me around."

"If they didn't want you there, they wouldn't have sent you a letter, would they?"

Naruto frowned. He could swear the cat had started to meddle with more and more things that weren't her business. '_Seems like Chie changed as well, after Haruki__'__s death_,' Naruto pondered. He didn't know, but he was right. Chie did start to take things a little more seriously after the man had died, because she blamed herself for being weak. For still being weak.

He sighed. "Fine, I'll go.. You win. Fluffy little meddler."

Naruto would have found this self-recrimination rather pointless, as Jiraiya himself had told him that one of the captured Oto-nins had revealed that the grey-haired shinobi who had been killed by Haruki had been one of Orochimaru's most trusted men, as well as a spy skilled enough that he had operated inside Konoha's walls for years without anyone noticing. But he knew Chie was surprisingly stubborn. Trying to talk her out of something was usually impossible. Unless you were Ako. Then again, Naruto himself knew well enough not to mess around with the young woman. '_Angry women are scary. Good thing the Kyuubi is male, or I would've been doomed.'_

* * *

With much internal rejoicing, Hinata received Naruto at the main house's waiting hall, when he came to pick her up to walk to the Nara estate together. Like Naruto, she and Neji had been invited too, as had all members of teams 7, 8, 10, as well as team Gai. Of course, under the current conditions, the Hyuga had sent back an apology stating that Neji could not attend due to 'clan affairs'.

Although she was happy to be near him, all the things she had learned during the last few days had made Hinata feel as if she had hardly known Naruto. Walking alongside, she furtively looked at him. He had the strongest and most remarkable chakra she knew. If he was angry, he was like the hot summer sun, scorching with an unrelenting heat, burning away any obstacle in his path. But on some occasions, which happened with increased frequency even since he joined team 8, Naruto seemed far more kind: gentle and warm, and a beacon of hope to people like her.

But armed with the knowledge she now had, she realized how merciless he was to those he saw as his enemies. Hinata still got shivers when she thought back about the conversation she had with her mother, when she asked if Naruto would really have killed Neji.

"_I cannot say that I know for sure what Naruto would have done or not, but I could not see any hesitation in him," Hitomi had explained. "Even his threat to us was not something to trifle with. He spared Neji because you asked him, but even still, he punished him severely. I have little doubt that he would have killed Neji, much like how he killed all those others.."_

Only then Hinata had learned of the extent of Neji's injuries. Her cousin continuously suffered from the wounds on his chest, and the wound on his head had left him incapacitated for several days. However, strangely, Neji's seal had vanished too. Even Hitomi could not tell why even the elders of their clan had been unable to reapply it, Hinata found.

Thus caught in her own reflections, Hinata was not aware that she was not exactly subtle in how she watched Naruto. It was something that worried him. After all, would she treat him differently now she knew what he had done? Would she be afraid? "Is it hard?" Naruto wondered, shaking Hinata from her musings. "To see through the lies that others try to tell you?" Seeing the girl's confused expression, Naruto continued. "I bet it must be, sometimes, must be more comfortable to believe a lie than to be confronted with the truth all of the time. Like they say: ignorance is a bliss, right?"

"S-Sometimes…" Hinata uttered. "It feels rather… lonely…"

"I see," Naruto nodded. He looked her in her eyes, and sighed. "Ever since I was little, I could sense the hatred in others. At first I didn't understand. Then I learned to avoid people that felt like that, associating the feeling with the painful things that usually followed. I eventually came to despise nearly everyone, because everyone has some darkness in their heart. Until one day I came to the conclusion that humans were all hateful and despicable creatures," Naruto admitted. "Still, people like you are proof that there are good people too. You showed me that there is more than only darkness in a person's heart."

Hinata was left speechless and looked at him, and he chuckled. "Though I doubt I would have spared Neji's life. Heh, I guess that makes me not such a good a person either. I highly doubt people can just change their views like that. But perhaps you are right… perhaps even those who have fallen can rise up again. It would certainly be a nice idea. It would make the world a bit less hopeless."

"I… I-I think we should n-never give up h-hope," Hinata blushed a little.

"Perhaps," Naruto shrugged. "I really hope you're right about him.."

"You… D-Do you regret… regret killing all those people, N-Naruto-kun?"

"Why?" Naruto frowned. "They wanted to kill you, so I removed them. That's what shinobi do, right?"

Hinata looked down, and started to fidget with her index fingers again. "But… at the academy… They told us it was difficult to… to kill…"

"First time was strange, yes," Naruto admitted. However, he couldn't help but smile. She, and so many others of their age group were training to become shinobi, but never actually killed someone. Up till now, it was more a role they had played; eventually they would all have to face the harshness of reality. "But like your eyesight, I too have a unique sense. As such, I do not try to waste any pity the people who know no pity. Who deserve no pity."

"Is it that… that easy?" Hinata asked with her eyes wide in surprise. She could never imagine herself killing someone else, despite her position as a shinobi. She knew it was inevitable she would one day have to do it, but she did not look forward to that day- yet Naruto talked about it so casually.

"I didn't say it was easy," Naruto laughed softly. "But when I have a choice to either dirty my hands and keep my friends safe, or do nothing and allow them to die, I think it is pretty obvious which way I should pick. By the way, do we have to turn left here, or at the next crossing?" he asked, upon looking around and pointing at said alley.

"Uhm… I believe the Nara compound was a little further, and then on the left," Hinata replied. "But… Why… Why did you do it?"

Naruto blinked as he looked at her. "Of all the people, they threatened the one who felt different from all others. I'm so used to sensing hatred all around me, but you… it's almost like you are the inverse of that. It's true that I once swore to protect you because it felt like it was my duty, in order to repay you for what you have done for me. Because of you, I could live among the Hyuga," Naruto smiled. "But I don't care anymore about duty and whatnot. You are my friend, and I will never stand by idly when my friends are in trouble."

Hinata blushed deeply, and nodded, not knowing what to say- not knowing if she could even speak. Naruto had done so much for her, she barely began to understand how much, and yet he talked about her as if she was the one saving him. It boggled her, and she tried to figure it out while they approached the Nara compound.

Naruto, however, would not say it was Hinata who had given him a reason to carry on. The Kyuubi had pushed away everyone from him, leaving Naruto feeling lonely and sad in an environment where everyone despised him. That was until one night, when he had met that little girl with her remarkable eyes, that little girl who, after it all had passed, had been the one to change his life so much. She was the girl who begged her father to take him in, the girl who felt so differently from all other people that Naruto had ever met. Naruto never really understood the emotions of others, but he did value that strange feeling that came from the girl. All he had seen throughout his life was hatred, so this different feeling confused him. It intrigued him. Even if he did not understand it, he saw it as the sole beacon of light in all the darkness that surrounded him. A light unique to his world, as even his other friends did not radiate the way she did.

In a world filled with fear and hatred she showed him that not everyone was bad.

* * *

**A/N**: The inverse of hatred.. Well, I just theorized that if Naruto could sense hatred, what would he sense if someone really loved him? Of course, at this point in time, the concept of love, in the romantic sense, is still foreign to Naruto. Not to mention that Naruto tries to keep his distance from others, as he knows full well that the Kyuubi influences him, despite his own intentions. So, even if he understood what love meant, it would still be difficult for him, as he would not even consider the possibility that anyone would love someone like him. Good thing that Hinata isn't bothered by such things.

On a personal note: after last chapter, the story has been marked as 'favorite' for more than 500 times! You should've seen me smile! I know it's just a silly number, yet still it made me pretty damn proud of myself. Now, I just have to guard myself against complacency. I suppose it's my new excuse when begging for **reviews**: keep me sharp.

As always, credit to my beta **Illuminated**. And his cats!

-Z-

* * *

**Bonus: The birth of the Paw Clan.**

**(marked the cat****'****s speech with asterisk, so: *whatever,* Suta said)**

* * *

Chie hopped down from the fence. That butcher had been stupid enough to fall for her feint, and now she was satisfied after eating the loot she had gotten. The man brought it on himself though. He should not have been so stupid as to insult Naruto while Chie was nearby. '_Stupid civilians still don__'__t see the difference between Whisker-two-leg and the nine-tailed-bastard sealed within him. Idiots. They should blame me if I retaliate in Whisker__'__s name,__'_ the cat huffed. '_He saved their grumpy two-legs and they still have the gall to speak about him as if he is some kind of monster. Moronic two-legs.__'_

Crossing the street, Chie then saw something very peculiar. Two ordinary cats were dragging a tiny cart – one they likely stole from a child – and on this cart they had some kind of strange charred hump of meat. '_And not the tasty kind of meat, by the looks of it. Ughh.. I wouldn__'__t even feed that garbage to those annoying Inuzuka ninken._'

Still, the behavior of her lesser cousins confused her, and Chie wouldn't be Chie if she was able to contain her curiosity. She never was able to, especially not since coming to Konoha. However, Ako was the sole exception to the rule. Chie knew better than to annoy the woman who prepared her such delicious meals.

*Greetings, cousins, what are you doing with that hump of meat?* Chie asked in a language her lesser cousins would understand. But while the cat on the left, a ginger male, looked at her absently, his brown-furred brother completely ignored her. It was not the kind of behavior Chie was expecting. She was royalty compared to these nincompoops, so ignoring her was a grave insult; however, she didn't retaliate.

She never got the time to do so.

Strings of chakra sprung forth from the charred hump of meat the two felines were transporting. They would be nothing beyond a mere annoyance to Chie. '_Whatever this thing is, it has a mind of its own. Weak chakra control too. Perhaps it is exhausted or just wounded? Would make sense… that__'__s why it forces red-fur and brownie to help it. Troublesome…__'_

With a quick lash of her claw she severed the strings that allowed the hump to control the two cats. *I don't know what kind of thing you guys were moving around, but little humpy here is going down,* Chie declared.

*NO, don't touch the master!* the ginger cat meowed. *He promised us cookies!* he added desperately. *Lots of cookies!*

Chie gave the others no time to resist, cookies or not. Quickly transforming into her adult form, she sank her teeth into the charred hump of meat – ignoring the foul taste of burned flesh – and took off. That day, several people witnessed a giant black-and-white cat with a chunk of meat in her mouth being chased by two smaller cats. No one understood what was going on, no one would ever understand, and no one really cared.

However, when the cats crossed a street where team 10 was walking, Shikamaru did care about the strange thing he saw- mostly because he knew Ino would be annoying enough to want to go figure out what was going on, and she always dragged him and Choji along. It was a good thing she was just looking through a nearby window, apparently scouting for her next shopping spree. And clothing was one of the few things that had precedence over cats in the Yamanaka's mindset.

Meanwhile, in a panicked frenzy the lump of meat tried to resist Chie, desperately trying to latch its chakra threads to Chie's body in order to control her. But it was too weak, or Chie just too strong. Chie guessed the first, but would have preferred the latter assessment. Chie smirked at the idea that entered her head. '_Sorry Chibi-mutt, it seems that I have to take back my own words, and cause some stomach aches to you brethren. Just be glad it isn__'__t a laxative like last time.__'_

Leaving the two cats in the dust, Chie charged on towards her destination. Simply walking up the wall, Chie entered the Inuzuka compound. It was not her favorite place to be, considering all the tail-biting-four-legs that lived there, but she had a goal this time. After all, she knew the schedule of the clan very well, and it would be feeding time any minute now. After all, Chie did pull a prank every now and then, if only to annoy Akamaru, and knowing their timetable was definitely invaluable.

However, Kiba's nest-mate was her medic. It would not pay to let her medic know that she had pranked her, or her three partners. Chie had not forgotten Hana's threat of removing Chie's nails.

Moving quickly, Chie dropped the lump of meat into the big bowls where several clan members already had deposited food for their dogs. Jumping up into a nearby tree, Chie ignored the dogs that soon walked down to the bowls, hoping they would ignore her as well. However, Kuromaru noticed her, and looked mistrustingly at the bowls, then up to her.

"No pranks this time, Patchy-four-leg, I swear on my own tail," Chie sighed. "Seriously, I only threw some laxative in there once. I'm not lame enough to repeat my own pranks. That would be stupid." Whether the explanation was enough, or that it was just that his hunger was too compelling, Kuromaru turned to his food, sniffed a few times, and ignored the feline.

By the time the two cats finally caught up (and worked up the courage to enter the infamous cat-killing compound), it was already too late. Their 'master' had been devoured, and its control over them had been undone.

*You freed us,* the ginger cat bowed his head.

*We are forever in your debt,* his brown-furred brother followed his example.

Chie blinked a few times as another devious idea entered her mind. *Underlings, eh? That could be fun… What are your names?*

*I'm Siro,* the brown cat replied, proudly waving with his tail to show off its white tip. *And this is my younger brother Sakana.*

*Sakana? Fish?*

*Yeah.. You can't imagine the things he does for food. That's how our owners gave him the name- after he stole the fish off their table when we were kittens. Inoichi-sama still doesn't trust him around the kitchen.*

*Hmm… and you're in my debt you said?*

*Yes, my lady.*

The two cats were caught by surprise when Chie let out a cat's version of an evil chuckle. *All of Konoha's catnip shall be ours. Our clan's rule shall be unmatched. Muahahahha.*

Large sweatdrops formed at the back of the heads of the two males. *Did we just trade one insane master for the other?* Siro whispered to his brother.

Completely oblivious to his brother's concern, as well as the drops of drool that fell from his mouth, the ginger cat replied: *Probably, but if there will be catnip, I'm game!*

Slapping his paw against his face, Siro sighed. *It's always about food, isn't it?*

*Did I mention that I was planning on robbing the dango shop on main street?* Chie purred. Siro knew he could just as well give up and just follow. His brother had already lost his mind.

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah, poor Anko is about to lose her dango-supplier. And I've got another prank prepared as well (them poor tomatoes..). But you guys wanted more of Chie, so what other pranks can you think of? Let me know. Leave them in a review, or pm me, and don't feel embarrassed cause I don't bite. Unless you're an attractive young woman who doesn't mind it. (yeah, I've got an inner-Jiraiya too... srry)

Crowd participation always brings up the most funny ideas, so surprise me :)

* * *

**Edit**: I've added a poll to my profile page, take a look and cast your votes!


	39. Celebrations

_Hi all, here__'__s a new chapter for you to enjoy! A personal note: due to some health issues (another surgery), I will be unable to respond to your reviews like I usually do. I__'__ll keep you up to date regarding my next chapter through the __'__status__' __paragraph on my profile page. Don__'__t worry too much about me, I__'__ll live. It is just, to quote my favourite Nara, __"__mendokusei__"__._

-Z-

* * *

**Chunin arc**

**Celebration**

* * *

Looking down on the two youngsters who were walking toward their party, Yamato sighed. He had just chased away two chunin who sought to hurt Naruto. Many people seemed to be after the boy these days, some to just spy on him, and then there were idiots like these two who wished to attack the young jinchuriki. _"__Hokage-sama won__'__t be pleased if he hears about this,__"_ Yamato sighed. '_I never expected that so many people would react this foolishly. I know not everyone has the discipline of the anbu corps, but still..._'

"Be happy, you saved those morons," a voice sounded up from behind him. Looking behind him, Yamato saw Naruto approaching him. While Yamato was annoyed that a green chunin like Naruto had managed to sneak up to him, he didn't show it.

"Don't worry, I'm just a kage bunshin... I felt those two, but thanks for dealing with them," 'Naruto' said, nodding his head to express his gratitude. However, Yamato couldn't help but hear the slight hint of sarcasm in his voice, as if the situation was just a joke to him. "Interesting to see your mokuton by the way… seems like Ero-sennin really does know who to pick for the job," the bunshin smiled before he vanished in a puff of smoke.

Returning his gaze down to the original Naruto who moved on with Hinata as if nothing strange happened, Yamato wondered why he had even accepted this job.

'_An easy job, he said. Only watch a kid, he said. Get the first edition of my next book, he said. I__'__ll even sign it for you, he said. Guarding him is merely a precaution, he said. Damn you Jiraiya-sama, this job is not nearly as easy as you wanted to make it seem,__'_ Yamato sighed again. "Good thing this job is only temporary..." he grumbled under his breath, thinking back to Jiraiya's promises.

* * *

After receiving the update from his kage bunshin, Naruto frowned a bit. '_So Yamato has a kekkei genkai too. Must be pretty neat to have such a unique skill. And mokuton of all things. I wonder if I could do something like that with my three elements,__'_ Naruto mused. '_Well, it__'__s not like my control over raiton is anywhere near the level that I would be able to properly use it.__'_

Naruto knew all too well that he had to work on his regular ninjutsu, as well as his taijutsu. Genjutsu was a field where he just had little talent: he had passed the academy, but even that – the academy had pretty low standards regarding genjutsu – took much effort. To top it off, he did not like the principle of illusions anyway.

No, he had the requirements to be the ninjutsu type of fighter, the raw amounts of chakra, and perhaps he could use his affinities in such a way that he could become just as fearsome as the Mizukage, Naruto reckoned. He had heard several stories of how she glided through the ranks of Oto and Suna shinobi, slaughtering their ranks as if they were nothing. It had certainly raised his interest in the more advanced uses of chakra nature transformation. If the Chunin Exams had taught him one thing, it was that he was still vulnerable. Sure, with proper preparation Naruto knew he could defeat anyone… but the sheer speed that some of the competitors had showcased during the finals, as well as Lee during the preliminaries, was a bit worrisome. Naruto knew that he did not have the strong and adaptable defences that Gaara had. No, if he ever encountered a faster opponent while not having the initiative in a battle...

'_Overly relying on pure fuinjutsu would make me too slow.. I need to improve myself or I__'__ll be a sitting duck! I can__'__t rely on that damned fox to bail me out every time, I need to be able to do it on my own.__'_

* * *

While they strolled, Naruto and Hinata amused themselves with ideas of how a party would go at the infamous lazy Nara family home, but it all turned out to be surprisingly normal. It turned out that not every Nara was as lazy as Shikamaru, especially not his mother. While Kiba had always told them how fearsome Inuzuka Tsume was, and Naruto had seen it confirmed a few times now, they found that Shikamaru's mother would certainly give Tsume a run for her money. In Shikamaru's own words, Nara Yoshino could definitely be labelled as 'troublesome'. Perhaps even S-rank troublesome, by Naruto's estimations, after he saw her scold one of the guards at the gate. Naruto did not pity the guard, however; the fool shouldn't have tried to stop him even when Naruto proffered an invitation. '_Ah well, it__'__s not the first time, and definitely not the last time, that someone picks on me because of Fuzzball.__'_

Seeing Yoshino almost made Naruto start to regret that not all the Nara were lazy cloud watchers as Shikamaru was. She sure as hell was an intimidating sight to behold, once angered.

But when she turned to Hinata Yoshino acted completely different. The bulging vein that previously showed on her forehead had vanished, and apologized for the guard's behaviour. "Tell Hitomi-san that I'll visit her next week, okay?" she smiled before she directed them to her house.

"Yoshino-san is a fan of our tea ceremonies," Hinata explained, noticing Naruto's slightly confused look.

Soon after they saw two more Nara. Flanked by his father, a man Hinata knew was Nara Shikaku, head of the Nara clan, Shikamaru walked over to them as the two approached the house where Shikamaru and his parents lived. "Glad you two could come too," Shikamaru smiled weakly. "So Neji's definitely not coming? I got the letter, but still..."

"Injuries aside, Neji is kinda caught up in some clan business," Naruto apologized on behalf of Hinata. "It'll probably keep him occupied for a while. But, congratulations! Happy about your promotion?"

Shikamaru frowned a bit. "Thanks. You too, by the way. Me happy about this? Yeah, well… it's going to be troublesome to do all the extra work, but at least I don't have to take that pain-in-the-ass exam again. I should thank you for that; my dad told me that I owe you for my promotion."

"Eh?" Naruto blinked and looked up at Shikaku.

"Because of you, my son distinguished himself during the invasion," the scarred jonin explained, as if it were completely logical. "Because of those actions, he caught the Hokage's attention and earned his promotion. Even without performing during the final round of the Chunin Exams."

Naruto shrugged and shook his head politely. "I'm not responsible for what Shikamaru did. He did that all by himself, well, together with Temari-san, actually. I was already completely spent at that point, and he and Temari-san only brought me to the barrier so I could create an opening with the last bit of chakra I had. I really didn't do much other than that; he earned that promotion by himself, not because of me."

"Y-yes, Shikamaru-san earned his position in the exams all by himself," Hinata added. "Choji-san said team 10 advanced so far because of Shikamaru; even Ino-san a-admitted that."

Shikaku chuckled a bit at Shikamaru when his son made a lazy effort to downplay his own actions. "Seems like my son is still too modest; perhaps I need to challenge him a bit more during our training in order to reveal some more of these hidden qualities," he said, with a wide smirk, as he wished them fun and walked off.

"Dammit.. Even more training," Shikamaru grimaced. "Please don't say anything more… if they give me any more training I'll die. I know I will, so especially don't say a thing when my mother is around. She keeps nagging me about this chunin stuff, the troublesome woman."

"So you're still too lazy to train, I see?" Naruto smirked.

"Look who's talking, you were the one who slept about as much as I did during the academy years-" Shikamaru countered.

"-Only because I already exhausted myself because I had trained the rest of the day. Besides, the backlash of my bunshin was quite annoying back then," Naruto smirked. "Oh, I see you even invited Haku?" he added with curiosity, spying the small crowd gathered in the yard.

Looking over the people who had gathered, Hinata saw all the rookie teams plus team Gai minus Neji, along with the four sensei of the teams, but she also saw the young shinobi from Kirigakure.

"Yeah, Haku helped us during the finals, so I guess I had to invite him too..." Shikamaru shrugged. "Tried Temari too, but the three from Suna couldn't come. Our messenger couldn't even get the letter to them, found that they were off-limits, and that the letter instead had to go to Jiraiya-sama."

Naruto laughed softly. "Yeah, they are still confined, but they'll go to their new quarters soon. You can visit them next week, if you want to. I'm going to be Gaara's guard," Naruto explained, seeing the sharp look from Shikamaru. "What? I thought it made sense to let one demon guard the other, right?"

Shikamaru paled a bit.

"Ah, come on," Naruto sighed. "With your brains, you already knew. Don't try to fool me, I may not be as smart as you are, but I'm not a complete idiot."

It was of course true that Shikamaru had deduced that Naruto was the container of the Kyuubi, but still, it was not an idea that the Nara liked. It had been the only logical conclusion Shikamaru could reach after seeing the finals. It was the only possible way for Naruto, whose abilities had always been shrouded in secrecy, to match the demonic power of Gaara. It was the only explanation of why Naruto's chakra could spike like that, or why he could physically change like that. He held another chakra, something that definitely was not human. Shikamaru was no sensor, but the foul chakra he sometimes felt radiating from Naruto undoubtedly belonged to the only demon associated with Konohagakure: the Kyuubi.

Still, getting this confirmed so casually shocked Shikamaru a bit, as he – against better judgement – had hoped for a more _sensible_ explanation. Well, he couldn't claim to be sure about what was considered 'sensible' under the current conditions, he conceded. The world had gone insane. Sure, he knew nearly everyone hated Naruto for some reason. Shikamaru and Choji had always been the only two aside from Hinata who had been willing to work with Naruto at the academy, and during that time Shikamaru had seen a lot of things that just didn't add up. Nevertheless, he had hoped that his friend – well, Naruto was not the most approachable person he knew, but Shikamaru considered him to be a friend nonetheless – had not suffered such a burden.

As the three talked, Kurenai approached them, followed by a smiling and waving Kiba with an equally cheerful Akamaru on top of his head. "Excuse me Shikamaru-san, could I talk to my team for a moment," she asked Shikamaru, who grunted, still lost in thought, and moved towards the food-loaded table where Choji was last seen.

"Congratulations, Naruto," Kurenai smiled warmly. "You definitely earned it, and finally get something good out of this whole ordeal. I'm proud of what you did, even though I hope you never take such a dangerous gamble again."

"I would rather that the whole invasion never happened, and would gladly stuck to being a genin," Naruto grimaced. "But hell... it happened. No point in complaining now. And it's not like I'm going to fight a Bijuu each day anyway."

Kurenai nodded. "Yes, I suppose that's true... But still, what you did was extremely dangerous. But you are right- it happened. Now we have to move on. Speaking of which, we need to discuss a few things, as your promotion to chunin will also change our team."

"Change our team?" Hinata widened her white eyes in shock.

"Naruto will eventually be transferred out of team 8," Kurenai sighed. "After all, he was promoted to chunin, while you two remain genin for the time being."

"No way. No freaking way," Kiba protested. "No. Why would we agree with that!? I refuse. Naruto is part of team 8, no matter what kind of shitty ranks we all have! I don't give a damn about that!"

"It will happen because a chunin can't stay in a team of genin that has yet to go for promotions," Kurenai explained. "It wouldn't be a point if the genin didn't have the potential to qualify for the Chunin Exams; in that case, the team would have remained intact and both Hinata and you would have had to depend on field promotions if you wanted to make it to chunin. But in your cases, I venture that promotion is only a matter of time. Well, if it had not been such a difficult exam this year, considering the amount of extraordinary genin that participated, I would guess that you both would have had a very good chance to earn your promotions already," Kurenai suggested to Kiba and a surprised Hinata.

"P-Promoted? Me?" Hinata uttered. "But..."

"You had the bad luck to face Neji, who would probably have been one of the strongest, if not _the_ strongest, participant if it had not been for Naruto and Gaara," Kurenai frowned. "No offense, Naruto, but being a jinchuriki really is a form of cheating," she chuckled.

"Heh, well, the referees were free to take the fuzzball out of me, if they had had some way to do it that didn't kill me," Naruto laughed humourlessly. "But yes, I agree that most others would have lost to you, Hinata-sama," Naruto added with a real smile. "I told you that your juken is very problematic to deal with, not to mention that your eyesight is probably better than Neji's. I bet that aside from Neji, only guys like Haku and Sasuke would've stood a chance against you. Everyone else would have been screwed."

"And Kiba, from what I've seen, you would probably have been amongst the highest ranking genin with regard to taijutsu," Kurenai continued. "You really should have been able to counter or dispel that genjutsu better, but we will train at that. The fact that you pushed the Uchiha boy that far pretty much proves my point."

Kiba grinned a bit sheepishly, surprised to get such praise. Compared to Naruto, both he and Hinata had felt rather weak. But now they heard that it was not them who were weak, but Naruto who simply was strong. '_Small wonder, with that Kyuubi...__'_ Kiba realized. '_Though, it would be cheap to say that it is the demon that gives Naruto the advantage. The bastard trains harder than anyone else.__'_

"But you said 'eventually', sensei?" Naruto returned to the original topic.

"Yes, for now, team 8 is ordered to guard the three genin from Sunagakure," Kurenai nodded. "With all the losses and wounded right now, Konoha is understaffed. It will probably mean that I have to go on solo missions in the meantime, but that'll be worked out eventually. After all, I heard that you have your own guard now, so you will not get in trouble."

"Guard? You have a guard, Naruto?" Kiba smirked.

"Yeah, they dropped some anbu guy on me. The guys is lurking in the shadow around me, keeping the more annoying people away," Naruto sighed. "Apparently it has been a bit of a shock to people to learn that I've become this strong... you know, with the Kyuubi and all..."

Hinata felt a bit sad. On their way here, she had seen that two men had watched them, but when Naruto saw that she noticed them, he simply said that they would be dealt with soon. And indeed, a much stronger man interfered before the two observers could jump down towards them.

Still, Hinata felt hurt by the mere idea that Naruto would have to leave them, that there would again be a distance between them. Not now, she wished, not when she finally had the feeling that she started to understand the boy who had been mystery to her for most of her life.

Kiba was equally annoyed by this turn of events, if not out-right pissed off. '_It was bad enough that the __'__original__' __team 8 was changed, but in the end it worked out pretty well._ _And now, now they want the rip the pack apart again, all for a few stupid rules. Screw those rules.__'_

His frustration was easily seen by Kurenai and she decided to put an end to it. "Listen, with Naruto being a chunin, team 8 cannot participate in the Chunin Exams in its current form," Kurenai sighed. "It would mean that the both of you would remain genin, or like I said, left hoping for field promotions, which do not occur that often. Those also usually take a lot of missions and therefore a lot of time, as you do not qualify for higher-ranking missions. I would say that would be a waste of potential for both of you. Both of you have it in you to become chunin, and likely even jonin, depending on the way you two develop over time."

Still, no matter what her arguments were, Kurenai saw that Hinata remained defiant, while Kiba openly disagreed.

"I appreciate your concern," Naruto smiled. "But there is no need to protest."

"N-Naruto-kun?"

Naruto sighed. "I told you, I'm your friend, just drop the suffixes. You ordered me to do so as well, right?" he smirked. "But no, what I mean to say is that I soon have to leave Konoha anyway."

This was a surprise, even to Kurenai.

"The old pervert plans to take me in as his student, full-time," Naruto explained. "I did not really want to... not yet at least. I hate to tell you guys about this right now, this being a party and all, and it isn't completely official yet. But I know it is going to happen, despite not knowing exactly when." Well, to be precise, Naruto expected that Jiraiya would at least remain here as long as Hiruzen still lived, but he couldn't say that- not even to his teacher and his friends. The truth about the health of Sarutobi Hiruzen was one of the most important secrets kept in Konoha.

Naruto sighed again and continued. "I, I just like going on missions with you guys so much. You guys make me almost feel... normal. Sure, I had hoped that my performance in the exams would change the way the people in Konoha would see me. But the only thing that has changed so far is that more people want to kill me, that they fear me even more," Naruto shrugged, although Hinata could see the small hints of disappointment in his blue eyes. "And, some of the Hyuga are pissed at me right now, but that's something else..."

"You are a hero, Naruto," Hinata protested softly. "Many people know that.. It's just... some people only grew to fear you more- because of the strength you showed them. They will realize what you have done, when things calm down a bit."

"Yeah, no matter how you look at it, that power of yours is insane," Kiba chuckled. "I'd be scared as well, if I knew you could be my enemy one day- especially when we are still just kids! Hell, who knows what kind of insanely-strong shinobi you will be in ten years. It wouldn't be surprising if you would be the second one to get an international flee-on-sight order with his S-rank, just like the Yondaime himself."

"Perhaps, but I don't want to be feared. Power has never been my goal," Naruto shrugged. "It's just a means to an end, not to mention that I have to keep improving, or that fox will tear me apart; that's why I have to leave Konoha, so that Jiraiya can train me in how to deal with that furry bastard. I'm even supposed to be going to the home of the toads that I summon, in order to receive special training. If I followed my heart, I would stay with you guys, but I know that I would only put you all in danger if I didn't deal with the fox first. The seal will not last forever, so I have to be prepared to withstand more and more of the Kyuubi's chakra. I know my duty."

"Naruto is correct," Kurenai agreed, smiling as she saw Akamaru begging Naruto to pet him. The little pup was remarkably sharp in noticing the feelings of others, quite in contrast to the oblivious Kiba himself, and tried to comfort Naruto a bit. "But I am sure team 8 will keep functioning properly. I heard that Karin will most likely replace you, once she gets through all the procedures."

"Karin?" Kiba paled a little. "Ah, you traitor," he whispered to the happily barking Akamaru.

"I see.. So Kiba at least will get a lot more attention now," Naruto chuckled, despite the situation, earning him a sharp look from the Inuzuka. "What? Isn't it obvious?"

"She's damn scary when no one else is around," Kiba coughed, looking away. "But I guess it's better than some random other idiot... at least we know the type of insanity she has. And what about team 10?" he quickly changed the subject.

"I don't know," Kurenai admitted. "I haven't heard Asuma talk about who would replace Shikamaru. However, the whole Ino-Shika-Cho dynamic is important to their team, and it's a tradition in Konoha. So, maybe things will be differently for them, but I'm not sure... but they will need another member for the next exam. I'm sure Asuma wouldn't take the risk of adding a new member to his team just before the exam, as it would mess up the teamwork- that's why I want Karin to join team 8 as soon as she is allowed. It will take some time and training to get the team balanced again."

After some further arguing, Naruto noticed someone approaching them. To his surprise, it turned out to be Haku- the very person he had intended to seek out.

* * *

"So, what is it you wanted to talk about in private?" Naruto frowned, once they moved away from all the others.

"I was requested to ask you if you wanted to visit Mizukage-sama tomorrow, Uzumaki-san," Haku said formally. "Hokage-sama handed Mizukage-sama something, and she wishes to share some information about it with you."

"Hmm… I see," Naruto rubbed his chin. "Is tomorrow morning ok with her?"

"I guess it is," Haku vaguely assented. "I know Mizukage-sama is supposed to meet Hokage-sama at 11:00, so any time before that should not be an issue."

"Great, then I'll be there at 10 o'clock. I wanted to ask Miss Mizukage some things too, anyway, so this works out perfectly," Naruto smiled, as he gestured Haku to follow him back to the party. "So, did Shikamaru invite you?"

"Yes, Nara-san said he wanted to thank me for helping him during the invasion, not that I could do much," Haku smiled gently. "It is a little odd to be at a party like this... I never imagined Konoha to be like this."

"Really? So what does Kirigakure think about us?"

* * *

Sakura felt hurt- not physically, no, that been healed long ago. Her loss at the exams was long forgotten, erased by a much greater pain. She wished she could take back the many times that she had thought that her parents were meddlesome, loud, and occasionally just plain annoying. The death of her mother during the invasion had left her devastated, and her father as well.

After Mebuki's burial, Haruno Kizashi had tried to find a way out, a path away from his sorrow and despair. His solution had been alcohol, lots of it, to Sakura's chagrin. Dealing with her own sadness, while also having to care for her drunk of a father, was too much for her. She was tired, so extremely tired. Ino visited daily, trying to help her, but Sakura was convinced that her best friend wouldn't really understand her pain- no one would.

Well, Sasuke might have, Sakura had speculated, considering how he suffered the same loss; but she had found that he had become even more distant. All he seemed to be capable of was training. and during their missions after the finals, he had been harsh whenever she failed. She knew her performance was poor, but she was distracted and too tired to function properly. Yet, Sasuke ignored her pain. Oddly, it had been Shino who had supported her the most. The boy never really said much, but he genuinely tried to help her, even though he seemed a bit uncomfortable about it. Well, he was an Aburame, Sakura reasoned, dealing with emotions was not exactly their forte. Sakura really didn't know what she would do if he and Ino had not been around her, though. They were her true friends.

She glanced over, where Kakashi was talking with Shikaku, seemingly carefree. He had shown hints of concern, but apparently he had no idea of how to help her. His usual apathy had not helped. Her inner voice, which had become very silent after she learned that Mebuki had died, had raged in her head for quite a while, after Kakashi had awkwardly tried to explain how shinobi usually dealt with loss. She could not fathom how her sensei could talk like that, when she knew that he had lost friends and family as well.. Then again, Kakashi had never been too great when it came to dealing teenagers.

She sighed, glancing around at the people enjoying themselves at the party. '_How could they celebrate,__' _she wondered,_ '__with all the death, all the destruction in their village? And these people are celebrating a promotion!__'_ Ino had more or less dragged her here, saying that it would cheer her up a bit, but now the only thing that resounded through Sakura's head was _'__What am I doing here?_'

* * *

Oblivious to Sakura, who tried to make contact with him again, Sasuke sat in a corner, gritting his teeth. Had the Nara attempted to insult him by inviting Haku? Why would he suffer to look at that brat ever again?

Sasuke had even tried to leave, the moment that he first saw Haku, but on his way out Ino had spied him. The annoying blonde had more or less dragged him back, nagging him just like she did during the times at the academy. Sasuke had been so annoyed that he had not even noticed that Sakura had not even joined Ino, despite how they usually bickered amongst themselves whenever Sasuke was involved.

Thinking back on this, Sasuke noticed the lost look in his teammate's eyes. He grimaced. '_What is she whining about this time? She had a family, she is loved, but she seems to take that happiness for granted. Even with her loss, she still has family. But she ignores that, always chasing me, while I would have given everything to have my clan.. My family...__'_ Sasuke shook his head, trying to get rid of the melancholic feeling. Her behavior had always annoyed him, as she took for granted the very things he longed for. '_She shouldn__'__t complain. She only lost her mother, while I lost my entire clan. She lost her mother to a mere accident, while my clan got murdered! How could she even consider her pain to be equal to mine? She can__'__t even begin to understand me!_'

Her words, questioning how he would understand the pain of her loss, had hurt him more than he would ever admit. Still, this was the same girl who had thoughtlessly mentioned that Naruto had behaved so badly because he had no family, when the blond had left their team. What did she know?

As annoying as his former teammate may be, somewhere in the back of his head, Sasuke knew that Naruto would be one of the very few who might understand _his_ pain. At least he has lost a clan as well. '_Not that it matters.. He is merely an Uzumaki, while I__'__m a genius from the Uchiha clan. Any comparison is pointless_,' Sasuke grimaced, as he stood up in order to slip out. Ino was talking to Haku, so he would get out without trouble this time, Sasuke anticipated.

He did not bother to see the single tear on Sakura's cheek, as she watched her crush completely ignore her as he left.

* * *

Fleeing from Ino's slightly out-of-control temper – she still could not understand that Haku thought so little of Sasuke, after she asked him about their match – Rock Lee noticed Sakura sitting apart from everyone else, with a sad expression. He decided to go talk to her. "What's wrong, Sakura-san?" Lee dropped his oversized brows into a frown.

"Nothing, nothing is wrong, Lee-san," Sakura tried to smile, but her attempt was not very convincing, even to Rock Lee, who was not the most observant genin in Konoha.

He decided to sit down next to her. He knew he had promised to protect her till his death, but... her current problems did not seem to be solvable with a mere exchange of blows. Still, he was adamant that he should at the very least try to help her. "Well, you look very sad. I know you don't want to talk about it, Sakura-san, but... is it wrong to worry?"

"No, but..." Sakura sighed, and she dropped her poor attempt of a smile, revealing a sad grimace. "My... during the invasion, my mother died... a snake. A wall toppled over, and she..." Sakura sniffled.

"I... I see..." Lee swallowed. "My condolences for your loss..."

"Thanks, Lee-san," Sakura smiled weakly, now more genuine. "I just... I didn't want to go to this party," she confessed.

"I understand, this is hardly the time for celebration, especially for those who lost their loved ones," Lee said, and to Sakura's surprise he too had a pained expression. He noticed her look. "I'm sorry, I just recalled something rather unyouthful..."

"Huh?"

Lee sighed. He didn't really want to talk about it, but he thought it might distract Sakura a little from her own pain, as well as showing that he understood her, before he attempted to cheer her up. "A year before I finally became a genin... well, I have never known my father, he died in a mission when my mother was pregnant with me. So, my mother was everything to me. She told me how she and father had fled to Konoha. Even though we were clanless, and rather poor, she ensured that I always enjoyed my youth. Until the year before I became genin- my mother was always sickly, and then her situation worsened," Lee bowed his head a little. Sakura had always thought that the boy was brimming with confidence, to the extent that it even made him look like an airhead. How wrong had she been about him?

"She suffered for months, and promised she would never leave me," Lee eventually continued. "She was strong, but... well, she lost the fight. I know now that it was inevitable, but back then... I just remembered how I felt back then."

"I... I never knew," Sakura admitted.

"Not many people do," Lee smiled gently, "but it taught me how death is part of life. Neji, my teammate, always says that fate decides everything. But, I disagree. Life simply happens to us," Lee gestured. "But even still, we should never give up hope. If we think life is already decided for us, and that we are merely victims of fate, how can we say we are actually _alive_?"

Sakura re-examined the boy, who had surprised her with his way of thinking.

"I promised my mom that I would live my life in her honor and that I would never give up, no matter what," Lee said seriously. "I know you are in pain now, Sakura-san, but please do not give up. If you want to honor your mother: _live_."

Sakura felt tears dripping down her cheeks. She knew that the boy was right but still... it felt as if someone had ripped out a piece of her heart the moment her mother died, and she could not ignore that pain. "Thank you, Lee-san," she finally managed. "I'll... I'll try..."

* * *

Naruto had fled away the moment Ino had charged in to ask Haku why he had hurt "poor Sasuke-kun" so much. He still chuckled a bit, as the expression on Haku's face had been priceless. Ino was still just as annoying as she had been when he had first met her on the academy, bossy, nagging, and always wanting to know _everything_. Still, he hoped she would never change.

"Why do some people never stop being curious," Naruto tsked to himself. '_At least I get to speak the Mizukage now. All that__'__s left for me is to get to Neji,__'_ Naruto mused. '_Though I hope the Hyuga aren__'__t going to kill him, with their rubbish about laws__…'_

"Yo! Naruto, over here!" Kiba shouted, waking Naruto from his thoughts.

"Eh?" Naruto blinked.

"Food! Drinks! All you need is here," Kiba exclaimed. Naruto could see he was right. Akamaru had eaten his fill, and stretched out on the table, because he had eaten too much to keep standing up. "Hurry, before Choji gobbles it all up!" Kiba laughed.

Choji sat at his own table, which was now half empty; apparently the Akimichi translated the concept of 'party' as an 'all you can eat contest'. Not that anyone was foolish enough to try to compete with him. Well, Naruto might have, but there was no Ichiraku ramen available.

"Thanks," Naruto smiled, and he joined Kiba, Hinata, and Shino, at their table. Shino told them about his time in team 7, and how Sakura was currently in a depression because her mother had died. But before the mood could get too depressed, a black-and-white blur flew by, followed by Naruto getting knocked over by another blur.

"What is it this time," Naruto sighed, lifting up Konohamaru by his scarf. "Why can't you leave Chie alone?"

"We... I..."

"Ahh, I see," Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose. "You can come out as well, Hanabi-sama, I know you're there," he offered, knowing full well that the proud Hyuga girl would never reveal the truth about their chase after Chie. Naruto, of course, knew all along that both kids had made a bet on who could catch Chie first. Occasionally, he had even enjoyed helping Chie with 'tormenting' the kids. He had to admit the cat knew her pranks well.

Hinata smiled when she saw a brown-haired shadow shoot away.

"Now now, Konahamaru-chan," Naruto chided him, lowering the boy before his grip on the scarf strangled the child. "Please don't trouble that poor cat like that.."

"But she said..."

Naruto sighed. "Chie?"

The cat moved closer, attempting, but completely failing, to look innocent, with her long fluffy tail wiggling behind her. "Whaaaat?"

"Do I need to ask Ako?" Naruto threatened.

Chie sweated for a few seconds before she broke. "Ah… that... I might have jumped on scarfy-two-leg's head," she admitted. "I might also have been laughing at him- but only a little. I didn't know that chibi-white-eyes was close, though..."

"Hanabi-chan asked father if they could focus their training on stealth," Hinata filled in an explanation, much to the (unwelcome) surprise of both Chie and Konohamaru.

"I guess you need to ask Jii-san for some extra training too, if you don't want to lose to her," Naruto smirked, regarding Konohamaru with seriousness.

"Jiis-an is still not feeling well," Konohamaru said with a sad expression. "But I'm sure Uncle smoky will help me!"

"Not a bad alternative, indeed. Asuma-sensei was over there, last time I saw him," Naruto pointed. "He is bound to be around a woman with black hair and red eyes. He always is," he chuckled.

"Ok! Thanks boss," Konohamaru shouted as he ran off with a huge grin. Naruto suppressed a sad sigh. Telling the boy that he would soon lose his grandfather would be cruel… besides it was not up to him to tell Konohamaru anyway. It was between Hiruzen and Konohamaru. He pitied the young boy.

"Ugh.. This is going to be-" Chie started.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru completed her sentence, as he walked up to them, followed by Tenten. "Asuma-sensei's nephew, isn't it? I thought I saw that kid a few times before. He sucks at camouflage though- and why is he always goofing around with fireworks?"

"Yeah," Kiba answered. "He's the Hokage's grandson... complete pain in the ass, but for the most part a cute little brat. And the square rock disguise at least warns you before he starts ranting at his 'great boss' Naruto again. Gives you plenty of time to run away."

"He looked like a little Asuma- a little, non-smoking Asuma," Shikamaru sighed. "Geh, I'll remember the 'Uncle smoky' nickname though."

"Ehm... Hinata?" Tenten asked. "May I ask you something?"

"Of course," although Hinata had already guessed what the girl would ask.

"About Neji... We keep hearing that he is occupied with clan business," Tenten frowned. "But Gai-sensei refuses to tell us what is really going on."

"We can't tell either," Naruto replied when he saw Hinata hesitate. "Not yet, at least. I'm sorry, but it's in Neji's best interests for us to remain silent," he added, looking at Hinata.

"I... I see," Tenten said, though her disappointment was obvious.

"I'm serious, Tenten," Naruto frowned a bit. "I don't intend to lie to you, so this is all I can say: the last thing I heard was that his wounds were healing properly, so don't worry about that."

Tenten didn't seem too happy about it, but it didn't stop her or the rest of the group from having fun. They shared their stories about their adventures as genin, and just life in general. Naruto was a bit surprised to see how tolerant they all were. He almost felt 'accepted' by the entire group. Well, the entire group except Sasuke, who had left at some point – nobody could tell when – and Sakura, who said it was about time she to drag her father out of the nearest pub.

After she left, Lee soon returned to his regular over-enthusiastic self. Apparently, he had been talking with Sakura for most of the time, but now he focused on Naruto. Naruto's ears still rang from the volume that Lee had used when he loudly demanded his rematch… which resulted in Kiba challenging Naruto, and thus vying with Lee for the right of fighting Naruto first. Naruto had found it amusing to see the both of them challenging each other, in the end. '_At least they didn__'__t team up against me,__'_ Naruto thought; _'__both of them are annoying to fight in pure taijutsu, and if they teamed up, dealing with them would be a real pain.__'_

The banter between Lee and Kiba continued until Chie somehow smuggled some sake onto the stage. They all ended up being lucky, according to Gai, as Lee drank the entire bottle all in once, mistaking it for a bottle of water. If Lee had not passed out immediately, things might have gone badly, very badly, Gai fretted. Naruto still wasn't sure why, but he was pretty sure that Chie would want to continue experimenting on this soon… he saw it in her eyes. He couldn't decide whether to help her or to forbid it.

However, after one more 'youthful' shout coming from Gai, Naruto was pushed over the brink. '_Consequences be damned. Those two are an insult to every green-clad shinobi in Konoha.__'_ To Naruto, who had more or less copied Jiraiya's style, Lee was also an insult for each kohai that copied their sensei's sense of fashion.

Naruto found the way his classmates acted to be better than he would have ever expected. For example, now that Shikamaru knew that Naruto would be sticking with Gaara for the time being, he had offered to drop by every now and then. He even promised to teach Naruto shogi.

Hinata had managed to silence a giggle when she heard that. Haruki may have succeeded in teaching Naruto etiquette, but teaching him games like chess and shogi was… well, the two times Haruki had tried were still a subject of an occasional conversation amongst her clan members. The question of how one of the pieces had managed to pierce three walls and murder an innocent carrier pigeon was still a mystery that remained to be solved. Naruto had claimed that he had been experimenting on a new seal, but the consensus was that Naruto had just been annoyed by being beaten so thoroughly.

Hearing Shikamaru's offer, Choji immediately promised to come along, with the added question on which flavor of chips Naruto liked most. Naruto still didn't understand why Ino and Shikamaru suddenly became frantic and changed the subject. Apparently the flavor of chips was a sensitive subject within team 10. With team 10 promising to visit, Tenten promised that her team would visit too. Besides that, they still had to keep their promises to each other: Naruto would teach her some seals, while Tenten would teach him weapon use. Moreover, she had confided to him that she wouldn't last long without Neji around, as Lee and Gai together were simply too much for one sane person to deal with.

However, what startled Naruto the most was that at one point, Shikamaru had said that Naruto now was the village's hero, and that many people recognized him as the one who stopped Suna's jinchuriki, thus preventing a lot of damage that would have followed an Ichibi rampage through the village. It was an odd sensation for Naruto. '_Pride? Relief? I wonder what I just felt_,' Naruto mused as they walked inside. It had gone dark, and the jonin had gone home, with Asuma dragging along Konohamaru. Teams 8 and 10 plus Tenten - Gai had carried the still-unconscious Lee home - had decided to stick around for some more fun.

Somewhere along the ride Shino had also left. But sadly, none of them could have said when. Haku was a different story. Apparently Ino had scared him off.. Naruto was still puzzled that the pupil of Zabuza, the fearsome 'Demon of the Hidden Mist', could have become terrified. But Ino had always been a bit excessive when the matter had something to do with Sasuke.

* * *

During the party's progress, a lone figure was watching over the group of genin, the two promoted chunin, and their jonin sensei. His kept his presence cloaked, hidden from all others, as he studied the expressions and behavior of each teen. He had been selected for this job due to his heritage. He was capable of lurking around, while remaining completely undetected- not even a jonin would sense him. But right now, he was not following his employer's interests and directions- to inspect the jinchuriki. Interesting as it may be, the man found it far more intriguing to observe another young boy.

After all this time, how had the boy developed?

* * *

**A/N**: Wow! We're already approaching 200,000 views! Heh, I recently updated some of the early chapters, and saw how content I was back then with a mere 1.000 views.. Funny how fast it grew. Also, after the previous chapter I created a **poll** on my profile page, so cast thy votes! Which of the characters do you want to see more of in this arc? I'll keep the poll open till the end of February, and I'll give the character with the most votes more 'screen time' in this arc. I'm curious to find out which side-character is the most popular in this story.

Thanks to **Illuminated**, not just because he's an awesome beta, but also for Suto. (I hope Lopey and Tenchi will be happy about it!)

Oh, and for the record: Naruto's pigeon-decapitation-jutsu is actually S-ranked. Well, it would be S-rank if it wasn't a failed attempt..

-Z-

PS.: at Just . a . shy . Guest: I'm happy you like my work that much, thank you!

* * *

**Bonus: the targeted tomatoes**

*This is the place, Chie-sama?*

*Yes, Siro. The greenhouse should be around the corner.*

*Are we really going to destroy food?* Sakana asked, saddened by the idea.

Chie, the leader of the three cats, looked at her red-furred underling. *Tomatoes are not edible,* Chie hissed. *I can't understand how those two-legs can like them. I promise you, Munchy-four-leg, that we get proper loot on our next heist, ok?*

*So what is the plan today?* Siro sighed, after he saw Sakana's eager nod. "Ino-sama is currently away, but she will probably start looking around again when we don't get home around dinner."

*After the duck-incident, the inhabitant of this dump placed several traps around the compound. It took me a while before I figured out the safe routes, but I need you two brothers to keep an eye on the surroundings. He may be a two-leg, but he is not completely stupid.*

Chie watched Siro and Sakana go to their respective vantage points, and then moved on to the greenhouse. '_Thanks to watching Whisker-two-leg, I have really gotten a lot better at using my chakra. Heh, Grumpy-two-leg won__'__t know what hit his precious tomatoes. I__'__ll shred the plants to splinters.__'_

Still chuckling, Chie slipped past the fence, and opened the door to the greenhouse, only to be startled by an unknown voice.

*So you really managed to avoid all those traps. Pretty impressive...*

"Eh?"

*Oh, and you can use the human tongue as well.. It's been a while since I met one of your kin, Bakeneko-san.*

*Who the heck are you?* Chie wondered. '_Where... Ah, that old grey tomcat up there... What a sneaky bastard.__'_

*Sutorenja is my name. Or just Suto, that's how everyone calls me. Well... Everyone... As you can see this place is rather abandoned, apart from my old master's younger brother.*

*You live at Grumpy-two-leg's compound?*

*I am a noble servant to the Uchiha clan, yes.*

*Well, isn't that great,* Chie remarked sarcastically. *So what are you going to do, stop me?*

*Why would I do that? I didn't stop you last time when you herded all those ducks into his room, did I? It was his own fault, for not securing his place any better. And it is his responsibility to keep his place tidy, not yours. Besides, your pranks distracted Sasuke-san a bit from his solitude.*

*You care about his housecleaning skills?* Chie frowned.

*Will not allow Sasuke-san to desecrate Itachi-sama's house,* Suto huffed. *Itachi-sama may have left after that tragic night, but that does not mean Sasuke-san is allowed to make a mess of the place.*

*He has seemed rather obsessive about order and cleanliness.*

*I have taught him well,* Suto smirked. *After the family died, Sasuke-san was rather lethargic. He did not move, did not eat, did not clean himself. The house became a mess. So I punished him, made him move. He may be abandoned and alone, but I will not allow him to let chaos spread through this place.*

*How did you do this?*

*I peed on everything that he left out of place. Everything has a place where it belongs. Whenever something was out of place, I marked it for Sasuke-san, so that he knew he needed to clear it up, and put his belongings in the places where they belonged. Even in his saddened mood, young Sasuke-san hated peed-upon shoes. It was an effective way of making him move around.*

*So you are not loyal to Grumpy-two-leg?*

*I take it you are referring to Sasuke-san when talking about this 'Grumpy-two-leg'?*

*Yup. I don't really bother remembering the names that all those two-legs give to things. I just name it as I see it.*

*Eccentric, it seems to be a Bakeneko thing..*

*You met one of my tribe?*

*When I was younger, I lived at a different place. Young master Itachi met me there, and I have followed him since that day. Well, until he disappeared,* Suto sighed. *But that is years ago now.*

*So you do not mind me wrecking this place?* Chie looked at all the tomato plants.

*Not really,* Suto shrugged. *But I would consider another course of action. If you challenge Sasuke-san again, he will likely take even more drastic safety measures. On the other hand, if you leave him alone... I heard you were planning more 'heists', so perhaps you need a suitable hideout?*

Chie frowned. *A hideout could be convenient, yes.*

*Then I suggest you leave Sasuke-san's precious tomatoes alone, so that he doesn't notice that you and you followers have been here.*

A bit cautious, Chie wondered why this cat suggested such a thing. *What's in it for you?*

*Unlike the two goons you have as your lookouts, I am a trained ninneko,*Suto smirked. *Joining that little gang of yours would be a nice way to get some relief from my boredom here.*

"Sweeeeet" Chie laughed. "Cry havoc, and let slip the cats of war!"

*Uh-huh... Right… * Suto deadpanned. *You do that, while I mark these gardening gloves.. Sasuke-san should've put them back in the compartment where they belong,* Suto said, walking over to the gloves and squatting upon them.

* * *

_insert "beg readers to leave reviews behind" line here_

I know, I have no shame..

-Z-


	40. Truth or dare?

_Yo! I__'__m back again. Not at full health, but I__'__ll manage. Waiting while I recovered gave me enough time to finish this chapter quickly, so have fun reading the 40__th__ chapter of The Honoured Guest!_

* * *

**Chunin arc**

**Truth or dare?**

* * *

After all the things that happened these last days while guarding Naruto, Yamato felt a little bored looking at the small celebration. '_Odd. Finally I can relax a bit, and then I__'__m getting bored?_' he sighed to himself. '_Then again, things never seem to stay quiet long around that kid…__'_

Sitting on top of the roof, hiding his presence from others, Yamato watched the party unfold on the small square in front of the Nara house. '_I didn__'__t take him for a party person, but it seems I was wrong; he is actually enjoying himself,__' _Yamato noted, as he saw Naruto talk and smile. Although he had remained stoic as always, Yamato felt a little disgusted by what he had seen these last days: people stalking the boy, even some who intended to hurt him, while all he did was to protect the village. '_And those who realize what he did keep quiet, because they do not know what to think any more. And how could they? They hated him for years, and now he suddenly shows that they were all wrong. It will take some time before their behavior really changes.__'_

"He is quite an interesting boy, isn't he?" someone spoke up. Yamato jumped up, drawing a kunai and turning towards the speaker at the same time.

"Who…" he started, observing the cloaked figure. Suddenly, the world seemed to distort a little. '_Genjutsu!__'_ he realized. "Kai!"

The cloaked man seemed unfazed that Yamato had broken his illusion. "As expected of one of Konoha's top anbu," the man said blithely, completely uncaring, as if he was discussing the weather. "-makes sense, who else would they assign to guard the child? After all, the importance of what he represents, of what he may become, is never to be underestimated."

"Who are you?" Yamato asked guardedly. '_And how the hell did he sneak up on me like this?__'_

"It depends on you," the cloaked figured said calmly. "If you so wish, I could fight you and you would perish. But that is not my goal. I came here to gather the information I need, not to kill."

"Big words," Yamato remained impassive. "But Konoha's anbu would not fall that easily. You are trespassing on Nara clan property. I have every right to retaliate."

"That you have," the man's voice sounded more amused than anything else. "But seeing the legacy of the Third's successor made me wonder.. What kind of man would Sarutobi-sama assign to keep the boy safe?" Yamato gathered his chakra and made the snake hand seal. "How disappointing," the man whispered.

"Mokuton: Mokusatsu Shibari no Jutsu," Yamato exclaimed, after first throwing a volley of kunai. Dodging the kunai, the man was caught off guard when multiple branches of wood erupted from the roof and spun around their target, capturing him and leaving no possible way out, while the wooden binding restrained the cloaked figure's chakra.

"I thought I said I had no interest in fighting. But I am glad the guard of the boy has a… befitting ability," the cloaked man said. "The world has not seen mokuton in many years.."

"Who are you? I will not ask again," Yamato demanded.

"Still.. considering an elite anbu such as yourself, I had expected you to at least sense _something_. This unexpected ability alone is not enough to face me."

'_Sensed something?__'_ Yamato checked his chakra, checked his surroundings, and found nothing. No illusion or other jutsu seemed to have been cast on him. Any attempt to disrupt his chakra also did not change a thing.

"Then again, it has been a while since any of the anbu faced someone like me." The wooden restraints around the cloaked figure vanished, and the man moved his hand towards his cap. "Kakashi of the sharingan may have become famous, but his ability pales in comparison to the true powers of the masters of the sharingan."

Yamato felt panic for the first time in years. He looked straight into a pair of sharingan. '_Uchiha Itachi… Oh crap, I must-__'_

* * *

Itachi looked at the unconscious anbu collapsed before him. The man had never noticed that he had been caught in his genjutsu from the very moment Itachi had revealed himself to him. Sure, the anbu had seen through the first level, and dispelled it, but it was clear that the man was not used to fighting a true Uchiha. '_I would say trapping him would have been the obvious course of action, unless I wanted to risk being discovered right in the middle of the village..__'_

Still, the man had served his purpose. More than just the intended purpose even, as seeing the Shodai's mokuton revived was surely a surprise. '_Good thing I caught him from the start. That display of jutsu would have drawn far too much attention. Now… with that part of the plan executed, I suppose I have to move on,_' Itachi considered. But he knew he wanted to stay a little longer. He had just seen his little brother leave the party, and what Itachi saw…

Itachi had heard about his brother's match during the finals, and the details on how he had lost. From what he had gathered, Sasuke had lost badly, mostly because of his lack of self-control. Itachi remembered how impatient his little brother had always been, _before_… well, before Itachi had to leave Konoha. But his performance just now, was this really the last hope of their once-noble clan? Why was Sasuke repeating the mistakes of his elders?

'_I made it clear enough to him that the path the others of our clan followed was inadequate, that__ was__ why I killed them. Why is Sasuke still following in their footsteps?__'_ Itachi frowned. Sure, he knew his little brother was talented, that much was obvious. It was certainly true that Sasuke had awakened his sharingan at a late age, yet his progress was far beyond what was considered normal in their clan. Even though it lagged Itachi's own development, it was certainly good. But still… skill alone was not enough.

The little party in the backyard of the Nara estate had provided Itachi the perfect opportunity to study his brother's behavior, and several things he had seen had irked him. The first and most obvious issue was the cursed seal that afflicted Sasuke. Itachi could easily see with his sharingan that this had been left behind by Orochimaru. Akatsuki had heard nothing from the snake summoner, and when he had been sent out it was assumed that Orochimaru had died as well, Itachi recalled sourly.

But Itachi now saw that the sannin had gotten away. He had fled, yet he had not returned to the organization. Betrayal was the only logical conclusion, and Orochimaru's loyalty had been questionable in the first place. Though their leader's response to failure was also a factor, but Orochimaru knew well enough that Akatsuki could not afford to lose both Sasori, who was in charge of the spy network, and Orochimaru, who was the chief scientist of their organization. Sure, the man had tried to get his hands on the sharingan before, but Itachi had decided to keep that incident quiet.

The man was a snake, and snakes were best kept in sight, rather than allowed to slither away to plot something from the shadows. But upon seeing the man's audacity of marking his little brother, Itachi regretted not killing the man all those years ago. Orochimaru was not allowed to interfere with his plans, and Itachi resolved to punish him accordingly.

The second thing which Itachi had noticed about his little brother was his bond with Konoha's jinchuriki, although they were obviously not friends. Sasuke's hatred and envy were blatantly obvious to Itachi. Judging from the occasional look that the jinchuriki would cast at him, it was obvious to Itachi that these two – especially from his brother's point of view – had a deep rivalry- one bordering on outright animosity. It pained Itachi to acknowledge that he was probably partly guilty for that, especially given the way he had last spoken to his little brother.

Still, this obsession with power was unhealthy. What's more, it seemed rather pointless to Itachi to be envious of another's power. Training oneself to become stronger should be the only response to meeting someone superior in power. Besides, it was quite obvious that the jinchuriki held an unfair advantage over others of his age as he had (limited) access to the chakra of a being like the Kyuubi. But Itachi knew pretty well how jinchuriki performed, and the blond boy's power was far beyond Itachi's expectations.

In fact, he found the boy's potential rather frightening.

Itachi had no intention of advising his leader to take action against the boy right now. No, it would be better for Konoha if Itachi told Akatsuki that Uzumaki Naruto was still too unstable, and that Akatsuki should wait for a better opportunity to catch the Kyuubi, he reasoned. The leader would be easily convinced that the bijuu would break free soon. Helpfully, the scenario of the boy losing control was still more like likely than gaining control. On the other hand, the idea of Uzamaki becoming a perfect jinchuriki like the one in Kumogakure, would terrify even someone of Itachi's level of skill.

However, such growth in skill would take time. The boy was not ready to face any S-ranked opponent right now; Itachi doubted that he could even go toe-to-toe against an A-ranked adversary. Since the boy was only twelve, Itachi knew what had to be done: deceiving Akatsuki to grant the boy the time he needed to grow. Because if Itachi told the group what he really thought, Akatsuki would move in earnest, and Konoha currently lacked the power to oppose them. But if fed the right information, their leader would not undertake such a risky endeavor. Rather, he would wait until the boy's control diminished and then strike, or simply let the Bijuu break free and capture it- but the man would not be happy to wait too long.

The information on Sunagakure's jinchuriki was hardly any better. It had taken Itachi much effort to even get close to the building where the container was held, and seeing Sabaku no Gaara right now was out of the question. He would have to fight his way through the surrounding guard to do so, which would alert all of Konoha's forces. '_Good thing the audience saw Uzumaki-san alter the seal, or I would have known nothing…__'_

However, the way the seal was altered was unknown. Itachi was not exactly an expert when it came to fuinjutsu- that was the field their leader was an expert in. The alteration of the seal that held the Ichibi meant another setback to the plans of Akatsuki. They would first have to figure out what happened to the boy's seal, or else the method of extraction could backfire on them. As the Sanbi was already out of the game due to Yagura's demise, Akatsuki had little interest in suffering another delay by accidentally killing the Ichibi.

Still, it actually surprised the rogue Uchiha when he learned how the fully released Ichibi was beaten. It was known to Akatsuki, through reports from Sasori and Orochimaru, that Gaara was in the last stages of losing his control over his Bijuu. By all logic, the boy should have been able to force far more chakra through his seal than the Kyuubi's jinchuriki. Yet still he lost…

'_Perhaps my expectations are not so unreasonable,__'_ Itachi thought, allowing himself a small smile. _'If Uzumaki-san keeps growing like this, he might be able to halt Akatsuki__'__s plans. In these two years since I last saw him, the boy has certainly developed in body AND in soul,__'_ Itachi looked on as the adults left, while the youths moved into the house.

Oddly, one of them, the Aburame, seemed to hesitate whether or not to go inside. Itachi felt a little surprised when he saw the young boy leave. '_And some people say that I am hard to understand..__' _he frowned. From what he had learned, the young Aburame was now in the team with Sasuke and a kunoichi from an unimportant clan. Itachi knew that the Aburame held a strange sense of loyalty. '_Is he not entering because his teammates already left?__'_

The thought that his younger brother had loyal teammates – he had seen the girl's obvious affection for Sasuke, despite the fact that she was burdened by a something grave – made Itachi happy. '_But will it be enough? They both lack the power to confront Sasuke if he should choose the wrong path. Maybe… maybe if the jinchuriki keeps growing the right way… if he manages to overcome the demon__'__s hold on him, I could use him as a failsafe to keep Sasuke on the right path,__'_ Itachi pondered. Sasuke seemed to be indifferent about most people, but he seemed to view the jinchuriki differently. He acknowledged the Uzumaki, as shown by marking him as his rival.

Knowing his own time had become limited to a few years at most, Itachi knew he had to pick someone capable of performing the job once his own illness got the better of him. Someone in his position needed a contingency plan. '_Good thing I still have time.. It is still too early to decide on something as crucial as this. If I remain careful and use the mangekyo as little as possible, I should at least last for another three years. I should make sure Sasuke succeeds where our clan failed,__'_ Itachi sighed. '_I owe him that. I promised father, I promised mother, I promised Shisui, and I will keep trying to fulfill those promises until the last breath I draw.__'_

Itachi reminded himself that he had to keep faith. The signs may not look good, but Sasuke had not fallen yet. There was still hope. '_Though that cursed seal certainly makes the temptation greater for him.__'_ Sasuke _had_ to become the hero who avenged the Uchiha clan, as it was the only way to save their clan. There was still enough time for Itachi to install his safety measure. But before all of that, Itachi needed to ensure that Konoha kept their end of the bargain. He had to remind them of their promise to keep Sasuke safe, especially from Danzo's clutches.

But this anbu would certainly report this encounter to the Hokage, and Itachi was certain that Danzo would find out about it in one way or another. Besides, it would be obvious to anyone who paid enough attention to the way that Sasori's body was destroyed that Itachi had been in the village. Beyond the protection that it gave his younger brother, the incident with the anbu guard would certainly underline the importance of protecting the jinchuriki boy.

While Itachi might not have any interest in capturing the boy right now, his colleagues were not so polite. Itachi knew that Akatsuki wasn't exactly tightly regulated, his own partner was the living proof of it. It would be quite the disappointment if the Uzumaki died before he could develop his true powers, because one of the more impatient members of Akatsuki had sought him out and Konoha had failed to protect him properly.

'_No, the boy needs to remain safe, he will need the time to grow and develop.__'_ The more Itachi thought about it, the more convinced he became of it. '_Not only does he have the strength to face Sasuke in a worst case scenario, if he continues to grow as I project now, he would also be the only real chance the world has at beating our Leader…__'_

* * *

Naruto looked around and felt slightly surprised. The inside of Shikamaru's home completely different from what he had expected. Unlike the frigid and orderly environment in which the Hyuga lived, the home of the Nara family was cosy and warm. It was not in a state of disorder, but it was far more laid back then the environment he knew from the Hyuga. Each family of the Nara clan owned their own house on the large compound, and there was little emphasis on formality and tradition. Naruto had heard a thing or two about the clan, and how they kept herds of deer in the forest on their compound, which caused the Nara compound to be the largest compound possessed by any clan within Konoha.

As the two teams and Tenten entered the living room, Yoshino brought some refreshments – with a firm glare at Choji when she warned him to leave some of it for the others – and announced that she and her husband were retiring for the day. Of course, this meant that Shikamaru was responsible for keeping everything clean and orderly- the look in his mother's eyes promised unspeakable horrors if he did not.

Naruto almost felt pity for the poor boy. '_Small wonder he is that lazy. If she pushes him around like that all of the time, I could understand him not wanting to do a single thing when he is out of her sight…__'_

It was a good thing for Shikamaru that Chie had left, or she would undoubtedly have caused mayhem. Though, Naruto suspected that even the unruly feline would not cross Yoshino… she was probably even intimidating than a seriously pissed off Hyuga Ako. '_I wonder which complete idiot ever started the idea that women are the weaker sex… Seriously, women are scary…__'_ Naruto thought, as he watched Yoshino drag Shikaku upstairs. '_We poor males never stood even a ghost of a chance.__'_

"Business as usual, I see," Ino said, after she finally stopped laughing. "My dad always spoils my mother every time he meets your dad, Shikamaru."

"Ugh.. Understandable, your mother isn't half as troublesome as mine," Shikamaru sighed. "Inoichi-san certainly has much to be grateful for."

"Your mum's a great cook," Choji said, as if that solved everything. Not to mention that Yoshino didn't suffer from the whole diet obsession that reigned in the Yamanaka household.

"Just be glad you don't have an older sister," Kiba laughed at Shikamaru, while Akamaru made it himself comfortable on the empty seat next to Kiba.

'_Be happy you guys even have a family,__'_ Naruto wanted to say, but didn't. It would only spoil the mood, and he felt strangely happy during the first real party he ever attended – the Hyuga's had parties but they lacked any form of amusement. "Err… So what's the plan?"

"Games!" Ino decided on her own.

"What kind of game?" Tenten frowned.

"How about truth or dare?" Ino smirked.

"Why do I not like where this is going…" Naruto muttered.

"Afraid? Scaredy-cat…"

"Ah… Well, k-knowing your preferences, Ino-san, it might be better to not do-" Hinata tried to argue. Choji nodded. But Ino stopped her with a glare.

"Don't bother arguing with her, it's no use and far too troublesome. We might as well just get it over with."

"All right then, who starts?" Ino smiled wickedly. All six paled at the idea that Ino would single them out for this disguised form of torture. They had suddenly fully realized that she was the daughter of an officer of the Torture and Investigation department…

* * *

"Orochimaru-sama," Nara Kazu bowed. "Why did you call for us, we had nearly finished our preparations to take out the target. Calling us back right now has delayed our plans; eliminating that pesky Rice field Daimyo will only take more time now."

Orochimaru saw the annoyance on the Nara's face, but did not care. "I will deal with him personally. I have more important tasks for you four now."

"What's more important than taking over a fucking country?" Kenta grumbled. "We wasted three freaking weeks to figure out a way to get to that paranoid moron without anyone spotting us. That guy is still freaked out after what Immore did last time. And to make things were, Nana nearly went on a freaking killing spree because she had to wait for all that time."

"Really now," Orochimaru frowned a bit in surprise. "Nana, I thought my orders were clear."

"Yes, father," a pale, yellow-eyed teenage girl replied. Her black hair covered half of her face, but still her lack of sanity was clear for all to see. "And I didn't break any orders. That big freak made sure of that, unfortunately. Seriously, I only wanted to have a little fun. Spoilsports."

"Hey, I like a little slaughter party but this was not the time," Immore said, as if he needed to apologize for not allowing the unnecessary bloodshed.

"Enough," Orochimaru hissed before his 'daughter' could say anything else. "Nana, you will go to the lab right now, prepare for an examination and wait there. Also, do not mess with the assistants this time, I am running low on capable medics."

"Aww, I can't even kill one? Not even light torture? And is Kabuto not here?"

"Move."

"Yes, _father_…" the girl pouted.

Kazu watched the girl leave the room. Orochimaru turned to him and asked "She is another failure, isn't she?"

"Her personality is unstable," Kazu reported. "It is only half a year since she left the tank you grew her in, but her body is already showing signs of deterioration. It seems the drugs are affecting her mind. She is becoming a liability at this rate."

"No shit," Kenta snapped. "Crazy bitch nearly killed me on our way back, I couldn't even take my fucking guard down when taking a goddamn piss. She nearly cut my dick off! Seriously, I hope her replacement is finished soon. I understand you want to do research with those tank-bred clones of yours, but at least make them in such way that they remain sane for a little longer. And if you can't guarantee that, at least don't teach them kenjutsu. That blade came far too close to unmanning me dammit!"

"Hmm… I thought it was too early for the drugs to take their toll already," Orochimaru frowned, ignoring most of Kenta's rant. "Far too soon. It seems I miscalculated, it's quite disappointing. I will see why Nana failed, and then I will speed up Yattsu's development. Kabuto had some positive reports on my eighth daughter's growth. And the data I gathered on my seventh should make sure that Yattsu performs better."

"Where is that smirking piece of shit anyway? Is he still spying on those tree-huggers?"

"I am afraid not. Kabuto is dead."

"What?!" Kenta exclaimed. "That fucker got himself killed? What happened?" Kenta may have disliked the young Yakushi, but he certainly respected the young man's ability. Sure, it was below Kenta's ability, and even below Kazu's, but it was still impressive enough. Then again, he was, like them, one of the very few 'unmarked' operatives that Orochimaru allowed to act freely.

"The invasion was a failure," Orochimaru remarked, keeping his voice calm as if he was discussing the weather, but the killing intent he radiated was enough to make it very clear to all three that their master was absolutely furious. They nearly pitied Nana, as they knew what the snake sannin did when he was pissed.

"How did that happen? Our plans were perfect," Kazu frowned. "With the aid of Sunagakure, our troops should've been able to overrun Konoha. Did their jinchuriki mess up or something? Wait… if the invasion failed, did he get his hands on the bijuu?"

"It would seem that Sasori failed as well. Somehow, Kumogakure's jinchuriki got involved in the chaos. And despite your intel, she did not have her powers sealed… Kidomaro told me of observing blue flames, and he felt a horrible chakra that even surpassed the Ichibi. I highly doubt that Sasori would have been able to win that match- not after he already wasted so much of his chakra on manipulating those sleeper agents of his."

"Fuck…" Kenta whispered. "And now what? I can't imagine that Akatsuki is pleased."

"That is why I withdrew the three of you. We need to move two of our hideouts that are known to them, and quickly too. I doubt it will take long before they learn of our failure and figure out I did not die. We are not yet in a condition where we could face them. So for now, we need to withdraw and carefully plan our next move."

"And the two doujutsu?"

"Kabuto failed to collect the byakugan, but I succeeded in marking Sasuke-kun."

"Then our next move would be to collect that brat's eyes," Kazu sighed. "With the sharingan, you could at least face Itachi, although it doesn't mean the others would be easy to take down. Shame that Kabuto failed in getting the byakugan, even when 'he' had given us such an opportunity."

"Don't be so disappointed, Kazu-kun," Orochimaru smirked. "Not everything ended badly. I did get a hit on my old sensei, so the village should be in chaos right now. There is no way that even Tsunade would be able to counter that specific poison. But regarding Sasuke-kun, I am still waiting for an answer. Once we reach an agreement, I will put the sound four on that task."

"Four? Lil' Boner still not healed?" Kenta wondered.

"Sadly, no. Kimimaro-kun suffers from an unknown condition. Kabuto was looking after it, but without him… Well, I would like you to set out to Mizu no Kuni, Kenta-kun, and retrieve any medical information that might be left in his old clan's abandoned stronghold. Not that the Kaguya clan was known for their literacy, but if there is even a small chance to heal Kimimaro…"

"I know, I know, he was your favorite next body," Kenta sighed. He was still disgusted by his master's jutsu, but it wasn't like he would go against it. "Fine, I'll set out immediately after restocking my supplies. It would be fun to return 'home' again, it's been a few years since I last visited Water."

"Good… Kazu-kun, you and Immore evacuate the two eastern hideouts."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama," Kazu and Immore chanted.

Kenta shrugged. He wasn't a loyal lapdog like the other two. "Cheh. Good luck with cutting another 'daughter' open," he grunted.

Kenta hated the whole Fushi Tensei thing, but the way Orochimaru treated his own replicas was, in his opinion, even worse. They were living lab rats, existing to be tested upon and filled with drugs to increase their growth and performance. But they never lasted long, and all met a nasty end. Nana was the seventh of them, and the third that Kenta had worked with. But she was definitely the best performing of the seven so far. He had seen a lot of horrible things, but the sight of the fifth replica dying was one of the few things that returned in his nightmares.

No living being deserved such a horrid death. Kenta loved torture, but some things just went too far, even too him. '_Fucking crazy contingency plans of his.. He may be a genius, but he__'__s a fuckin__' __freak as well. Glad he thought I was too valuable to be used as another guinea pig.__'_

* * *

"Seriously Kiba?"

"Are you freaking nuts?" Tenten exclaimed.

"Yes, how could you dare Choji to beat up Naruto?" Ino exclaimed. "You want to kill him?"

"He doesn't have to do it," Kiba smirked, seeing Choji's distraught look. "He can always admit defeat.."

Shikamaru sighed. The very moment Ino had suggested this game, he knew that this would get out of hand eventually. There were simply too many troublesome people in one room, so havoc was the only logical outcome. But he would not sit idly when his best friend was cornered like this. "Well, if you play it that way, I'll raise the stakes. The winner of the duel will get free ramen for a week, on the Inuzuka clan's tab of course."

"Hey!"

"Do you want me to tell your sister that little piece of information you just shared? I'm certain she would not be very pleased. Nor your mother, for that fact.."

"No.. You can't.." Kiba paled.

"T-though Karin-chan might think differently.." Hinata suggested, blushing at the thought.

"You wouldn't…" Kiba now lost every shred of color. "If she heard that..." he uttered. '_Me and my big mouth, why did I have to tell that..'_

Choji's eyes were still wide open and Naruto had started to drool a little. "No! I will fight Naruto!" Choji exclaimed.

"Eh.. Are you serious? You know what he can do, right?" Kiba sweated. '_Crap, this is going out of control! Fuck!'_

"Don't worry, Kiba, I won't eat too much ramen," Naruto grinned. "And it's not like a little ramen would cause your clan to go bankrupt."

"You and ramen.. There is never 'a little ramen' with you. You could bankrupt the entire freaking village with your appetite for that stuff!"

"Don't worry Kiba, I'll make sure I beat Naruto," Choji promised.

"Like that is going to make a difference," Kiba cried, seeing his own plans turned against him. "All right, I give. I surrender! I withdraw the dare, you win Choji."

"Great!" Choji smiled. "I'll send you the bill next week."

"Hold it right there, you did not duel Naruto, so Kiba does not have to pay, you know that, right Choji?" Shikamaru smirked.

"Awww, Shika…"

"No going back on your word, Choji, you already accepted Kiba's loss."

"Whose side are you really on, Shikamaru?"

Ino laughed. "Great! So it's my turn now?"

Naruto, Tenten, and Shikamaru paled. They were the only ones who did not have a turn yet, and none of them wanted to be a victim of Ino.

"Naruto," Ino smirked, a smirk that widened when she heard Naruto groan. "Truth or dare?"

'_Aww dammit.. Why Ino? Why me? I__'__m so dead. Let__'__s see… any '__dare__' __she would come up with will certainly be too embarrassing. I can definitely not trust her with that. So that leaves 'truth__'__. Crap, it__'__s not like that is any better, knowing her it could only go one direction..__'_ Naruto sighed. "I'll pick the lesser of two evils: truth. I might as well get it over with right now."

"Aw, not enough courage to choose dare? And I had such a great idea for you," Ino pouted.

"I am sure you do, that's why I would never pick dare when you pick the challenge," Naruto deadpanned.

"Ok, then… Actually, truth might be even better, now you finally can't evade my questions," she grinned. He had evaded her questions for years at the academy, but now he would have to answer one of her questions. '_But which question should I ask.. I have so many__…'_ Still, no matter how many, nearly all of them revolved around one thing. Ino frowned, and looked at Naruto.

"Ok," she decided. "Tell me the truth: how did you defeat Gaara? And I don't mean the jutsu that you used. How on earth did you manage to overpower a jinchuriki?"

"Ino-san!" Hinata exclaimed. Shikamaru agreed with her; for once, Ino should be stopped, no matter how troublesome it would be. Even Akamaru barked his protests, while Kiba was still distracted by his failed 'dare'.

"Guys, stop it," Naruto sighed. "She has the right to ask this, and it's not like I am forbidden to answer. In fact, I thought I should tell this anyway." He noted the curious looks on the other's faces. "Before I answer, you all need to know that this is actually stuff that is labeled as a secret." He smirked and looked at Ino. "So no matter what you hear now, you can't gossip about it, or the Hokage will have your head."

"You're kidding, right?" Ino smiled, thinking he was joking, but the smile quickly turned into a frown. "Right?"

"No. I'm dead serious, Ino. The Hokage himself made a law to forbid anyone from telling it, and if you do you would face a death penalty. So no gossip, unless you want to die young." Naruto warned.

"What? But you are allowed to tell such stuff? How?" Tenten exclaimed.

"Because this is my secret," Naruto sighed. "Therefore the law the Hokage made does not apply to me. Now, do you still want to know how I managed to defeat Gaara?"

Ino nodded, sitting on the edge of her seat. '_Man, this almost seems to beat my plan of getting him to kiss Hinata! This must be huge!__'_

"Naruto… you don't need to…" Kiba started, but Naruto shook his head. "And he says I'm stubborn," Kiba grunted.

"My birthday is near," Naruto started after a few moments of silence, chuckling when Ino fell back and cried out in frustration. She wanted to know, and patience was definitely not her strongest point. "Wait, calm down Ino. I'm not joking around. You wanted to know, so I'll tell the whole thing. Just let me finish first, and don't interrupt me, ok?"

Everyone else nodded, and Shikamaru glared at Ino, who eventually gave in and agreed. Naruto leaned back. '_Is this really a smart thing to do? Probably not, but then again, they have seen enough and it is not likely that it will remain a secret for much longer… telling them myself would be the best option.__'_

"It's thirteen years ago, two weeks from now, the day that Konoha was attacked by the Kyuubi. It is also the day that I was born, and I am told that it was also the day my parents died. I do not know who my parents were, nor do I know how they died, but I presume the demon was responsible, just like how it took the lives of so many others that day," Naruto sighed. "Anyway, it was also the day that the Yondaime managed to defeat the demon."

Hinata frowned sadly a little when she saw Naruto pause for a second.

"But he did not kill the Kyuubi," Naruto stated.

"What? But they said-"

"Ino!" Shikamaru cut her off, strictly, and much louder than he usually was. It surprised the girl. Shikamaru was never this serious, not outside of missions at least. What was going on? What could distress him this much? '_Wait. Don'__t tell me__… if it didn__'__t die then__…'_ she spurred open her eyes.

"I know that we were told that the Yondaime killed the Kyuubi, but that is a lie. He couldn't do that, as the Kyuubi was beyond a mortal man's abilities to slay- so he could only seal it away. And even someone as powerful as the Yondaime had to sacrifice his own life to seal the demon away."

"No.." Ino paled. "You can't mean that… He couldn't have…"

"Yes, Ino. He sealed the Kyuubi into a new-born child that just happened to be close by. That baby was me. That is why I was able to defeat Sabaku no Gaara. I am a jinchuriki just like he is," Naruto said. "Well, not exactly like him, because he has the Ichibi sealed inside him, which is weaker than the Kyuubi, but still, it's the same principle. Unfortunately, having the Kyuubi sealed within me is also the reason why people hate me. They think that I am the demon, rather than the one who is imprisoning it."

"Why? How could they have.. Mom told me that you… but you didn't do a thing!" Ino exclaimed, as she felt the tears prick in her eyes. '_How could anyone do something like that to a baby?__'_

"I am a jinchurki, a human sacrifice, a tool for the village used to imprison the demon's power. People never bothered to treat me fairly. I am not a human to them. They see the monster I contain, not me, and blame me for all the suffering the demon caused. After all, they needed someone to take the responsibility for what happened thirteen years ago, and I was all that remained of the Kyuubi."

Choji gulped. "Naruto…"

"Listen, I'll understand it if you guys don't want to know me anymore, and I won't blame you either. I know that because of what I am you would rather-"

"Like hell they would!" Kiba snapped. "None of you better have the nerve to blame Naruto for what that demon did! I'll-" He glared angrily at the others.

"Kiba." Naruto barked, cutting the enraged Inuzuka off. "Stop it. You cannot force your opinion on them," he sighed wearily. "You know very well that this piece of information is sensitive to many people. Who knows, perhaps some of them lost family to the demon, just like your clan lost several members that day. Remember the trouble you had when you first learned of this?"

"You are wrong," Shikamaru interjected. "Sure, the Nara clan lost people too, that day. But they died because of the Kyuubi. Not because of you, Naruto. And I refuse to accept that the village was right by responding like that, they are just a bunch of stupid and troublesome idiots if they would treat you like that because of something you had no blame for…"

"Y-yeah," Ino agreed, very subdued. "But… But now I understand why my mother… Why she didn't want me to talk you… I'm sorry," she suddenly cried, realizing what Naruto had gone through. Tenten tried to comfort her a bit, but Ino ignored her. Ino knew she had never actively picked on him, but she did not help him either. She only bothered him because she wanted to satisfy her own curiosity. "I should never have listened to her. My uncle… I should not have… I'm so sorry, I should not have asked-"

Naruto smiled gently. "Relax. I understand why you did it. Seriously, you never insulted me, you never attacked me, or did anything bad against me at all. Though I will admit that you were a pain in the ass once you were curious about something, while I had to keep this stuff secret," he said, getting her to laugh between the sobs. "Shikamaru and Choji were always friendly to me, and because of that you also seemed to accept me to some degree. I never blamed you for how I was treated. Same goes for you and your team, Tenten."

"Me?" Tenten blinked.

"You, Lee, and Gai-sensei.. You always treated me like a normal human being, despite the way so many people hated me," he explained. Yet, his smile turned into a sad grimace. "But I knew what I was, and that is why I kept my distance from all of you. Because I thought you wouldn't understand. Because I was afraid you would not understand. That was why I never told any of you.. I just hope you guys don't feel as if I betrayed you because I didn't tell."

"Of course not… Naruto… this is… big," Tenten nearly whispered. "Huge. It's not like you could come up with something like this when… And it shouldn't even matter in the first place!" she suddenly snapped. "Like Shikamaru said: you are not the Kyuubi. Sure, you may be an absent-minded idiot at times, and you went too far in your fight with Neji, but you sure as hell are not a demon! I dare say you are better than most, considering how you never looked down on me, even though I am clanless."

"Yeah, she is right, you're a good guy, Naruto," Choji said.

"Thanks, you guys," Naruto nodded, and swallowed away the lump he felt in his throat. "Really…"

"There is one thing that I don't get though," Shikamaru said after a few seconds. "Your parents, how could you not know who they are? I thought such stuff was always recorded, I mean, with all the bloodline stuff that the elders focus on."

"Beats me," Naruto sighed. "Really, all I know is my name. I sought for other Uzumaki that lived in Konoha, but only found a reference to an Uzumaki Mito, who was the wife of the Shodai Hokage, Senju Hashirama. She died years ago though, long before I was even born. Perhaps my parents were just traveling, and had the bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don't know. As far as I know, I'm just an orphan."

"But why did you tell us now?" Choji asked.

Naruto smiled a bit when he heard Choji's subdued voice. But then again, the Akimichi had always been an extremely kind and gentle person. "After what I did in the fight against Gaara, I figured that I would only be a matter of time before the thing would become public knowledge. I mean, after the finals, the cat was out of the bag, so I figured I might as well tell you guys before anyone else told you."

"I suppose you want to tell Lee too?" Tenten asked.

"Yeah, I'll tell him myself when next time we spar," Naruto smiled. "But knowing him, it won't be a big issue. Especially because Gai-sensei never seemed to hate me like most adults do. It would probably result into some of that 'youthful' mumbo-jumbo of theirs.." Tenten nodded with a small smile.

"I'm sure Shino-kun already knows, he more or less hinted at it," Hinata told Naruto.

"Figures. That guy was always freakishly smart. I'll try to tell him when I next see him, despite how hard it is to start a conversation with him…"

"So… wait, is this the reason why you and Shino exchanged places?" Ino asked.

"Partly," Naruto admitted. "We had a mission that went bad, and I used some of the Kyuubi's chakra to remove the threat we faced."

"You can do that?" Ino blinked.

"It's how I beat Gaara, remember?" Naruto said dryly. "It kinda freaked out Sakura though."

"Ah… so that is what she meant," Choji said, remembering how scared she had seemed to be of Naruto. "Sakura I mean, she seemed rather terrified of you. So, I take it that she and Sasuke already knew about the Kyuubi?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Naruto said, coldly. "And I can't say that I care either. What happened back then was closed off after the mission. But it's safe to say that we won't be friends after that. I left their team, and to be frank, it certainly made my life a lot better. Despite Kiba stinking of dog," Naruto smirked.

"Hey!" Kiba exclaimed, aided by an annoyed Akamaru growling at Naruto.

"But don't you…" Ino started.

"You got enough 'truths' out of me today, didn't you?" Naruto teased. He was honestly relieved that they received it so well, but preferred to change the subject now. "So whose turn is it now?"

* * *

Much later that evening, or night, everyone went back home. The mood had eventually been restored a little, but it was safe to say that Ino, Choji, and Tenten were deeply shocked. Unlike Shikamaru, who had already guessed most of it, they had been completely surprised about the secret concerning Naruto's burden. Tenten had even said that she thought that it had only been some kind of freakish kekkei genkai.

A good side effect was that the challenges that had followed after Ino's had been rather subdued. And this was especially convenient for Hinata, since Tenten picked Hinata for a 'truth' in which Hinata managed to rather skillfully evaded telling the truth on how she felt about her teammates. And Tenten had been too distracted to see through it. Even Ino's gossip-senses failed her. Shikamaru, however, did see it, but was too lazy to call her bluff. He did make a mental note to never underestimate Hinata's shrewdness again, especially when it concerned an issue which involved Naruto. '_Why are all women scary? Even the quiet ones..'_ he had grumbled in himself at the time.

But now the party had ended, Naruto was left asking himself if they would act differently now, if he really had made the right choice telling them. He knew very well that words often did not translate into actions. But they had taken it better than he had expected, although Ino had become rather angry once she realized how her mother had tried to set her up against Naruto. The look in her eyes was a promise of war in the Yamanaka household. Even if her uncle died due to the Kyuubi's onslaught, it was no excuse to the young Yamanaka that her mother had swayed her to 'avoid' the jinchuriki. Sure, Inoichi had tempered his wife whenever he was around, saying that Naruto was not the menace some people claimed, but when he was not around, Ino had to listen to the rants that made no sense to her at all. Until now…

Choji, on the other hand, offered Naruto his last bag of his chips. Naruto did not know where the big boned boy managed to cram all those bags of chips away, but accepted the gesture, especially when he saw the looks of the others. '_Choji and his food… And some people say that I am nuts when it__'__s about ramen…__'_

The others split off in their separate directions, and Naruto walked on alongside a silent and rather sleepy Hyuga. Naruto looked up at the nightly skies, and sighed, feeling rather content. It was the first time he had been at a party like this, with only those of his own age. He had always avoided those of his own age group whenever he could, a remnant of his time at the orphanages when the other kids would beat him up. But, he felt relieved that they knew, and even more relieved because they seemed to accept him, at least to some degree.

He stared up at the moon. It was only a few days away from being full again.

Naruto wondered why the good feeling he had left him, and why he started to feel so agitated by the sight of the moon. For some reason, part of him had always felt uncomfortable seeing it, but recently that feeling had gotten much stronger, to the point that he avoided looking at it.

'_Odd… When did I start hating the moon?__'_

* * *

**A/N**: And the truth is out… And the plot can start moving. There are enough groups that have various interests, both inside Konoha and outside. I suppose it is safe to say that the internal struggle will be the focal point in this arc. How will Hyuga Hiashi deal with his brother? Who gave Hizashi his commands? What effects would it have when they realize there is another Uzumaki in town? Oh, and let's not forget the issue of Hiruzen's succession. And there's probably more I forgot to mention..

In the meantime Naruto has drawn a lot of attention, both in the good sense, and the bad. I dare say that the trust of the latter group is fragile… you know me well enough by now that things are not going to be easy!

As always thanks to **Illuminated**, his beta work ensures you get a properly written chapter! Also credits to **Scarease** for the basic idea behind Nana (her name means seven) and Yattsu (means eight). I know, I kinda mutilated your idea, but the idea of Oro's daughter inspired me to write them. Yattsu will appear more later on.

Thank you for all your reviews! As said I did not have much time to respond, so some responses after the Z.

-Z-

* * *

**Bonus: The fellowship of the Dangosnatchers**

*Alright men,* Chie started.

*And women,* Tora added darkly, not wanting to be ignored.

*…and woman,* Chie sighed. '_Seriously, when is this uptight little bitch going to shut up?__'_ she added in thought, glaring at the brown-furred feline with the ridiculous red ribbon on her right ear. '_Don__'__t know why Suto introduced this annoying little bitch.__'_

*What is your plan, Chie-sama,* Siro asked.

*Is it food? Catnip?* Sakana meowed in a hopeful tone. Chie couldn't help but chuckle. Sakana was so easy to understand, all the ginger-colored male cared about was his own stomach. Siro told her that is how his brother had gotten his name from their owners: Sakana had stolen fish from their kitchen. And ever since Chie saved the two brothers from strange meatball's chakra manipulation – Chie wondered why the meatball's abilities made her think of a certain puppet master – the two cats practically worshipped her.

Sakana for the food, and Siro for the fun of it all. The brown cat was oddly proud of his white-tipped tail, and as long as her plans did not involve dirt – Siro didn't allow a single speck of dust onto his precious tail – he was always ready for anything. At least, as long as a certain Yamanaka girl did not interfere… If there was one person who Siro worshipped more than Chie it was Yamanaka Ino. Sakana was much easier: he just worshipped the person who offered him the most food.

Small wonder the cat could often be found in the Akimichi compound…

Suto was also present, and he had been the one to introduce Tora, the notorious runaway-cat who always tried and failed to escape his owner, Madam Shijimi. Suto had even gone as far as to explain the basics of how they could become proper ninneko. At that point, Tora had practically betrothed herself to him. He was the best chance she had to escape from her master's smothering embrace.

*The plan does indeed concern food,* Chie chuckled evilly. *I promised you last time: we are going to raid a certain dango stand.*

*Dango? That human food on sticks?* Suto wondered. *Good, that stuff is tasty. Sasuke-san sometimes brings it home.*

*Yes, yes, it is tasty and all, but that is not my primary objective…*

*Chie-sama?* Siro frowned.

*There is a certain Crazy-snake-two-leg who picked a fight with me a while ago. She loves dango, and I think a little payback is in order. After all, that insane female two-leg nearly murdered me…*

*What did you do?* Suto asked, knowing very well that the feline had started this feud herself.

*Stole some of her dango,* Chie chuckled. *All right, this is what I propose…*

* * *

Chie and her four followers later stood on top of a nearby building. She smirked as she saw the sobbing man.

"My dango! How could they! Criminals! Scum! I suffered so long because my cabbages were always destroyed, and when I started a new business.." the poor man cried. "Is there no place safe from these food vandals?!"

The cats had cooperated surprisingly well, and before the man had entered his stand, they had already been gone. Leaving not a single trace, apart from the little piece of 'evidence' Chie had dropped…

"AND WHY DOES THIS CABINET REEK SO MUCH?"

The other cats looked at Suto, who suddenly whistled and acted as if he was as innocent as a recently born kitten. *Whaaaaaaaaaaat?*

* * *

D-rank missions. They were the blight on shinobi existence. But she was glad because she knew she had nearly served her sentence. The Third had been lenient enough to change her punishment from a three-month period where she had to work in order to repay for all the damage she caused by chasing a dango-stealing cat, to merely a fixed number of missions. With the destruction from the invasion, there was a mass of D-rank missions: clearing rubble, repairing buildings, etcetera, etcetera. Although it was boring physical labor, Mitarashi Anko saw it as training- training to satisfy the rage she felt. The rage because she had missed the one opportunity to confront her old sensei.

Her face still in a grimace, she did not notice the desperate cries as she approached the old man who owned the dango stand she visited each morning. It was her one and only joy these days. When she stepped inside, she noticed the tearful man. "What-"

Someone had dared to attack the only safe haven she had.

Now, Anko considered herself to be a considerate and patient woman, but there were limits. Nobody threatened her dango. Jumping in, she quickly started to examine the crime scene. But the man had yet to clean his stand, having closed it late the evening before, so there were hardly any clues to be found. Though, her sense of smell was practically ruined after spending most of the night fixing the damage that was done to a part of the sewer system. So, she didn't smell anything odd about a suspicious cabinet filled with rubbish. She couldn't even summon a snake to help her, because they would kill her if she summoned them smelling like this..So she could not find a single clue, until she suddenly saw a single shred of blue fabric.

Her violent cursing drew even the desperate owner's attention away from his own sobbing and his cabbage-traumas.

Blue fabric would normally not ring any bells with the (in reality not so patient) snake mistress, but after the hell that was called back-to-back D-ranks… The old Hokage had not failed to assign her to babysit several times. Most the time it meant that he dropped the responsibility of looking after that insidious little brat of a grandson upon her. "Honored grandson.. You just pulled one prank too many on me," Anko whispered murderously, releasing a killing intent that instantly knocked out the poor stand owner. "I'm going to feed you to my snakes, piece by piece, no matter who you are related to, you accursed little devil!" she snapped. "ARGH, I hate kids!"

* * *

Looking down at the enraged tokubetsu jonin who now charged off in the direction of the Sarutobi compound while shouting the worst kinds of threats, Chie chuckled and turned towards her companions. *I love it when a plan comes together* she smirked. '_That should keep Scarfy-two-leg off my tail for a while, now I just need to figure out how to ground the Chibi-white-eye-two-leg__…'_

* * *

"So she created her own little army now?" Naruto felt a few drops of sweat run down his face as he watched the scene. "This is getting out of hand… way out of hand. Poor Konohamaru…"

* * *

_Don__'__t forget to vote on the poll on the top of my profile page!_

_I__'__ll keep it open until the 28__th__ of February._

_And now… review time!_

-Z-


	41. Idealist

**Chunin arc**

**Idealist**

* * *

Inochi woke up after the front door slammed open, right in the middle of the night. "What the hell," he mumbled sleepily. He wanted to turn around and continue sleeping, but his wife already moved out of the bed. "It's just Ino," he grumbled. "Sleep."

"I will go downstairs and greet our daughter," Yamanaka Yuriko huffed, looking at her lazy husband while she quickly fixed her brown hair. "At least one of us should welcome her home."

"Fine, fine, I'll get up as well," Inoichi grunted, knowing that if he didn't he would have to pay for it the next day.

When the two entered the kitchen, they saw why Ino had opened the door as a loudly as she did. Their daughter was angry- no, not just in a regular fury, but outright enraged. "Sweetie? What's wrong?" Yuriko tried to calm her daughter. Though Ino was bitchy every now and then, she was rarely truly angered. But whatever happened, Yuriko pitied the fool that had woken this sleeping dragon.

"You should know!" Ino snapped back.

"Don't talk to your mother like that, young lady," Inoichi warned her.

"Why not?" Ino growled. "She lied to me! For years! Why, mom, why did you have to fill my head with your pathetic lies?!"

Taken aback by her outburst, Inoichi looked at his wife, wondering what was going on here. But seeing the surprise in her light brown eyes, and disapproval of her daughter's behavior in the twitching at the corner of her mouth, Inoichi realized that she didn't know either. "Explain yourself," he sighed. '_Might as well get it over with. No idea what got Yuriko said to get Ino pissed like this, but knowing Ino__'__s stubbornness__, we have to stop this before it gets out of control.__'_

"I have to explain myself?" Ino screeched. "I heard the truth tonight! For years, you told me to stay away from him," she pointed at her mother's chest. "You were the one with all the stories of how he couldn't be trusted, of how he was a criminal, a liar, a piece of filth unworthy of being near!"

Inoichi looked from his wife to his daughter and suddenly realized it; she had just returned from a party at the Nara estate, with all her former classmates. Naruto must have been there as well, and knowing his daughter, she would have certainly had her questions at the ready after the stunt the boy pulled during the final round of the Chunin Exams.

"Why did you want me to hate Naruto?" Ino asked, her voice getting dangerously low.

The fair-skinned woman huffed indignantly. "Because that _thing_ is something you needed to stay away from."

"Why? Because the Yondaime Hokage sealed the Kyuubi within him?" Ino shocked her parents, making it clear to them that she now knew it all.

"Who told you that," Inoichi demanded. "That is not something of which-"

"Naruto told us," Ino growled. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that I apparently cannot trust you two, or at least not you, kaasan. I am appalled to find that you would try set me up against my classmate. How could you use me like that? Naruto is innocent, why would you portray him as some kind of monster?"

"Innocent?" Yuriko laughed mockingly. "You call that thing innocent?"

Inoichi saw the veins bulge at his daughter's forehead and realized his wife had made a critical mistake. "SHUT UP!" Ino lashed out verbally. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HIM? You are too blinded by your own damn hatred to see Naruto for who he is. Do you think _he_ is the Kyuubi? He IMPRISONS the demon! He suffers more from it than anyone else!"

"What do I know? I saw that demon kill my brother." Yuriko snapped. Inoichi sighed, knowing that this would be a long, long night. "That thing may have been sealed in a baby, but from that moment on, that thing hasn't been human! How could a human withstand such a powerful creature? You keep away from that thing, you hear me? It is for your own safety, for who knows when that demon will decide to destroy us all?"

"How stupid of me, I thought I could trust my own mother," Ino responded icily.

Inoichi flinched. This was new, and definitely not good. His daughter got bitchy, yes, and at times she snapped like she did tonight, but this frozen anger was something even worse.

"Sweetie…" he tried to calm his daughter, but he already knew it was futile.

"Stop it, dad. I know, you told me Naruto might be dangerous, but you at least told me to make my own decision regarding him," she said with the same ice-cold tone. "_She_, however, found it necessary to _use _me for her own goals. You said the Yamanaka clan values honesty above everything else, yet she kept lying and lying."

"They were not lies!" Yuriko defended herself, noticing her husband's look. "You know as well as I do, the stories that are circulating through-"

"Wow, 'stories", really…" Ino scoffed, maintaining the same cold and emotionless tone. "Tell me, _Yuriko-san_, did you ever bother to check if those stories were true? Or did you just make them up yourself, considering how you were always so glad to spread those rumors. You just needed someone to blame for oji-san's death. You really are pathetic. Goodbye."

Ino stomped away, slamming the kitchen door shut when she left. Inoichi saw his wife gape, and stare at the spot where her daughter had just been. '_Ino-chan __has always had this protective habit, just like how she picked up Sakura-chan and pulled her out of her isolation. So learning how she was manipulated into aiding in the isolation of a classmate who was treated far worse than any other__… __she must feel guilty. No, not just guilty,_' he realized. '_If there is anything she hates it would be to be used as a pawn in the schemes of another. And this was her very own mother… We must fix this, or she will hold a serious grudge against Yuriko-chan. Ino-chan is too stubborn for us to hope that this just blows__ over.__'_

"Not okaasan or kaachan, but _Yuriko-san_…" his wife muttered, and he saw how hurt she was that her own daughter refused to refer to her as her 'mom' like she always did. "That vile creature now tries to turn my own daughter against me?" she whispered.

"Erm… Honey, you know that that is not true, right?" Inoichi began to worry when he saw the look in his wife's eyes. "You need to calm down. We will talk to her tomorrow when we are all a bit more reasonable, ok?"

"No," Yuriko hissed, before she too stomped out of the kitchen and followed her daughter upstairs. "She will listen to reason, even if I have to force her to do it."

Inoichi paled when he realized where his wife was going. "What was the saying again? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.. Sweet Kami, and I have two of these stubborn women in one house," Inoichi whimpered, before he hurried upstairs. He still remembered seeing Yuriko's outbursts of fury, from the times before they had even started dating. He had been lucky enough to never be at the receiving end of it, but this… this was really getting out of control- way out of control. '_And it is your own fault, Yuriko-chan… I told you to stop spreading those lies, but you never listen…__'_

* * *

The following morning, at 10 o'clock sharp, Naruto knocked that the door of the office that Temuri Mei had temporarily occupied during her stay in Konoha. Due to the invasion and its fallout, her stay in Konoha had been longer than originally planned, but with the messenger birds Konoha provided, she could at least do some of her work while waiting to depart. Still, she was glad that she could leave soon, and take firm control over her own village again. After all, the civil war was still fresh in anyone's memory, so their nation was not as stable as she would have liked. However, her stay in Konoha had definitely given her an idea or two on how to redecorate her own office. Konoha was certainly a more comfortable place then Kirigakure, but that was understandable as Konoha had not just emerged from a civil war.

"Enter," she ordered, after one of the guards announced Naruto.

"Good morning, Miss Mizukage," Naruto bowed.

"Good morning, Uzumaki-san," Mei nodded, as she gestured him to take a seat. "Haku told me you wanted to meet me?"

"Yes," Naruto admitted, while slightly hesitating. "I eh.. heard quite a lot- about how you fought against the invader, I mean," he added. "I heard you possess two kekkei genkai. I was wondering… I have only ever heard of people possessing one bloodline limit, as it is already rare for people to be born with two affinities towards the nature transformation of chakra."

"And your point is?" Mei frowned.

"Well, I was wondering, as you have two, is it possible that one can learn a kekkei genkai, rather than being born with it?" Naruto asked, even though he did not really expect her to spill her secrets. But if he didn't ask he would never know, right?

"Ah.. I see," Mei sighed. "So that is it. I saw you use two elements, so I presume you have two affinities, but no kekkei genkai?" Mei deduced. He was far too young to have trained for a second affinity, so she believed that he must have had both futon and katon affinities from birth.

"In a way," Naruto shrugged. "I seem to have affinities towards futon and katon, while my mastery of raiton still lags behind. That one still requires a ton of training."

Mei widened her eyes as she heard him, almost casually but for the slight hint of annoyance in his voice, talk about learning a third element. '_Could he actually be disappointed about not mastering a third element... at his age?_'

"So, yeah, I imagined that I could ask you if it were possible to learn a kekkei genkai, if someone has the affinity for two elements," Naruto continued. "I mean, I have never heard of anyone pulling something like that off here in Konoha, so I thought it might be worth asking," he smiled.

"I see. Well, to be frank, I was born with affinities to both suiton and katon," Mei explained. "So, the futton, or 'boil release' was natural for me, ever since I was a child. It was something that ran in the family. But to my family, I was a bit of an anomaly due to training to gain an affinity towards the earth element. It required a long period of extensive training before I eventually figured out how to do the yoton jutsus, or lava release."

"So they can be learned?" Naruto smiled.

"Yes, although I must warn you that it is an extremely difficult process. And frankly, I was only able to master the lava release because I possessed a large quantity of data on it from other Yoton users. So all I managed to do was to balance out the two chakra's, based on how others did it, and eventually stabilize it enough so that I could use it in combat. It actually took years before my yoton was a strong as it should be."

Naruto rubbed his chin when he thought about the implications of this. '_So I have to find information on how to use both wind and fire chakra at the same time.. But where?_'

"Frankly, I have never even heard of someone wielding a nature kekkei genkai based on fire and wind," Mei admitted. "I'm sorry."

"Ah… I see," Naruto couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed that this turned out to be so difficult.

"But I suppose you would have most chance if you asked someone from Sunagakure," Mei frowned, thinking about the possibilities. "Their village has by far the most futon users, and an occasional katon user as well, so I suppose you would have the best odds at finding someone there who had been trying to combine futon and katon."

"Ok!" Naruto smiled. "Thank you very much, Miss Mizukage," he stood up from his chair and bowed.

"Hold it," she smiled, as he stepped away from the chair. "I thought I asked Haku to seek you out because _I_ wanted to meet _you_," Mei chuckled.

Naruto sat down, and scratched the back of his head, smiling away his embarrassment. "My apologies, Miss Mizukage. I forgot," he admitted.

"There is no need for formalities, please, just call me Mei, Naruto-kun. I called you here for a completely different reason," Mei started, and she continued by explaining how the Hokage and Jiriaya had given her the scroll on the Uzumaki history that Naruto had found in Gato's treasury, back when he was on his mission in the land of Waves. She told him that while the Intelligence division of Konoha did not know how to crack the code, they had discerned that it was written for (or even by) the previous Mizukage, named Yagura. As such, and in the light of their new defensive alliance, Hiruzen hoped that her village could break the code and figure out what was written in the scroll.

Translating this scroll was especially important because the truth about the fall of Uzushiogakure was shrouded – perhaps even literally – in mist. Still, the Mizukage argued that this scroll, by rights, should be the property of the last-known survivor of the Uzumaki clan. "As such, I ask your permission to take the scroll with me, when I leave for Kirigakure tomorrow," Mei explained. "Right now, I do not have the means to decipher the scroll. Still, there is a chance that there is expertise in my village that could be tapped to translate it."

"Well, it might be about the history of my clan," Naruto frowned. "But if our Intelligence division can't do a thing with that scroll, I don't see what use it would be to keep the thing here. I know relations between Konoha and Kiri haven't really been perfect up till now, but I guess there is no risk to me in trusting you with that scroll," Naruto admitted. "Right now, the scroll is useless, so I have nothing to lose, while it is also a good way to show the trust between our villages. So, while there is little to lose, there is a lot both of our villages could gain from it."

"Besides... if Hokage-sama and Jiraiya decided to trust you, who would I be to distrust you?" Naruto smirked. He did not, however, want to add that he actually thought he could trust this woman. She didn't feel particularly evil, at least. It would not mean a lot, as there would be a lot more people involved in this matter, but at least the intentions of this woman were good. She was the leader of her village, so it would be worth the gamble.

"Thank you," Mei nodded. "I appreciate this, especially because this might give us a chance to figure out the truth about the Yondaime Mizukage. There are suspicions that someone manipulated him; perhaps with this scroll, we might find out if that really is true, and if so, who was behind it."

"Ehm… No problem," Naruto frowned, feeling flooded with new information right now.

Mei chuckled. "It's almost a shame you aren't a couple of years older," she smiled.

"Why?" Naruto said, somewhat offended. "I'm not that weak, despite my age."

"I didn't mean your ability, but... ah, never mind. Forget I said anything," Mei sighed, considering that it was not an appropriate subject for a twelve-year-old anyway. Still, talking to him nearly made her forget Naruto was that young. She could only guess how his hardships had pushed him to grow up faster than other children. There were enough traumatized children in Kirigakure, but none seemed to be so 'different' as this boy. "I'll make sure that you are informed, if we get some information from your scroll," she promised, seeing her smile returned when the boy bowed.

* * *

"She's talking with the kid right now, and she's only supposed to be here at eleven," Jiraiya answered his former sensei's question.

"Alright. Well, after the treaty is signed, I can finally step down," Hiruzen said with an exhausted voice.

"Headache?"

"Quite… It was a rather… eventful night, so to say," Hiruzen sighed. "Apparently it took six of my anbu to stop a dispute between the wife and daughter of the Yamanaka clan leader."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Inoichi was knocked out, presumably by his own wife, so I don't really know what happened."

"Wait, is that why Tsunade-hime was called away from the bar last night? That wounded anbu?"

Wearily, Hiruzen nodded. "Women.-."

Jiraiya shuddered a little. "Yeah, the most beautiful to behold, yet also the most dangerous.-."

Reminiscing Biwako, Hiruzen could do little but agree. He loved his late wife with all his heart, but it didn't mean that he ever forgot the outbursts he had to suffer every now and then. '_And she was a very patient and reasonable woman…__ Poor Inoichi.__'_

"But, are you still planning on spilling the truth?" Jiraiya frowned, changing the subject. "I still believe it is too early, sensei."

"I know it is early, but it is not too early; it has to be done now. You know well enough that I don't have long to go, Jiraiya, and it is my duty. If he hears it from me, he can hate me all he wants; I don't want to burden my successor with that," Hiruzen said sadly. '_And Kami knows I deserve it, I was the one who make the mistakes, after all.__'_

"And you are talking about succession again," Jiraiya mumbled. He was a little afraid of that subject and he really did not like talking about it. Especially after Hiruzen had shared his wishes with him. "Have you decided who you are going to nominate?"

"I think you already know..." Hiruzen chuckled weakly. "Tsunade refused, and is not in a state of mind to take over either, while Kakashi also made his intentions quite clear enough. Besides, he will be busy with Sasuke."

"Yeah, Kakashi will have his hands full with that brat. That kid really showed he has a lot to learn, well both of them, actually. Sasuke's overall performance was something that Kakashi should have dealt with, rather than giving him something as dangerous as the chidori… His defects can't be solved by some stupid jutsu," Jiraiya said absently. "Wait... if it is not those two… You're not telling me that you still want…"

"Someone has to do it, Jiraiya," Hiruzen showed some of his resolve, despite his weakening condition. "I have only a few more weeks to live at most. I wish to see to it that I leave Konoha in good hands before I go- and you are the only one suitable for the position."

"I told you I don't want the hat, I refuse," Jiraiya waved his arms around in frustration. "I told you that already, I'm the least suitable person for that job."

"Do you want Danzo to succeed me?"

"Well…"

"You know what will happen to Konoha if he succeeds me. Especially to Naruto, the consequences would be disastrous."

Jiraiya grimaced. "We'll talk about this later. After the Mizukage leaves, I have to escort Yugito and her team to the border- then we will see. In the meantime, I urge you to find someone else. I don't need to remind you that I already have plans for the upcoming years, do I?"

"Did you know Itachi had been in Konoha, yesterday?"

"What?!" Jiraiya didn't hold back on showing his distress. "How? Where?"

"The remains of the fallen Akatsuki member have been destroyed, and it seems that his ring was also stolen. It was most likely Itachi's work," Hiruzen frowned. "After that, one of the anbu, Yamato, spotted him."

"WHAT? Yamato?!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "I appointed that one to guard Naruto!"

"Yes. I know that," Hiruzen gestured to Jiraiya to calm down. "Yamato reported to us that he had learned that 'they' would start moving soon. And Itachi showed us how easily he could have taken Naruto."

"And we have no clue when they'll start moving. One year, two years, who knows... dammit! So this invasion was really their work. I suppose we should count ourselves lucky that their first move failed."

"Not really, other reports said that one of Iwagakure's jinchuriki has vanished, only recently," Hiruzen revealed. "I think it was their handiwork. But it shows that Konoha has to gather all its strength." Circling back to his earlier plan, Hiruzen continued, " Also, it is my reason to tell Naruto. They might be already aware, and use that knowledge against him."

"Dammit. I knew Iwa's jinchuriki disappeared, but that it was Akatsuki…" Jiraiya grimaced. "Based on our previous intel, we would have at least three or four years before they would start to move in earnest."

"Yes. Now, before the Mizukage arrives, I will need to tell you more about Uchiha Itachi," Hiruzen started.

* * *

With Yamato's relief anbu trailing him, Naruto went to the mansion which would temporarily host Gaara and his siblings. Naruto would in effect be living there too, as he was their guard, he realized. However, he didn't mind the prospect of leaving the Hyuga compound for a while. The atmosphere there was quite uncharacteristically disheveled, with the brother and nephew of their clan leader in confinement, which only caused tensions between the main and branch houses to increase even more.

No, Naruto did not mind living in another place, especially when his team would be joining him there. In their temporary residence on the edges of the Uchiha district, none could easily approach him or Hinata. The mansion itself had been abandoned since the Uchiha massacre, and was rather dusty, but with his clones, as well as with the efforts of Hyuga Ako, Naruto had managed to clean the building soon enough. Ako had been a bit disturbed when they entered one of the rooms on the second floor, where markings remained from where the bodies of the previous owners were found, along with some dark stains on the wooden floor. But aside from that room, they had made the house livable soon enough. It had enough rooms to house Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, as well as the sand siblings, and Ako had also claimed a room, stating that she had gotten Hitomi's permission to look after both Naruto and Hinata.

While Naruto was talking to the Mizukage, Kurenai and the rest of team 8 had brought Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro to their new residence. At the same time, Naruto's clones were transporting all his stuff to the mansion. After all, Jiraiya had given him a lot of new study material, so Naruto would have a lot of studying to do before he could undo his unintentional mistake on Gaara's seal. Luckily, there was still enough time.

The new seal that Naruto had placed around Gaara's seal confining the Ichibi worked a little too well. In other words, the seal allowed the creature's chakra no way out, removing its influence on Gaara, but also allowed a massive build up of Ichibi chakra that would result in the seal eventually being overwhelmed, and eventually breaking. However, as the creature would also have a lot more trouble generating chakra, the process would take at least several months- at least according to Jiraiya's estimations. Naruto would have to alter the seal within that time, before the demon would regain enough chakra for it to start getting dangerous.

After all, with no way out, the concentration of chakra within the seal would eventually explode under the pressure, and this would likely be rather unhealthy for Gaara.

The plan was to create a valve, using a method by which Gaara could regulate the release of the Ichibi's chakra himself. This so-called 'key hole,' through which the pressure could be released in a controlled way with a key, would allow Gaara to control the Ichibi rather than the other way around. It would allow Gaara to choose both when and how much of the Ichibi's chakra would be released. After all, he was a jinchuriki, whether he wanted to be or not. Completely sealing it all away would only cripple his abilities. The way Gaara's chakra was scrambled right now was only proof of how much he had used to rely on it, Naruto concluded.

Right now, Sabaku no Gaara was vulnerable- it was a fact that they kept hidden, knowing that there would be many in Konoha who would like to exploit that weakness. It was especially important when Temari and Kankuro were ordered by Baki to not do a single thing that might endanger Sunagakure's political position even further. It was the reason why Jiraiya had put Naruto on the task of protecting his fellow jinchuriki, supported by Hinata and Kiba, and occasionally Kurenai when she was not out due to missions.

Even while unaware of Gaara's temporary weakness, it was likely that some people within Konoha would aim their hatred and anger towards the three children of the former Kazekage. After all, many lives had been lost in the invasion, many would turn their hatred and sorrow on the three genin from Sunagakure. Much as people hated Naruto for what had happened on the day Naruto was born, because he carried the Kyuubi. And they would view Gaara in a similar way. At least, this was what Naruto expected.

'_W__ho knows what will happen when Jii-san steps__ down__,'_ Naruto speculated. _'After all, with his condition, it will only be a matter of time until he is naming his successor..' _And there would be a period of chaos if that happened, unless the successor was someone as exceptional as the Yondaime, or so Jiraiya had told Naruto.

Despite the troubles, Naruto was happy when he walked back from the Mizukage's office towards the Uchiha district.

* * *

Some distance away, a certain young girl was less happy. "More tests?" Karin whined. "Shizune-neesan, is that really necessary?"

"It is, Karin-chan," the raven-haired young woman said decisively, urging her to calm down.

"But you said that I got my clearance yesterday," Karin pouted nonetheless.

"I did, but Tsunade-sama wanted to run a few more tests, after some of the tests in the last examination showed some unexpected results."

"It's nothing bad, is it?"

"Of course it is not bad," Tsunade mumbled nearby. She was busy preparing some kind of machine that she used for analysis. Karin thought the thing looked rather scary, though. "I just wanted to see something confirmed that's all."

"What?"

"…your DNA."

Karin frowned, wanting to know more, but she knew that the legendary Senju wouldn't tell her – or else she would have done so by now. So, there was no other option than to wait while the two medics conducted their research. It was not anything stressful, just providing some blood samples while the machine was analyzing her chakra. "So?" she asked eventually.

"Seems like you were right, Tsunade-sama," Shizune smiled, watching over her master's shoulder while the machine showed them the results.

"Indeed I was, imagine the odds of this happening..."

"Is anyone going to tell me anything?" Karin whined.

"What do you know about your past, Karin?" Tsunade turned towards her.

Karin sighed. "I told you that last week. I was told my family died when my village was destroyed, and I was raised in an orphanage. The orphanage sold me to Kusa when one of their jonin visited the orphanage and noticed my ability for sensing."

"So you did not know your family name?"

"No, just Karin, that's what they knew at the orphanage," Karin frowned. "What is this about?"

"Well, it seems we know your family name now," Tsunade smiled widely. "And you have some living relatives after all."

"WHAT?" Karin's eyes nearly bulged out, drawing some laughter form Shizune, and a cheerful oink from Tonton, while Tsunade snorted in a rather unladylike fashion.

"Although I will kill you if you ever call me grandma or granny, you hear me," she said, pointing at Karin's chest. "It's bad enough that the brat does that already.."

"Baa-san? Wait, what?"

"Don't tease the poor girl like that, Tsunade-sama," Shizune chided her master. "The data has one clear result, Karin. There are two people who are-"

"-One and a half," Tsunade grumbled while rummaging through a nearby cabinet. "Where did you hide my sake this time, Shizune? We need to celebrate this properly!"

"Tsunade-sama… Karin is still underage, she isn't allowed to drink," Shizune sighed.

"She's a genin now, right?" Tsunade smirked. "Wasn't it a rule that when you're old enough to kill, you're old enough to drink?"

'_And people wonder why there are so many alcoholics in the hidden villages,_' Shizune thought. "Anyway, as I was saying, Karin, your full name is…"

* * *

"So, what are you doing here, Ino-pig?" Sakura grumbled, still standing in the opening of the front door. She was in a rather bad mood, not having slept very well, since being woken up early when her father came home in a rather intoxicated state, bad enough to fall from the stairs and wake the pinkette.

"I just told you: you need some help getting things sorted out, so I'll stick with you for the time being," Ino replied.

Sakura looked at her best friend and greatest rival with some suspicion. "Then why do you look like you have gone through hell?"

"I… I had a little difference of opinion with my mom," Ino admitted, but the tone with which she said it surprised Sakura.

"How come? Yuriko-san is always so friendly."

"She lied to me," Ino grunted.

"What did she tell you?" Sakura frowned.

"I just don't want to see her for now, okay? A mother should not deceive her own daughter like that," she growled. "I am not some damn tool for her to use for her own goals!"

"Okay, okay," Sakura hushed her, putting up her hands in surrender. "Well, our guest room is always free for you, you know that. Now, why don't you go upstairs and sleep for a few hours. My dad is still unconscious, so it should be at least another few hours before he wakes up and notices how sick he feels. You'd think he'd learn from puking himself inside-out every day, but no.. But you go sleep, you look like you need it, at least."

Ino decided to let the playful insult pass, and to follow her friend's advice. "Thanks, Sakura. And sorry for my temper…" the weary blonde sighed.

"It's fine," Sakura assured her. "You know I'm used to your bad temper," she joked.

"And I to yours."

* * *

Akamaru whined, standing in front of Kiba. "Yeah boy, I know this is boring," Kiba sighed. The most eventful thing they did, 'they' being Kurenai, Hinata, Akamaru, and Kiba himself, was to escort Gaara and his siblings from the prison to the mansion within the Uchiha district.

Kiba would rather think that it was annoying than to call it eventful, though. It was annoying because of all the stares that went in Gaara's direction. The jinchuriki ignored them, as if used to such behavior, but Kiba felt a little unnerved by the animosity. Part of him wished that rather than giving hateful looks, one of the villagers would be stupid enough to attack- but the presence of Kurenai was enough to keep the people back. Although his sensei was relatively young and new as a jonin, her reputation was well known throughout the village. After all, she was the foremost genjutsu specialist of Konoha.

But after they entered the estate, Kiba had gotten bored quickly. Gaara was completely impassive, and the only response he gave to one of Kiba's questions was that he was awaiting the arrival of Naruto. Why? Kiba had no idea. Naruto had told him that Gaara could be trusted, but Kiba still felt doubt. The other two of the sand siblings were not much better. Hinata had taken Temari upstairs, showing her fellow kunoichi around, while Kankuro was nearly hysterical because of all the overdue maintenance on his puppets. Kurenai had, after all, given them their weapons back, as neither the Hokage nor Jiraiya had believed that the two would form much of a threat. Gaara had just looked annoyed when his elder brother had cried tears of joy when he was reunited with his 'babies'.

Some muscles in Kiba's face still twitched when he thought about that scene. Even the corners of Gaara's mouth had moved a little, which Kiba assumed was Gaara's version of grimacing.

"Ugh, I'd almost wish that Naruto hadn't sent an army of clones to clean this place up," Kiba grunted.

"It seems as if Uzumaki-san is a bit too thorough, yes," Gaara replied.

"You talk!"

"…"

"Well, you did for a moment," Kiba smirked. "It's too late to deny it now! Come on, I know you can do it, just open your mouth and-"

* * *

"You okay, Shika?" a somewhat startled Choji wondered.

"Yeah, yeah," the Nara replied, rubbing his nose after sneezing rather loudly. '_That was a strong disturbance in the force, someone must done or said something that was deemed extremely troublesome… Good thing that I wasn__'__t around.__'_

* * *

"Sorry for being late, sensei," Naruto startled his jonin sensei by speaking up. "Still tired, Kurenai-sensei?"

After blinking a few times, the woman followed up with a particularly large yawn. "Not much sleep," she mumbled. Yes, apart from the excess of missions that the shinobi had to deal with (or rather, the difficulty of trying to execute the same number of missions as before the invasion, despite a shortage of shinobi), Kurenai had enjoyed her evening and night a bit too much. The times where she and Asuma both had some time off at the same moment had become a bit rare.

"Well, it looks like you'd better go home and get some sleep then," Naruto suggested, a bit worried by the exhausted look on her face, thinking that she had gotten ill or something. He had noticed that she walked a little uncomfortably as well. The stamina of jonin had its up and downsides, apparently.

"I suppose I might. But this is the first mission you get to lead as a chunin, Naruto," Kurenai smiled. "I'll be around as much as I can, but I have to take missions of my own while you three guard the trio from Sunagakure. I'm sure you'll make me proud."

"Yeah, I'll try my best," Naruto smiled. "We'll manage. I can't really imagine that anyone would be stupid enough to attack Gaara anyway- I mean, after the show we put up during the exams. But we might be lucky…"

"You behave, you hear me?" Kurenai warned him. "Though, I made sure to order Hinata to keep you and Kiba from doing something too reckless."

"Hey, I'm not as reckless as-"

"The hellfire seal? Nearly releasing the Kyuubi? Really, Naruto, you of all people, want to convince me that you are not reckless?" Kurenai looked at him sternly. "By the looks of it Jiraiya-sama agreed with me," she resumed.

"Yeah- got another anbu guy trailing me, although he refused to say why Yamato isn't around. I suppose he's on a mission. Too bad, I liked Yamato better."

Kurenai shrugged, not knowing the answer to the man's absence either, and said goodbye to her team and the sand siblings, a gesture which was only returned by Temari. Gaara seemed to be sleeping with his eyes open and Kankuro was still polishing his puppets, she noted.

Naruto frowned a little upon seeing the puppeteer, but chose to remain silent. "So… What's the plan? Ako took the last of my clones along with her to get some supplies."

"Ako?" Temari frowned.

"Yeah, Hyuuga Ako. She took care of Haruki and me. I live in the Hyuuga compound, after all."

"Mother asked her to stay with us," Hinata said. "Ko-san is currently out of the village due to missions though."

"Pff, as if he would be able to guard you any better than we can," Kiba boasted.

"Well, with two jinchuriki at one spot, something is bound to happen," Naruto sighed. "I'm going to inspect the seals my clones placed earlier."

"Seals?" Temari frowned, looking at Hinata, who seemed the most talkative to her. "Is he a bit paranoid or something?"

"He is a jinchuriki," Kiba sighed, answering before Hinata could.

"Yes, Kiba-kun is right… Naruto has always been a bit security conscious."

"So, I see Konoha is no better than Sunagakure," Gaara remarked acidly, standing up and going outside to see Naruto.

* * *

"Hmm.. I was right, this clone ran dry before he could finish the inscription of the left corner.. I'd better just rewrite this thing, or it'll be the weakest link of the eight…" Naruto muttered. "Got to find a way to give those clones a bit more resistance though, or I'll keep risking a mess-up on a barrier…"

"Expecting trouble?" Gaara's dry voice sounded up.

"Perhaps," Naruto mumbled absently. He removed the seal and drew a new one in its place. Gaara remained silent and looked on in interest. "After what we did during the finals, I have little doubt that a lot more people would rather see us die. I would rather avoid more incidents. It would only increase tensions."

"I suppose your village hates you as much as the people of Suna hated me?" Gaara asked, rather interested in the history of his fellow jinchuriki.

Naruto sighed. He activated the barrier, so that no one would be able to enter the grounds around the mansion without him knowing. "I guess; I don't know how Suna is, but I can assure you that Konoha would be glad if I were gone," he said sadly. "I'm a weapon to some, and to a select few I am Uzumaki Naruto, but to most I am just the demon that they need to hate and fear."

"…"

"Suna was just like that, I take it?"

"They were mostly scared. Terrified due to what I did, of what I could become."

"Makes sense, the Ichibi had quite some influence over you…"

"Not just that," Gaara admitted. "I was angry. I hated the world around me, wanted it to feel the same pain as I felt. What I did… It wasn't only because of Shukaku… it was also my own anger."

Naruto looked at his fellow jinchuriki and saw the hesitation underneath the boy's stoic façade. He pointed at a rather run-down part of the garden. It wasn't much, but at least they could take a seat and have some privacy. Naruto signaled the anbu to keep his distance, before he began talking again. "I suppose I can understand your position, but I bet Suna treated you differently considering you were the Kazekage's son?"

"Perhaps… I was his weapon- that was how I was born."

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto frowned. "Aren't bijuu sealed within children? I heard something like that once, because otherwise the chakra coils would never develop enough to sustain a bijuu's chakra."

"I am… different. After a previous failure, my father and his researchers thought it best to try a new approach," Gaara said in an emotionless tone. "When my mother became pregnant with me, my father had them test my DNA… I was compatible, considering that I had the potential to inherit my father's jiton, his magnet release. After they figured that out, they sealed Shukaku within me."

Naruto spurred his eyes open. "Wait, before you were even-"

"Before I was born, yes," Gaara continued. "It led to some… complications. I was born prematurely, and my mother did not survive the process- not that father ever seemed very bothered about it…"

"And they call us monsters, the damn hypocrites," Naruto growled. "How could a father do such a thing to his kid? How could a husband kill his own wife? The Kyuubi was right when he said humans can be worse than any demon."

"…then, may I ask something?"

"Sure, Gaara, ask whatever you want to. I mean, you're pretty much the closest thing to family that I have."

Gaara blinked, and looked at Naruto. "Family?"

"Yeah," Naruto sighed. "It's just… there are so few of us. We are jinchuriki. We are neither really human, nor are we the bijuu we hold within us. The way I see it, you may not be my family by blood, but you share the same burden."

"I see," Gaara smiled a bit. "But, what I intended to ask… You seem to hate humans as much as I do, so why would you save them? Why do you intend to lead them?"

"They're not all bad, you know," Naruto chuckled a bit. "Even if I don't care about the majority, there are a few who are special enough to give my life for. My friends- people like Hinata, or Kiba, make life worth living."

"Those you wish to protect," Gaara nodded in understanding.

"Yeah. But even amongst those friends, there were those who first feared me. They changed, little by little, and eventually accepted me for who I am. So yes, I do intend to lead them. I would like to create a world where children don't have to suffer a fate like ours."

"The world or the village?"

"Well, gaining a position within the village would be a first step on the road to changing the world, don't you think?" Naruto scratched his chin. "I mean, it's not like other villages would just welcome me with their open arms. And even if they did, Konoha would declare war on them because I'm the village's weapon…"

"So we are bound to our villages," Gaara agreed. "Whether we want it or not. Whether they want us or not.."

"Well, a village isn't completely bad, is it?" Naruto smiled. "I mean, I have friends in Konoha, and you have Kankuro and Temari in Sunagakure. I don't know if you have any more friends or family?"

"I… I had an uncle, but other than that I do not know if I have any family," Gaara pondered. "Though, I suppose that if I had more family they would rather distance themselves from me."

"Temari didn't. Despite it all, she still believed that there was good in you."

"I murdered my uncle," Gaara said, looking up to the grey clouds in the sky. "My father… when he and his council deemed my 'experiment' to be a failure, he decided to have me killed. The first assassin he sent after me was disguised. I never knew until… my uncle's mask fell off, and the explosive tags went off before I could process what he said. As always, my sand protected me- from physical pain at least."

"That's… horrible," Naruto said softly, pitying the jinchuriki for what they had forced him to do. "I'm sorry…"

"After that day, I swore to never trust another person again, to only trust my own power. My uncle raised me, taught me, said that he loved me, and still he tried to… He could have refused my father's order, he told me so himself, but he accepted the mission anyway- because he thought that I was responsible for killing my mother."

"How could he think like that, it was your father who-"

"It seems like reason is the first thing that is killed during a panic. I swore I would one day kill my father, to avenge my mother, and to repay him for making me kill the one person who seemed to care about me. It was what Shukaku told me over and over," Gaara sighed. "And then you showed up, managed to defeat me and silence Shukaku… and the man that I hated died by a stranger's hand. I still do not know if I am supposed to be thankful to Orochimaru for killing my father, or hate him for taking away my chance to kill my father with my own hands."

"Revenge does not solve anything though." Naruto asserted.

"Perhaps… But I imagine that getting revenge would have felt good- even without Shukaku messing around."

"Yeah, it does," Naruto smirked. "But it is dangerously easy to get caught up in such hatred. My first opponent during the finals, Hyuga Neji, was so consumed by his hatred that he failed to see the truth with those gifted eyes of his. I don't want to be blinded like that."

"He nearly killed your teammate."

"Yes, and I would have killed him for that."

"What stopped you from doing that, it is not like there are many who could stop you," Gaara asked him, surprised that Naruto would spare someone he wanted to kill. To Gaara, all those he wanted to kill, died. Well, there were a few exceptions, like his father and Naruto, who were too strong for him to defeat.

"Hinata. She begged me to spare Neji's life. She understood better than I that Neji was consumed by a cycle of events that more or less forced Neji into hating Hinata, who belongs to the main house of their clan."

"So you spared him because she asked you?" Gaara queried.

"Yes. Although, I also think that she is right. She told me that people can change, that they can overcome their hatred. Hinata explained that Neji was as much a victim as she was."

"Yet you gravely injured him."

"I would have torn him apart if it wasn't for Hinata's wish," Naruto grinned wolfishly. "But there was still a price that he had to pay, both for his past actions and for his future freedom. You see, I removed the seal that allowed those of the main house to control branch house members like him. But if I had done it without messing him up, the elders of the Hyuga clan would have realized that I could undermine the foundation of their power. I didn't want to start that war. Yet."

"So you changed the fate of Hyuga Neji by removing his seal, and now you hope that he will abandon the path he was on," Gaara summarized.

"That is what Hinata seemed to think. If nothing else, I am curious to see how it will turn out. I suppose I would like to see if Neji can change. Because, if there is hope for someone who has fallen as far as he did, then there might be hope for us all. Jiraiya-sensei may be the greatest pervert alive, but he does teach a few useful things. He told me once that he believes that the world is controlled by a large cycle of hatred, a cycle in which each action driven by hatred would only create more hatred. He didn't know how to break that cycle, but I think Hinata showed me the way to do it."

"So by changing a person's world you think the cycle would end?"

"It's worth a try, isn't it?" Naruto shrugged. "I suppose it's better than just doing nothing and allowing this chaos to continue. But, if we want to cause such a change, it will require a tremendous amount of power, or else it will be impossible to drag people away from their hatred. Look at Neji- what causes his pain is the way his clan functions, but those who have power profit the most from the current system, and would never willingly change it. And that's just one clan. I think that the hatred is deeply rooted within our traditions, our systems, and our entire history."

"Like how Iwagakure still hates Konoha for what happened in the third ninja war," Gaara nodded in agreement. "All those grudges, it would require a radical change for anyone to move beyond that…"

"That's why I told you," Naruto chuckled. "We jinchuriki have more power than anyone. We could lead the world to a better future."

"And here I thought you were a realist…" Gaara said with a completely deadpan expression.

"Sorry to disappoint," Naruto smirked. "But I don't plan on only chasing ideals. I want to make them real."

"How?"

"Well, if I'm honest I have to admit I am used to killing whatever opposes me. But I know that violence isn't the answer to each problem I encounter. Lucky for you," Naruto chuckled. "No, I figure that if I want to change problems, the first thing that needs to be dealt with is the inequality between and within villages. The world we live in is rotten, that's why I want to become Hokage, because if I can take the hat I can change this village, and through it the world. Though before all that, people like us need to have control of our own powers. If our Bijuu keep undermining us, then we will never be able to lead others."

Gaara nodded. '_Perhaps I should aim for the position of Kazekage if Naruto wishes to become Hokage. Together we would have a lot more power-__perhaps enough to bring forth the change he dreams of. If it prevents people from us being created, it would be worth trying.__'_

* * *

"Where are the others?" Naruto asked, when he came back inside. Gaara still sat outside in the garden, pondering over the things Naruto told him. The two jinchuriki agreed that something had to change in their world, and knew that if they learned how to control the powers of their respective bijuu's, they would have a chance at achieving it. But the 'how to do it' question remained lingering…

"They're out shopping. Temari went out along with the Hyuga girl and dog-boy," Kankuro explained absentmindedly. Yes, he was still entranced by his puppets. "They will be home before five. At least that is what they said. You know, girls and shopping… I bet dog-boy is already regretting that he agreed to go along," he chuckled.

Naruto shrugged. It was fine to him, the seals around perimeter were set, so he went to his room to organize all the scrolls he moved from his cottage to this place. Well, that would happen after he had placed the appropriate seals throughout his room. A while later, Naruto felt someone entering the perimeter and before he could react he heard some very angry, though still familiar, screams.

Rushing outside, Naruto saw the anbu guard restraining a severely annoyed Karin.

"Calm down, anbu-san," Naruto warned, not particularly liking the man in the first place. He easily saw that their 'assailant' was nowhere near a threat to them, and he had little doubt that the anbu could see that. "It's Karin, she can be trusted."

The anbu looked at him, then shrugged and returned to the shadows.

"What the hell was that?!"

"Well, we weren't informed you would come, and that guy is guarding this place."

"Wow. So I'm an intruder?" Karin pouted.

Naruto laughed at her. "Depends on what you want. Kiba isn't here though."

"Wh-why would you think I came here for K-Kiba-kun?" Karin suddenly seemed to have a lot of trouble with keeping her glasses on the right position, judging by how she conveniently covered her blush with the hand that readjusted said spectacles.

"Do you even need to ask?" Naruto deadpanned. "Anyway, why are you already here? Kurenai-sensei didn't say you would come so soon. I thought the whole processing thing would last another week." He frowned a bit when he saw the rather insecure look in her eyes when she looked at him.

"Well," she said, stepping forward. "I need to tell you something.."

* * *

Meanwhile, Temari, Hinata, and Kabi (with Akamaru on top of his head) were in the shopping district. Though the sight of the Suna kunoichi wasn't exactly a welcome one to most, and some even attempted to overcharge her whenever she bought something, no one ever tried something when they saw the daughter of the Hyuga clan leader and the son of the Inuzuka clan leader.

Thus, their shopping went pretty well. Thanks to the Hokage, the siblings had received some spending money, and Temari certainly wanted to replace or repair her red sash. She found a rather unexpected ally in Hinata, for whom shopping was a very rare event. After all, the Hyuga main family wouldn't do such trivial thing, but would rather order a member of the branch to do it for them. As such, the young heiress had only had a handful of experiences to fall back on when it came to shopping for clothes.

Kiba, being the alpha male he was, reluctantly accepted his fate and sauntered after the two cheerful kunoichi. Even Akamaru whined to express his boredom.

The boredom was eventually ended by a rather strange sight. A young boy with a blue scarf, whom Kiba and Hinata quickly recognized as Konohamaru, was imprisoned in a strangling hold by a snake. However, the snake wasn't actively strangling the boy. In fact, the creature had an equally baffled look on his face.

In front of the boy and the snake was a rather terrified female jonin. One who suffered a byakugan-enhanced angry stare, accompanied by a lengthy lecture on why she should not use snakes against innocent children.

"B-but, that brat isn't innocent," Anko pouted.

"I don't care," Ako replied sternly. "Using summons to attack children is wrong."

"Calm down Ako-chan."

"I won't, Iruka-kun, if there is one thing I learned from living with Naruto-kun it would to draw a line and to never allow him to cross that line. This woman went too far!"

"Ooooh," Anko looked knowingly. "Iruka-_kun_?"

Ako blushed yet her stern look survived the bout of embarrassment. "Yes, and what's it to you?"

The three genin and the ninken watched as the scene unfolded in front of them. "I suppose we should finish shopping early?" Kiba suggested.

"Perhaps that would be wise," Temari agreed.

"We can always look for a new sash tomorrow," Hinata said.

"What? I thought you already had two-"

"Not a red one," Temari cut him off, giving him a look that said that negotiation was off the table regarding that subject.

As they walked back through the abandoned Uchiha district, Temari felt a bit surprised by the complete absence of people.

"Sasuke's older brother, Itachi, killed the entire clan," Kiba explained when she asked. She would have liked to ask more, but they had arrived at their new home. The sight that met their eyes was enough to distract her from asking further questions.

What they saw made Temari smirk, Kiba scowl, and Hinata… well, she had to resist a sudden urge to go on a killing frenzy. Even to a girl as kind and patient as Hyuga Hinata, there was a certain limit regarding what she could tolerate from others; this time that limit had been crossed.

"What are you doing to Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked icily, subconsciously activating her byakugan, when she saw Karin embracing a surprised Naruto.

* * *

**Bonus**: **Cats or ninneko?**

* * *

_One week ago._

All five cats were in their new hideout in the abandoned Uchiha district, and three of them were rather exhausted.

*Well that was pathetic,* Suto remarked.

*How could we know _they_ would be there too?* Siro panted. *And those three kept chasing us. Good thing those dogs aren't very flexible, but their speed-*

*You two were slow,* Tora remarked rather haughtily.

*Right, like you were any better, Ribbon-four-leg,* Chie grumbled.

*Chie-sama is right,* Suto chuckled. *You three are pathetically slow.*

*Perhaps they need training from a proper ninneko?* Chie suggested.

*Y-you don't want me to…*

*Yeah, you're always bragging about how superior you are, so why not train us?* Siro chimed in.

*Can we get something to eat first?* poor Sakana was starving.

* * *

_Today._

*Now, let's see if your training regime has paid off,* Suto remarked.

*Training? That was torture, not training..*

*Ah, don't worry you short-tails, once we're done with you no one will be able to stop us,* Chie grinned.

*What is the plan, Chie-sama,* Siro sighed.

*There is a certain dog who deserves some payback…*

* * *

*You are enjoying this, aren't you?* Chie sighed, looked at the elder male cat who was roaring with laughter as he listened to the pleading of their comrades.

*How could I not? This is priceless, all four of them are getting dragged back to their owners…*

*You planned it to happen exactly like this, didn't you..*

*We got that white-furred pup, didn't we?*

*At the cost of three of my servants…*

*They'll be back, after they get their punishment from their owners. Besides, Tora is notorious enough on her own, and Siro was smart enough to make it look like that dog was chasing him and Sakana into that butcher shop. They won't get into trouble.*

*He is smart, I'll give him that,* Chie admitted. *Though after the chaos in their house, I doubt their owners will be very pleased. But we failed- the plan was to frame Akamaru and get away with the meat ourselves.*

*Don't look at me, I knew they needed more training,* Suto chuckled.

*Then why didn't you tell me so?!* Chie seethed.

*Well, now _they_ know it, don't they? The hardest lessons usually leave the greatest impressions.*

*You are evil, you know that?*

*Itachi-sama had a habit of telling me that. Sasuke-san says it even more often…* Suto smirked.

*Teach them chakra manipulation when they escape their masters again,* Chie sighed. *I need to get back, or Ako-hime will be angered. And remember, keep your filthy habit of peeing on stuff out of-*

*Yeah yeah, I won't go and correct the humans that live there now,* Suto sighed.

* * *

**A/N**: And then Karin hugged Naruto.. Should I reveal that someone is getting stabbed next chapter? Don't blame me… judging from the results in poll so far, you guys want more Karin. So you can get Karin! Am I evil now? Mwuahahaha *insert evil laughter here*

Though, I think that part is pretty obvious. By the way, I couldn't find any "official" name for Ino's mom, so I made one up. Credit for the basic idea behind this bonus goes to **DarkMagister06**. Credit for the beta work goes to **Illuminated**.

I suppose I should explain the 'new' concept that was introduced this chapter: the combining of different nature transformations. Yes, I'm aware that this is usually a kekkei genkai thing and I know that kekkei genkai is inherited by blood. But, when you look at Onoki, for example, you see that Kishimoto is also telling us that these combinations of nature transformations can be taught to someone, as he stated that Mu taught Onoki the dust release (Jinton). Of course, I am not going to throw around all kinds of 'pseudo kekkei genkai' around, that would only cheapen the story. So, I moved on with the idea of people with two natural affinities being able to combine them if they mastered both types. Is it factually correct with everything that Kishi tells us? Probably not. Is that a problem? Nope. After all, what you're read is fanfiction…

Besides, I never liked the whole "you're only what you're born to be" theme. Talent isn't something that should be determined by your heritage alone. No doubt genetics are an important bit, but it cannot explain everything. You are who _you_ are, not who your parents are, or your grandparents. But that's my view on life.

Don't forget to feed your author, so donate a review to keep him alive :P

-Z-

**PS**: I recently started a second story: **Pareidolia**. Though it is unrelated to the 'The Honoured Guest' universe, considering how I'm approaching the story in a very different way, I'm quite pleased about how the first two chapters turned out. Check it out, who knows, you might like it!


	42. Night

**Chunin arc**

**Night**

* * *

"_What_ are you doing to Naruto-kun?" Hinata demanded, with an icy voice. She had subconsciously activated her byakugan, her stare piercing through her opponent. The red-head had gone too far by embracing Naruto, who seemed completely surprised by the whole situation.

"Hinata?" Naruto felt a little shocked at the sight of her reaction to the embrace. No, scratch that, it wasn't just 'a little'. He had never seen the young Hyuga heiress angry before, so he was completely baffled. Karin, on the other hand, had no such thoughts.

"I'm giving Naruto a hug, what's it to you?" she replied, not liking the tone that Hinata used one bit. Temari looked at each of the players and didn't understand the situation at all. Hinata was furious, Naruto was confused, Kiba just stared dumbly at the scene with a twitching eye, and the newcomer, an unknown red-haired girl, seemed to be indignant about the way Hinata had spoken. As if what she had done was perfectly normal.

"I don't know what is going on, but perhaps we need to calm down and talk this out?" Temari tried to pacify the situation.

"I'm just giving Naruto a hug, there's no reason for that blue-head to freak out like that," Karin retorted. Said blue-haired girl eyed the red-haired girl like she wouldn't mind using the juken on her.

In the moment of silence that followed, one that eerily resembled a classic stand-off, Naruto managed to recover. "Karin… Is that really true?"

Looking back at the blond, Karin nodded. "Tsunade-sama said so herself. She was the one who found out after all."

Naruto suddenly smiled and looked at Karin as if she was the most amazing thing in the world. "Well, to say that it was the last thing I expected to happen is an understatement… I always thought I was the last…"

"So did I," Karin smirked back.

"Can you explain, before these two lose their patience?" Temari suggested.

"Allow me to introduce Uzumaki Karin," Naruto smiled. Hinata completely misunderstood his words, and paled, as if her whole world had collapsed- and she nearly collapsed along with it.

"Yeah, who would have thought I would find a surviving member of my clan," Karin chuckled. "I didn't even know I had a clan in the first place!"

"Wait, so… That's why you and Naruto…?" Kiba started.

"O-of course," Karin blushed, suddenly realizing he might have misinterpreted the sight of her hugging Naruto; she did not want the Inuzuka to think that she was fickle.

"Oh…" Kiba let the realization sink in.

Having switched from fury to being horrified and back again, Hinata had gone through the full emotional spectrum already when she realized how she had misunderstood the entire situation and had embarrassed herself. "I am sorry," she squeaked before she rushed inside the mansion, passing the two Uzumaki.

However, Karin could have sworn that the girl's face was even redder than her own hair. '_What was that about? Ooooh…__'_she realized.

"Hinata?" Naruto called. Karin stopped him from walking after her though. "Karin?"

"Just give her some space," she smiled knowingly. Naruto could only nod dumbly, not understanding what had gotten into the Hyuga girl just now.

"So.. How did they figure out you two were related?" Temari wondered.

"Tsunade-sama saw some strange values when she was examining my chakra, and when she checked my blood she figured that I was an Uzumaki."

"How could baa-san know that?"

"Well, she said her grandmother was an Uzumaki, making her part Uzumaki herself. I thought you knew that already, considering how you call her baa-san and all," Karin explained, seeing Naruto's baffled look.

"So that drunk is family? I suppose I should call her baa-chan now…" Naruto mused.

"You know she'll kill you for that, don't you?" Karin deadpanned.

"She is free to try," Naruto chuckled.

"So…" Karin once again started to blush a little. "How should I address you now? I eh.. I always dreamed of having a brother," she admitted shyly. The girl had always been a bit jealous of those around her with family of their own, while she had always been alone- alone while living in the orphanage, and alone while living in Kusagakure.

"Well, at this point it doesn't seem not very likely either of us will find out who our parents are, nor how they were related to each other," Naruto scratched his chin. "It would take some time getting used to this though, Karin… nee-chan."

This time Kiba could smile when he saw Karin jumping at his teammate. '_For a moment I thought that she…__' _he marveled to himself.

* * *

Ako eventually arrived at the mansion that afternoon and the others wisely kept their distance from the Hyuga woman. The only things they learned was that some 'snake bimbo' had had the audacity to ruin her fun. When Naruto asked who this 'snake bimbo' was, or who Ako had so much fun with (knowing all too well who it had been) she snapped at him and threw him out of the kitchen. He had intended to help her preparing their dinner, but he felt that it would be wise to keep his distance for now.

So instead of helping her, he joined the others in the living room. Kankuro was still in his corner, bent over his puppets. The only thing Kiba had gotten out of him was that "those idiots had treated Karasu too roughly" and some complaints about not having access to the right type of oil. After that, the decision to leave him alone was unanimous.

"She's still angry?" Kiba smirked, looking at Naruto.

"Very. Ako isn't someone who gets angry very quickly, but once she is pissed she won't easily calm down either," Naruto sighed. "Last time I saw her angry like that was when Haruki tried to teach me shogi."

"How could you get her that angry with a simple board game?" Temari frowned.

Naruto smiled, still feeling a bit embarrassed. "I was eh… experimenting on a certain jutsu at the time. It kinda screwed up my power and coordination. So, when I tried to move one of the pieces, I accidentally threw it away. The damn thing flew through a few walls and beheaded a carrier pigeon. Poor bird."

Kiba snorted in laughter, and even Hinata giggled a little, finally breaking out of her fit of embarrassment.

"She got so angry at me and Haruki that she forbade him to ever try teaching me shogi again, and I had to swear not to mess around with that particular technique until I was very sure I would be able to control it."

"Well, if I recall correctly that happened only a week after the gardening incident," Hinata giggled. "So perhaps that was why she was a little irritable?"

"Please don't remind me.."

"What happened?" Karin looked at her downcast 'brother'.

"I had to dig out a patch of soil. You know, so they could plant new flowers and a few trees. It was a rather boring task, but I insisted on doing it because I refuse to look like some freeloader. Still, it was boring, so I tried a futon jutsu to speed it up a little. I might have used a bit too much chakra though," he admitted. Even Gaara showed a weak smile.

"So, how is the whole admittance thing going?" Kiba asked Karin.

"Good. It's just- well, they offered me a place at the barracks until the whole paperwork thing is done, and I can join your team. So after I found out Naruto is my family, I came here in the hope that I could… Well, I'm not sure if you have a spare room," Karin blushed. "I-I d-don't want to intrude. I understand if you don't want me to.. I'll go back to the barracks if-"

"You're my nee-chan now, aren't you?" Naruto remarked. "What kind of shitty brother would I be if I wouldn't even give you a place to live? Besides, there are enough rooms left- of course you can stay!"

* * *

Alhough the food was delicious, the atmosphere during dinner remained a bit awkward. Perhaps it was Ako's earlier rant on a certain jonin who had been attempting to abuse the Hokage's grandson (Naruto gave Chie a pointed look), or perhaps it was because due to Naruto asking why Hinata had been so angry at Karin. That did not help with improving the atmosphere either.

'_Still__, I__ don'__t see why Hinata would get angry at that. I__'__ve never seen her like that before… It must be some girl thing, just like Ino and Sakura who always are fighting yet still are the best of friends. I certainly hope Karin and Hinata won__'__t start acting like that though,_' Naruto mused.

Needless to say, Naruto didn't even come close to the truth. Why Hinata had been so angry was obvious to most. Well, except for Kankuro, who didn't notice as his puppets required his full attention, and Gaara. Gaara found it all amusing and interesting, but just like Naruto he had no clue as to why the others behaved like that. Then again, he probably had even less experience with normal social interaction than Naruto- unless one could consider people begging him to spare their lives as 'social interaction'.

The good thing was that Karin was too happy to be bothered by Hinata's earlier behavior. Before all this, she had nothing. She was just a random orphan, bought by Kusagakure and trained to become a genin, with her most likely future being to marry, whether she wanted to or not, as soon as she could bear children. After all, Kusa had bought her for the bloodline that provided her sensory abilities. Now she had been freed from that, after staring death in the eyes.

She had found family, friends, and even a home. Even if she knew the place where they lived was only a temporary solution, to her it was even better than okonomiyaki. This savoury pancake was, in her opinion, the food fit for gods. But even such delicious food couldn't beat her new way of life. Her good fortune gave her lots of opportunities to be close with Kiba, the one who had saved her- the one who had started all these changes in her life.

With everyone lost in their own train of thought, Naruto decided to bring up a different subject: namely, the kekkei genkai that were found in Sunagakure, and more specifically those that combined futon and katon. After all, it was the best lead he had on the subject, after getting that information from the Mizukage herself.

"You want to combine your affinities for wind and fire," Temari frowned. "Not sure if that could be done."

"A kekkei genkai is an ability of the blood, not something which can be copied," Gaara agreed.

"But suppose one would have skill enough with two elements, wouldn't it be possible to replicate an elemental kekkei genkai?"

"That would require an insane amount of control," Temari mused. "I'd say that it's impossible. Even if I knew of anyone who had a kekkei genkai that combined futon and katon, reproducing it would be something incredibly complex."

"Pakura," Gaara said.

"Eh?"

"The Hero of the Hidden Sand, Shakuton no Pakura," Gaara's dry voice sounded up. His siblings looked at him. "She was my teacher for a little while, before she died in battle."

"Shakuton," Naruto mumbled. "What is this scorch release exactly?"

"It was from before father changed his opinion on me, and still provided me with the best tutors Suna could offer," Gaara explained calmly, not really wanting to go into detail about the assassination attempts. "I don't really know what Pakura-sensei could do, considering how I was only six years old, but I am sure father would not hire someone who wasn't able to deal with my… disposition."

"Pakura, Pakura, I heard that name somewhere," Kankuro mused. "Wasn't she the one who got killed in that ambush from Kiri?"

Gaara nodded. "I suppose we could ask Baki-sensei for more information," Temari suggested. "But if you want to learn how to combine two types of chakra, you would first need to master each element completely. And frankly, you still have a lot to learn when it comes to futon."

"Great, more training on chakra control," Naruto said, a bit horrified by the prospect.

"There are a few ways to improve your control," Temari chuckled. "I will teach you what I can while I'm here."

"What?" Kankuro nearly fell of his seat when he heard his sister's proposal. "Temari, you can't be serious! You can't teach Suna techniques to a Konoha shinobi. No offense, kid. And Baki-sensei would never hand out any secret techniques from Pakura either."

"It is the least we can do to repay him for all he did," Temari said. "He made Gaara sane again, when he could have killed us all! If Naruto hadn't stopped him, we could have been at war right now. How much would that hurt Sunagakure, Kankuro? You saw we wouldn't stand a chance. Suna is too weak for an all-out war."

"But to teach him our techniques, to help him in his futon mastery, Temari-"

"If Temari doesn't do it, I will," Gaara cut his elder brother off before he could continue.

"You're crazy," Kankuro grumbled.

"So you told me before," Gaara said with a deadpan expression. "Besides, while we wait for Naruto to figure out a way how to fix my seal, we might as well do something in return."

"Fix?" Hinata asked. "Is there still something wrong?" she wondered, looking directly at Naruto for the first time that evening.

"I may have made the seal a bit _too_ well," Naruto sighed. "What it boils down to is that while I sealed the Ichibi completely, there is also no way for its chakra to leave. So, while it slowly gathers chakra, considering how most of its abilities are blocked, there will also inevitably be a point where the seal can't handle the amount of chakra sealed within it."

"That doesn't sound good," Karin frowned.

"Naruto will fix it," Kiba boasted. "Even Jiraiya-sama praised his ability at fuinjutsu."

"Meh, I'm not that great," Naruto said. "I have still so much to learn. Besides, beyond my fuinjutsu I'm not that skilled. When I'm having some bunshin working on how to improve your seal, I would be able to improve my control over wind chakra at the same time."

"Naruto's kage bunshin no jutsu creates solid clones," Hinata explained to a confused Karin. "Unlike regular clones, the shadow clones transmit their memories back to him upon being dispelled."

"The backlash is a bitch though," Naruto sighed.

"Language," Ako warned him. "And you better not start doing any reckless things this time. Hitomi-sama ordered me to keep an eye on you, and I sure plan to do so. Just as much as I'm going to confine a certain cat if I find out she had anything to do with what happened to poor Konohamaru…"

"Yes, Ako-sama…" Chie and Naruto replied simultaneously.

Gaara raised a non-existing eyebrow. '_Is this the same person who was talking about changing the world?__'_

* * *

_Corpses. Everywhere he looked, he saw the bodies of his fallen clansmen, his friends, his family. Why? Why did this happen? And who could have done this? "Father! Mother!" a raven-haired child shouted, running towards his home as fast as his young legs could carry him. Reaching the door of the living room, the boy froze. "Sasuke, don__'__t come in__…" he heard his father say. The boy couldn__'__t move. No matter how much he wanted to, his body wouldn__'__t respond. He then heard a thump as if something fell to the ground, followed by the rattle of someone he couldn__'__t see. He knew that no matter where he would go, that sound would haunt him forever._

_After what seemed to be minutes, young Uchiha Sasuke finally gathered the courage to open the doors. The world seemed to fall apart when he saw what had happened: his mother lay dead on the ground with his father__'__s corpse lying over her. There were smears of blood on the ground, and some signs of fighting, but what preoccupied Sasuke most of all was the man standing in the center of the room._

_As the man doffed his mask, Sasuke saw the man who had killed his parents. He screamed and cried at his brother. "Why! Why did you do this.."_

"_That was foolish of you, little brother…"_

Panting, and bathing in sweat, Uchiha Sasuke woke up in his apartment. "Itachi…" he gasped. Even after all these years, Sasuke still couldn't fathom it. Why had his brother turned against his family? "I'll make you pay. I'll make you suffer for each Uchiha life you ended that night," he declared to the darkened room.

Looking up, disturbed from his sleep, a cat meowed to voice its annoyance. Sasuke grumbled something unintelligible back, and tried to catch some sleep again- but could not. He could never forget how his older brother took away everything he held dear. He couldn't forgive himself for being too weak to stop Itachi- and he was still weak. He still felt the pain from Kakashi's arguments, when the jonin explained how Naruto and even that lazy Nara had earned their promotions, and how Sasuke was still unworthy of promotion. Sasuke felt frustrated that he wasn't stronger. He lacked the power he needed. At his age, Itachi had been leagues above him in terms of power. Sasuke knew he had to figure out a way to get stronger.

'_Vengeance._'

At the cost of everything, he would find a way to get stronger. The first step on that path would be to remove the constricting seal Naruto had placed around his new source of power. Even though the damned thing hurt him even at that very moment, Sasuke could not ignore the memory of the incredible power it had given him in the Forest of Death. It was a power that could match Itachi's. '_I__'__ll show you the strength of my hatred when I find you, brother!__'_

* * *

Some distance away, but in the same district, there was someone else who had trouble getting to sleep.

'_What did I do,_' Hinata asked herself over and over. She still felt panicked when she thought back at how she had lost composure in front of everyone, in front of Naruto. '_And how can I explain to him why I got angry? If only I had known that Karin was related to Naruto-kun… perhaps if I had known that I wouldn__'__t have lost it like that when I saw her hugging Naruto.__'_

The young Hyuga sighed. Sure, she hated how people looked at Naruto, but a part of her acknowledged the one advantage it gave her, namely that she did not have any competition. She had seen how some girls acted to get the attention of the boy they loved. And the more girls that were chasing one boy, the more brazen they would get. She gulped. '_For a moment I thought Karin would steal Naruto-kun away. I… I was jealous,_' she admitted to herself. Hinata knew that things were changing for them. Naruto had beaten Gaara in front of everyone, and while Hinata was happy that Naruto finally got some of the recognition he deserved, she also knew that it would mean that more people would become 'interested' in him.

Even worse was that he had shared his secret about the Kyuubi with their classmates, she fretted. Hinata was incredibly happy that they responded it positively, seeing how much it meant for Naruto. But another part of her, the jealous part that she tried to suppress as much as she could, was annoyed that more people came to know the real Naruto. She saw how Tenten reacted, and felt a bit worried because that girl and Naruto were always so remarkably close. Hinata knew that Naruto could relate to the discrimination which her cousin's teammate faced, due to her being clanless. But it didn't take away the fact that Hinata wished she could act as naturally and confidently around Naruto as Tenten could.

Another threat came from an unexpected corner. Ino had always been one of the most fanatic among the fangirls that chased Sasuke, but the way she responded upon learning that Naruto carried the Kyuubi within him bothered the Hyuga. The Yamanaka seemed to take it very personally that Naruto had been mistreated due to his burden as a jinchuriki. '_Tenten is incredibly skilled compared to me, and Ino-chan is always so pretty and confident… I__'__m too plain-looking compared to both her and Tenten-san. I__'__ve got nothing to offer that would enable me to compete with girls like them,_' Hinata's pessimistic thoughts surged.

Despite the growing sense of urgency she felt, Hinata wasn't sure how to tell Naruto her true feelings about him. She was unsure whether she was even capable of telling him in the first place, putting aside the question of whether or not it would be wise to confess. '_Would this risk the friendship we finally have?__' _she wondered. '_If I told him how I feel, would he turn me down? Would that break our friendship?'_

* * *

"Also having trouble sleeping?" Gaara said, startling Naruto, who had slipped out of the building.

"Yeah. Not sure why, but I'm too restless to sleep," Naruto admitted. "Damn moon," he muttered when he looked up.

Gaara looked at the full moon, and smiled faintly. "While I have had my troubles with sleeping on regular nights for a long time, Shukaku was always in the most violent moods whenever it was a full moon. Something about the moon seemed to agitate it," Gaara explained. "I haven't been able to look at the moon for over a year, knowing that if I did, it would mean my losing control…"

"So that is the reason."

"It surprises you," Gaara declared.

"Well, never noticed that it was caused by the Kyuubi," Naruto smiled it away. "But I'm leaving for an hour or so, so be careful."

"Why?"

Naruto blinked. "Well, someone might try to attack you, Kankuro, or Temari. Aren't they your family?"

"…"

"You are no longer alone, Gaara."

Gaara nodded. "I suppose I never was. Even though I never realized it."

"I see that Temari made her point clear enough?"

"Now that Shukaku's voice is silenced, Temari has become hard to ignore, yes," Gaara remarked dryly. "But you were the one who gave me a new life. And after that, you gave me a new goal."

"Eh?" Naruto squinted.

"Did you inform your anbu guard that you are leaving? I remember him saying he was going to sleep for a few hours."

"I'd rather not. I mean, just because he has sworn loyalty to the Hokage doesn't mean that I am going trust the guy completely. I'll trust his loyalty to Konoha, but right now, my business has little to do with Konoha. Well, I'll be back before you know it. If anything disturbs the barriers I'll know it immediately, so don't worry."

Gaara looked as he saw his fellow jinchuriki leap across the roofs. '_So his aversion to the moon is a new development… that would mean the Kyuubi__'__s influence is growing, and judging by how he avoided talking about it, he knows that as well.__'_ Gaara sighed and looked up once more. He decided to trust Naruto. But even with the confines of the new seal, Gaara could feel Shukaku's restlessness. '_What is it about the moon that agitates the Bijuu that much?__'_

Gaara didn't know the answer, so he went inside. Being deprived of sleep for years, he found it to be rather addictive, now that he finally could do it.

* * *

Sneaking in was actually pretty simple. Naruto was a bit surprised that there weren't more guards stationed. _'Then again, knowing the Hyuga__'__s tendencies with binding seals, I shouldn't be too surprised.'_ Well, it was home turf anyway, he conceded to himself.

"Yo, wake up sunshine," Naruto exclaimed, while slapping a sleeping Neji on the head. The latter did not find it so amusing.

Neji moved so that he sat on his bed, facing Naruto seated in the solitary chair that the otherwise empty cell contained. "Here to finish the job?"

"Hmm, depends," Naruto said, smirking at the Hyuga, who narrowed his eyes.

"Then do it. Stop toying with me and get it over with," Neji grumbled.

"I promised Hinata that I would spare your life during the finals. The finals are over, and you are still alive. Technically, I would not have to break my word if I decided to kill you right now, but I know that such a technicality would not matter, not to her at least. Hinata would never forgive me if I killed you now," Naruto said, perfectly calm. "Though I still might do so, if it turns out you are still aiming to kill her. I'd rather be hated by her, than allow you to be a threat to her life."

"Why would I do that," Neji's voice was surprisingly lifeless, causing Naruto to frown.

"Explain."

"You were the one behind the murders and the disappearances within our clan, and a few of those I have seen myself; I know for a fact that they were the ones who opposed Hinata-sama in her position as heir the most."

"Not all of them, but your point is?"

"You removed those that were a threat to Hinata-sama, and those people became a threat because they believed Hinata-sama was dangerous to them."

"And what makes you say that?" Naruto smiled, liking the Hyuga prodigy's train of thought.

"Hinata-sama is considered to be too soft and gentle, emotionally too weak to lead our clan. Yet that is no reason for people to kill her; no, they fear her because she is emotionally stronger than anyone in our clan. If she had been weak, she would never have forgiven me. And if she is kind enough to forgive even someone who did what I did, I presume she wouldn't condone the injustice against the branch house either."

"True. As I told you before, she would never want to harm the branch. That makes her a big threat to many within the main house, as their wealth and power depends on their grip on the branch. Without their slaves, the prosperity of the main house would dwindle, and all their self-righteous crap about the power of blood and genetic purity would be proven wrong overnight. They are probably weaker than the branch, if they did not parasitize from their secret techniques. You yourself have proven that the branch is easily capable of overpowering the main house."

"Yet I was blind and used my talent for the wrong cause," Neji admitted with a sad voice.

"Perhaps, but Hinata knows what drove you. That is why she was able to forgive you."

"And you?"

"Me? I'm merely curious whether Hinata is right or not, about her belief that you can change- that is why instead of killing you, I freed you."

"Freed…" Neji blinked a few times. "I see… so the fact that the elders could not renew my caged bird seal was because of what you did."

"Bingo," Naruto chuckled lightly. "And you figured it out so far, so I'm curious about whether you know why I did it, and why in this particular way."

"You wanted me to suffer. And as for why… I suppose you need allies in order to protect Hinata-sama within the compound. And you do not trust the main house, while the branch is usually incapable of resisting the main due to our seals… so you freed me as the solution."

"Partly right," Naruto smiled. "True, I wanted to punish you for the pain you caused Hinata, but it wasn't just that. If I used a less violent method, the whole village would know that I am able to remove your clan's prized seal. The entire method of 'protecting' the byakugan would be proven worthless in front of everyone, which would probably lead to a coup within your clan. After all, I highly doubt the branch would remain quiet if they had a way out of their servitude."

"We would make the main house pay," Neji said darkly.

"Yes, and that's one reason why I didn't do it. If the branch was to become rebellious, the main house would retaliate harshly. I have little interest in causing such chaos. I believe Hinata can lead the clan on a new path, one where violence between the two groups would not be required. As things are now, and the branch answers their misfortune only with hatred and violence, the world would still not be a better place, would it? The grudges between the main and the branch would only spiral down, creating more conflict, until the Hyuga clan destroys itself completely."

"I suppose you are right," Neji seemed rather reluctant though.

"Not to mention that I would become public enemy number one in Konoha. I won't say I'm able to withstand that, not now at least. And I know that if the Hyuga clan wanted my death, I would be facing a lot of trouble. If I learned one thing over the years, than it would be to never underestimate the influence those so-called noble bastards have," Naruto sighed. "As for the matter of protecting Hinata… It is likely that I have to leave the village to train for a year or two."

"So you need a replacement. Why trust me?" Neji frowned. "I don't have the best track record."

"Trust?" Naruto smirked. "What makes you think I trust you? Tell me: do you have any idea why that head of yours hurts so much?

Neji shook the aforementioned aching head in denial.

"I am a jinchuriki," Naruto revealed, causing Neji to gasp in surprise. "Yes, the Kyuubi was sealed within me when I was a baby. So I understand better than anyone what it is to be cursed with a seal on your body. To be a tool rather than a human being," Naruto said sadly. "What? You didn't expect that Hiashi-sama would just let me live on clan grounds if I didn't represent something of worth, did you? Unlike Hitomi-sama, he is far too caught up in the 'traditions' of the Hyuga clan. He would sacrifice everything but his family for his clan."

"No, but.. The Kyuubi? What does it have to do with my pain?"

"I had to use drastic measures," Naruto explained. "After removing your seal, I created a new one in order to prevent the main from placing a new seal on you. At least while the chakra I stored in it lasts, which should be at least a couple of years. Now, the Hyuga are competent enough when it comes to fuinjutsu, so I didn't want to take any risk. I care little about your wellbeing, but Hinata is a different matter. She is my first friend, the one who changed my life. I knew that if they managed to reattach your seal, you would not be fit to guard Hinata. So I used a small amount of the Kyuubi's chakra. For the upcoming year no one but me would be able to remove that seal. Apart from the limited duration, the downside of this particular seal would be that you feel the very same thing I do when the Kyuubi's chakra flows through me."

"You mean that.. You feel this every time you… I heard my guards talk how you defeated Gaara. I didn't understand what it was they talked about, but now it all makes sense. You used the Kyuubi's power to defeat him."

"Yes, on both accounts. Yes, I feel the same hellish pain, though in my case the Kyuubi also heals me as it doesn't want me to die- not yet at least. As for me using it against Gaara, he is a jinchuriki as well; he contains the Ichibi. So, I couldn't beat him without using the Kyuubi's power."

"That makes sense… in the first stage of the exams, you recognized each other," Neji remembered.

"True. If you're one, it's pretty easy to notice the others. So, are you willing to guard Hinata?"

Neji frowned as he weighed his options. '_Naruto isn__'__t lying, nothing indicates that he lies. So this would be the 'real__' __Uzumaki Naruto, the one who even kept hidden amidst our clan. And from what he said and what I know he did, this Naruto would kill me without much hesitation if I refused- or if I were stupid enough to try to lie to him. But why would I refuse? Father was wrong, I don__'__t know why but he wanted me to believe that killing Hinata-sama would make things better for the branch. Did father lie to me, or is he just as deluded as I was?__'_ Neji wondered. "I do not see any reason to harm Hinata-sama. You are right, Hinata-sama is the only one in the main house who could improve the situation for the branch. Hurting her would only oppose my own goals."

Naruto nodded. "And you answered my questions without trying to deceive me. You do better than the other Hyuga so far, but you didn't answer my question. Don't try to evade my questions."

"Yes. Yes, I will guard Hinata-sama," Neji said. "Not because you force my hand with that seal of yours, but because she is the best possible path for the future of my clan- our only path to freedom. I will make sure she becomes the next head of our clan."

"I didn't intend to force you to agree, Neji," Naruto explained. "Although, I would not have renewed the seal if you failed, or decided to betray Hinata. I freed you, but it is up to you if you want to remain free or not. I don't care much about you. If not for Hinata, you would be dead already. Instead, you are the first person who targeted Hinata and lives. As for the upcoming trial, I will aid you where I can. But I am no Hyuga and have little say in the matter, so I will inform Hitomi-sama of our deal. Like me, she aims to protect Hinata. But with Hiashi-sama as her husband, the main house can't touch her easily. Unlike Hinata, Hitomi-sama is too skilled to be easily assassinated. It's not that I think Hinata is weak, on the contrary actually, but she isn't ready to face chunin or jonin level opponents, not yet. So, I trust you with Hinata's life while I'm gone. And I will give you one warning: don't make me regret this. If Hinata suffers due to your actions, the main house will be the least of your worries."

Neji couldn't say he felt very surprised after all he had seen, but upon hearing the blond so casually warn that he would kill him if he failed, Neji shuddered a bit. _'Or was it due to the small amount of killing intent that leaked from the jinchuriki?'_ In any case, the deal was made, and Naruto left. Now Neji would act as Hinata's guard, if he survived the trial.

To Naruto, Neji was the perfect candidate for the job, even though there were more branch members who he could force into this position. But unlike them, the main house would not suspect Neji. His hatred towards Hinata was made obvious, so he would be the last person they would suspect of guarding her.

'_Who knows, perhaps after all this is over, Neji could become the brother Hinata always wanted him to be..__'_ Naruto thought, as he sneaked through the compound to check up on the sealing arrays he left on Hizashi's prison. When Naruto left the compound, he smiled, happy to go to his new home, to return to his friends and his new-found sister.

* * *

"Quit your complaining, Tayuya."

"Shut the fuck up, Sakon!"

"I'm Ukon you blind bitch," Ukon growled back.

"Guys… Just stop it," Kidomaro yawned. "This isn't going anywhere. We got our orders, so we act. There is nothing new about that, so quite your bitching, Tayuya."

"And let's get something to eat first," Jirobo suggested.

"Like you need to get any fatter, you pig," Tayuya scoffed.

If a bystander would listen, he or she would never believe that these four– or five if counting Ukon and Sakon as separate people– would be a good functioning team. Truth be told, these four only cooperated properly during missions. The only things the four elite guards of Orochimaru had in common were the cloth tunics they wore, and the disdain they had for everyone else. Their hatred for others was the only thing that made them function as a team. Beyond that, the four would have turned against each other, if their master's orders had not prevented them from doing so.

Then again, these four were a bit unusual. Jirobo was considered to be relatively polite, but was lazy toward everything but eating. Kidomaru shared his trait of not taking anything seriously, but unlike the sloth, Kidomaru treated everything as a game. It was something which annoyed Sakon and Ukon. The two brothers might be the worst tempered of the four, but their loyalty was without question. That trait also compelled Orochimaru to make them the leader of their dysfunctional little squad- well, for their loyalty, and their strength, which was also a factor. The two combined were definitely the strongest of the Sound Four, at least while Kimimaro wasn't around. Individually, Sakon and Ukon could be beaten by Tayuya. The kunoichi with the long, untamed red hair hated everyone, even Orochimaru- to the point where Kazu and Kabuto had often remarked that she couldn't be trusted. However, Kenta found her questionable loyalty amusing.

Having passed some time in silence, Tayuya couldn't help but complain again. "Seriously, why does that snake even have any interest in that little Uchiha faggot?"

"Next body," Sakon grumbled.

"Ah yes, when that Boner got ill, he certainly got pissed," Tayuya smirked. "Though I wonder why the snake didn't take that crystal bitch's body."

"How long are you going to carry that grudge?"

"As long as the one I've got against those fucktard parents of mine, who sold me to that fucking snake," Tayuya growled. "Once all that trash has perished, my grudges will end."

"He might just take your body instead, if you keep talking like that," Kidomaru chuckled. "But apparently, the sharingan is more interesting to him than that shoton-thing of that stuck-up bitch. Good for Kenta, as he has alway wanted to kill that piece of trash ever since she destroyed his blade."

"Ugh, I'd rather not be his guinea pig," Tayuya shuddered. "Let that bitch do it, she is always whining about her undying loyalty anyway. Or that bastard Kenta can kill her for all I care."

"Despite not being marked, Guren wouldn't be taken down easily," Jirobo mused.

"You're kidding, right?" Kidomaru frowned. "Ever seen that guy fight? He'd kill her before she even knew what was going on- that's his style. Why else do you think Orochimaru-sama gives nearly every assassination mission to him? Even if she was able to challenge him in a duel, she wouldn't last long if Kenta-sensei went all out."

Tayuya sighed. "Whatever. It's not like it matters. We're all stuck in this hellhole anyway. Where else can we go with this fucking seal on us? Perhaps if we get a chance to kill some of those treehuggers, that might remove the boredom a little. I wonder why the snake gave us orders to avoid that blond kid though."

"Apparently he fucked up that jinchuriki we used against Konoha," Sakon muttered. "Let's just do things as discussed. Tomorrow, we reach the outskirts of Konoha, so we take shifts and first observe our target. When we know the trash's schedule, we pick a place to meet him when he's alone, and we go and see if he wants to come along voluntarily or if we have to use force."

"Why don't you let me send my Doki and drag that faggot with us," Tayuya suggest.

"For the hundredth time: Orochimaru-sama wishes the Uchiha brat to come along out of his own volition," Sakon snapped. "Now shut up and get to sleep. You'll take the first shift tomorrow, and if you mess up I'll kill you myself."

* * *

Looking back at the Hyuga compound as he departed, Naruto found himself doubting his past actions. '_Maybe Hinata is right. Perhaps killing is not the solution. It__'__s what Jiraiya said as well, with his talk about the cycle of hatred that controls our world. But sensing all the hate and darkness in people, I played judge and executioner… is it all on my own whims? Are right and wrong, good and evil, are they choices or something inherent to people? The fact that Neji is changing his view would suggest that it__'__s all a choice._'

Looking up at the moon, Naruto wondered if he hadn't made a horrible mistake by killing so many. His doubts battled the agitation he felt all night. '_I wonder why that fox has remained so silent. He has never been silent for this long… I bet he would have something to say on it,__'_ Naruto sighed. '_Why am I even thinking such a thing, listening to the fox would be stupid, he doesn__'__t want to help me, only himself. I wanted to change the world, but what gives me the right to do so? I condemned people to death because of their actions, their intended actions, yet I always ignored the cause. What drove them to do it, what did they want to achieve? If I knew the whole situation, I might be able to stop it. Yet Konoha allows the Hyuga clan to do as they please. Why does Jii-san allow them to enslave their own kin with that wretched caged bird seal?__'_

Naruto grunted in frustration. Every time he found an answer, it only turned out to be another question. '_Great, let__'__s move.. Those two morons are lurking around again. I wonder why they didn__'__t learn their lesson when Yamato sent them away.__'_

* * *

It was a night where a lot of people couldn't sleep. Perhaps the most unexpected person on the list of people who were unable to rest was a certain young Nara outside Konoha due to a mission. The team had been suddenly called to solve a case of theft not too far from Konoha, and Shikamaru had little interest in it. '_Why can__'__t I sleep… Troublesome, and here I thought it was a good day today…__'_

Shikamaru certainly had had a good day. Evading his mother, he had found a spot in the Nara compound where he could rest without being disturbed for all kinds of troublesome chores. '_I only slept half a day, so why can__'__t I sleep.. Gheez..'_ Shikamaru sighed and turned around, trying to find a better position in his sleeping bag.

'_That Naruto.. I always knew he was hiding something, and during the exams it became obvious that it was something big. But the Kyuubi… I wonder how he survived. It must have been difficult to live in a village where everyone hates you for having such a thing within you. And while you never wanted such a thing in the first place. Damn. It must be the most troublesome thing since the invention of coffee.'_

Shikamaru listened as Ino mumbled something in her tent, as if the blonde insisted on proving Shikamaru's theory that she never could shut up for long.

'_Then again, Naruto is troublesome himself as well. Not as much as mom, but he is definitely A-ranked troublesome. I mean, he is literally shrouded in mysteries. I doubt if anyone knows who he really is. Well, Hinata would likely know, but she would never reveal anything about him. Now Konoha knows about his true strength, and his status as jinchuriki became pretty much public knowledge as well. But if he really wanted to remain hidden, I'm sure he would have found some way to do so. But he didn't. I wonder what he might be planning.. Heh, I'd better do as I promised and visit him soon. Figuring out what he is doing might be worth the effort.'_

* * *

Arriving at the estate that would now be his home, Naruto got annoyed. He had noticed the two getting closer, and they had just unknowingly triggered the seals he had set up on the perimeter. There was limit to Naruto's patience, especially during nights like these. "Why don't you quit trying to hide," Naruto grunted. "Just go away so I can go to sleep. I'm not in the mood for this shit."

Two men emerged from the darkness, one shorter, the other rather tall. The contours of the flak jackets that Naruto could see confirmed that the two were indeed the two chunin who had tried to annoy him earlier. _'Great… I just got a headache from all the thinking, and now these two numbskulls show up. Why did they pick this night?__'_

"Shut up, you filthy monster!" the tallest of the two chunin shouted.

The other gestured him to calm down. "We've came to end yours and the other monster's lives," he said coldly.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said on a bored tone. "And I'm here to defend Gaara. And I'm not planning on dying yet. So, piss off, and nothing happens. If possible, it would be nice if all the killing just ended."

"Killing?" the tallest chunin scoffed. "Despite your demonic powers, you are just a greenhorn, not even a shinobi for a full year. And now you think you can kill two chunin?"

"Why not? No matter the rank, you two are still fodder," Naruto shrugged. "Now piss off or die: your choice."

* * *

Up from behind, he sneaked forward. This was his chance. His wife had died. His brother died. His cousins had died, even the youngest of them, a boy who had just been recently promoted from the academy, but unlucky enough to be caught up in the onslaught. Almost everyone he cared about died that day. They all died because that accursed demon had to attack Konohagakure.

Seeing the incarnation of the abomination being paraded around in an exam he should never been allowed in had only revived the scorching pain in his chest. But now, he had his chance to avenge his family. Still unnoticed, the man smiled underneath his mask. The two morons were the perfect distraction. His sword unsheathed, he dashed forward. His target never saw him coming. The monster never reacted, at least not until it was too late. His sword pierced the monster's chest before it could even think of dodging.

"Being ordered to protect you was the final insult I was willing to take, Uzumaki," the anbu hissed, as he pulled his sword out of Naruto's back.

'_Damn… really awesome, the loyalty of an anbu_,' Naruto thought as he coughed out blood. Warm blood poured down, soiling his clothes. He didn't even feel pain. No, he hardly felt anything other than the numbness that spread, as if a dark cloud covered his consciousness. '_Shit… not… good.__'_

Before everything went black, Naruto heard a familiar dark voice, chuckling at his fate.

The two chunin stood there, frozen, as the jinchuriki collapsed. "What the…" the smaller of the two started. Stunned, they watched as the anbu cleaned his sword, after having pulled it from Naruto's chest.

"You two want to get rid of the other abomination, right? He's up at the first floor, with a room on the east side of the building," the anbu said calmly. "And right now the creature is weakened as well, so take your best shot. If you act fast enough, he won't stand a chance."

* * *

Gaara was restless. Ever since the finals happened, he had finally been able to sleep peacefully, without being tormented by Shukaku's corruption. But this right now… Shukaku seemed to be in a panicked frenzy, but the demon was powerless due to the new seal. Still, Gaara saw his gourd had disintegrated, even though he had never given the command for it. The sand rose up, swirling around him. Attempting to form a shield, even though it was a weak mockery of his usual defence, but still…

"What is happening," Gaara mumbled. Suddenly _something_ flowed through him. As if a massive pulse of chakra ran through the area. In response, the sands solidified, while Gaara felt something familiar.

Fear.

A deep and utterly unreasonable fear. And Gaara knew exactly what caused it. The only time he had ever been this terrified was the day he had faced Naruto. On that day he had felt the bottomless power of the Kyuubi no Kitsune for the first time. But the murderous intent, the sheer malice that radiated, made the previous time pale in comparison.

'_This is bad…_' Gaara grimaced as he heard Shukaku scream inside him.

* * *

**Bonus: The cat bootcamp of death.**

* * *

*Move! Move! Move!*

*Suto, please, let us take some rest,* Tora begged. She was used to being chased by genin all of the time, but the ninneko put them through brutal training that made those chases look like childs play.

*No can do,* Suto smirked. *You wanted to get stronger, you agreed with my offer of teaching you after your previous failure.*

*Yet you are enjoying this way too much,* Siro panted.

*Why not?* Suto chuckled. *If I'm forced to do this, I might as well make it enjoyable for myself.*

*Chie-sama, please make him stop,* Sakana meowed weakly. *He is evil.*

*She isn't here now, so you better move, you glutton. After you have finished running this lap, we get some stretching exercises, and then you will do interval training with weights attached. So you had better move, or you will all get some extra punishment.*

*No, not dragging those stones uphill again,* Tora whimpered.

But Suto didn't care. He enjoyed playing the role of strict drill-master way too much to feel pity for the three cats.

* * *

Meanwhile, Temari was a bit surprised by a sudden change of behavior. "Ako-san, why is she so affectionate all of a sudden?"

"Did you feed her something?"

"Only a chocolate chip cookie…"

"Hmmmm cookies," Chie stretched out, completely relaxed while being on Temari's lap. "Don't stop rubbing my belly, Prickly-haired-two-leg… or do I have to ask Dusty-two-leg again?"

Temari looked imploringly at Ako, but she shrugged and gave her a look that meant 'I warned you not to feed our insane cat' that removed the last sliver of hope the Suna kunoichi had. She wondered how long it would take before the bakeneko would grow tired of this…

'_I wonder how Suto is doing with those three.. I__'__m actually surprised that regular cats are not capable of more than this. This level of training is comparable to what I had to enjoy when I was just a kitten of eight years,__' _the lazy bakeneko yawned.

* * *

"Siro?" Ino exclaimed. She had heard something scratch at the front door of the Haruno household, but she never expected her own cat to be there. Worse, the poor creature seemed to be completely exhausted, and extremely dirty. Well, except for the white tip of his tail- Siro would rather die than get that part of his fur dirty.

"Ino!" Sakura screeched. "Get your cat out of here!"

"Wait, what?" Ino frowned. "How could she know… Wait, if Siro-kun is here, then Sakana is… kitchen!" Ino picked up the grateful cat and sprinted to the kitchen.

Corresponding to her expectations, the young Yamanaka saw her friend chase a ginger cat through the kitchen. The poor creature may have had a better constitution than his brother, but Sakana was too tired to keep dodging Sakura who was swinging her broom at the burglar-cat.

* * *

**A/N**: Another cliffhanger.. Please don't kill me! Well, if you do you'll never know how it continues...

I recently found out that the fourth databook states that Hinata has the fire (katon) and lighting (raiton) chakra nature types.. I previously stated somewhere that it was water (suiton), considering that this wasn't known at the time. Not going to change it though. Besides, it's not like Hinata ever used katon or raiton in the manga in the first place (considering how she already had far too little panel-time). Funny that I guessed Kiba's correctly though.

And the poll is closed! Thank you all for voting. And I must admit that I am very surprised. I had never expected that Karin would win so convincingly! As promised, this means that Uzumaki Karin gets a more prominent role in the future! The results:

01 - Uzumaki Karin wins with 54 votes!  
02 - Nara Shikamaru (33 votes)  
03 - Hyuga Neji (27 votes)  
04 - Yūhi Kurenai (24 votes)  
05 - Tenten (15 votes)  
06 - Rock Lee (15 votes)  
07 - Yamanaka Ino (12 votes)  
08 - Haruno Sakura (8 votes)  
09 - Inuzuka Kiba (7 votes)  
10 - Aburame Shino (7 votes)  
11 - Uchiha Sasuke (4 votes)  
12 - Akimichi Choji (2 votes, poor Choji…)

Unique Voters: 112.

And last but definitely not least: thank you **Illuminated! **

_Illuminated_: "I would have voted for Fu."

_Zil_: "Your wish is my command. I saw her in the recent filler episodes of the anime as well: she is just too much fun to ignore! So she is definitely going to be playing a role. But please be patient. There are already so many characters around at the moment. Too many..."

-Z-


	43. Crumbling

**Chunin arc**

**Crumbling**

* * *

'_Damn… really awesome, the loyalty of an anbu_,' a Naruto thought as he coughed out blood. Warm blood poured down, soiling his clothes. His didn't even feel pain. No, he hardly felt anything other than the numbness that spread. As if a dark cloud covered his consciousness. '_Shit… not… good.__'_

Before everything went black, Naruto heard a familiar dark voice, chuckling at his fate.

"Thank you, brat, for being gullible to actually cooperate with my plans.." the Kyuubi taunted. 'You_ knew the risks and still agreed. You brought this on yourself, you foolish brat. Not that I__'__m complaining.__'_

* * *

The anbu stepped back, as the orange chakra bubbled around his victim. '_I stabbed it through the heart! I killed it! That demon should be dead! How can that brat still generate such ridiculous amounts of chakra?_'

But Naruto had never died- not that what now stood up was still Naruto, as Naruto was no longer in control over his own body. A deep voice came from the boy's throat, laughing at the three; not a voice anywhere near human- this was the demon speaking. However, before the two chunin trespassers had realized what was going on, it was too late. The fools had accepted the 'invitation' of the anbu, and had jumped forward as they aimed enter the house and kill Gaara. At that moment, Naruto had started to laugh, and they were too close to escape. They realized too late that Naruto was not as dead as they had hoped he was.

"I suppose I must thank you puny monkeys," 'Naruto' chuckled. The chakra kept flowing out at an incredible rate. "Now that this foolish brat is knocked out, I finally get free rein." The demonic laughter sent chills down the spines of the three men. "It's been years… years, since I have gotten to enjoy myself in this little shithole that you revere as your village. Perhaps it would be fitting for me to finish the job I started back then? I would even be willing to do it out of my own free will this time."

The taller of the two chunin turned as he realized the danger they were in, and he wanted to run away. These levels of chakra were already beyond the levels that were usual for jonin, and still increasing without any indication of nearing the boy's limit. He wanted to bail while he still could. He and his partner lost loved ones because the invasion of Sunagakure, and because of their demon; but he was not willing to throw away his own life- not against a monster like this. He didn't want to die without exacting his revenge.

They were too late.

The bubbling chakra enfolded Naruto's body, and formed the first tail. "Ah, it is time to move out," the Kyuubi smirked. Suddenly the chakra levels exploded. Konoha would regret keeping him imprisoned for all these years. All of them..

'_I will kill ALL of them!__'_

* * *

All over the village, shinobi woke up, startled by the sudden pulse of chakra that had blown through Konoha. They all felt the oppressive and malicious aura that was spreading throughout the village. Among them, Jiraiya was one of the first to figure out what had gone wrong, and he sped over the rooftops to the source of the disturbance. All the while cursing the life out of whatever could have triggered his godson's loss of control.

Well, he was not exactly the first to go there. A blonde woman who had been looking at the skies turned and listened to her partner's warning. She knew she had to move quickly now, or Konoha could be ruined. '_Thank Kami that I__'__m this near…__'_

* * *

Hinata woke up, startled by a burst of chakra nearby. She quickly grabbed her clothes, and moved out as fast as she could, only to find Kankuro startled and Temari busy trying to calm down Gaara. His sand kept floating up, yet from a lack of control it repeatedly collapsed.

"Naruto," Gaara mumbled over and over again, his eyes wide despite not even seeming to notice the others in his room.

"Hinata, we should get outside, something is going on with Naruto," Kiba urged her. "And where is that damned anbu guy?!"

"I can't sense him," was all that Karin said before she sprinted away. Her senses were overrun by the sheer amount of chakra that radiated from her brother.

* * *

"To think that the weakling that imprisons me even avoided confrontations with pathetic fools like you. He should have known how pointless that was.. Heh, but I suppose using his techniques to terminate you would only be fitting," the deep voice whispered. "Futon: renkudan."

Using Naruto's chakra rather than his own, the Kyuubi fired two massive bullets of wind chakra shot out and pierced and ripped apart the chests of both chunin. The shorter one had just stood there, frozen in fear, and was killed on the spot. The taller of the two got hit in the back, and was killed like the fleeing coward he was.

'Naruto' turned around, and his crimson eyes looked at the anbu. There hadn't been enough slaughter yet. Not by a long shot. The cloak of chakra surrounding Naruto's body had already formed a second tail, and was busy building up chakra for a third, but the Kyuubi was starting to get annoyed. The seal was already starting to limit the amount of chakra that could get through, so the demon suspected that producing a fourth tail would be very unlikely. The boy was still able to put up a resistance. The Kyuubi concluded that he had still not caused enough damage to the seal, despite the amounts of chakra he had allowed Naruto to use. '_I thought I had damaged the seal enough at that point… It seems like I have once again underestimated the accursed seal which that blond annoyance left.__'_

The Kyuubi knew he could force more chakra through it, using a rougher method, but that it would result in the seal getting completely obliterated. '_Hmm… I could try that. However, it would kill the brat, and there is still a high probability that I would fail to get out before the brat perished. Dying would be too bothersome now- I have waited nearly a century for my freedom, so a few weeks or months more shouldn__'__t matter. Damn that Yondaime and his accursed skill at fuinjutsu! Why did she have to teach him so thoroughly?__'_

The knees of the anbu were starting to tremble as he witnessed the release of the third tail. The man knew what was going to happen. Even though the boy lacked control, his reserves of chakra were close to that of the Hokage himself. It was easily enough to make any full-fledged jonin cower away in fear. '_That freak, why couldn__'__t he just die when I ran that blade through his heart?!__'_ the anbu cursed his bad luck, as he turned and started to flee. '_I should never have listened to them!__'_

The Kyuubi saw the man who 'liberated' him flee. It brought a wide smile to his face. Prey were so much more fun when they tried to run away. It was like they never understood the futility of the act. A claw of crimson chakra lashed out and grabbed the anbu by his head. "I suppose I need to thank you for giving me these moments of freedom," the Kyuubi whispered in the man's ear. "so to repay my debt, I won't play with you as much as I would have liked to, and will kill you quickly."

The claw constricted the anbu's head, and squeezed the life out of the man. The explosion of blood when the skull gave in to the pressure only amused the Kyuubi, but he needed more bloodshed to satisfy his rage. He smile broadened as he saw two people and one dog approach. They were the very people he needed to destroy, in order to hurt his vessel the most, in order to break him. He knew that if he permanently broke the boy, his freedom would be imminent- especially if he killed the white-eyed girl…

As the demon turned towards his new victims, an uninvited guest jumped down. The Kyuubi looked back and saw the blonde stare at him, her black eyes filled with disdain. "Well hello, little sister," the Kyuubi smirked, as he saw his sister's vessel walk up to him. "You arrived much sooner than expected. You weren't looking out for this pitiful host of mine, were you?"

"I see Uzumaki-san has lost control," Yugito frowned. "I suppose Konohagakure is fortunate that I am still around. And yes, he is an interesting boy, isn't he?"

"Is that why you reacted so fast?"

"I couldn't sleep," Yugito shrugged, as if she had no care in the world. Though she hated to admit that she never was able to sleep this time of the month... she was often jealous at her fellow jinchuriki in Kumogakuro, who never seemed to care. '_Though I suppose that might also be because he's a fool.._'

"And now, little sister, you want to stop me? Your puny human villages are no friends of each other, are they? So, why don't we join forces and eradicate these vermin together? That way, we both would be free…" the Kyuubi suggested.

Hinata and Kiba watched in fear, while Karin didn't fully understand the situation. "What is going on? Where is Naruto-niisan?"

"Ahhhh good, good," the Kyuubi smirked, noticing the Uzumaki. "The only threat left to me is here as well. I suppose I should kill you first, and permanently eliminate the risk of being sealed in another one of you annoying Uzumaki again. Your arrival certainly was not a welcome surprise to me, girl."

He moved forward, but before the Kyuubi could make his second step towards the children, Yugito moved instantly between them in order to stop him.

"Stop this, Kyuubi. Your attempt to break free, it is of no use."

"Why, are you jealous, little sister?" the Kyuubi chuckled.

"You should have already realized that without cooperation from the boy himself, you are weaker then when you were when you defeated the Ichibi," Yugito said patiently, despite not liking the way how the demon ignored her and instead spoke to the Nibi. "If I had to estimate, I would suppose that a more-skilled jonin could fight you evenly when you are in this form. But I have no intention of taking any risk. After all, if you broke free from the seal, I doubt even I could defeat you.."

"Then why don't you mind your own business?" the Kyuubi scoffed. "You hate those pathetic humans as much as I do, I can sense it as clear as day. So who cares if I kill a few dozen or not? Why refuse to help me?"

"True," Yugito smiled, shocking three genin who were watching, "I don't really feel anything for the humans, but I do acknowledge the debt I have to Jiraiya-sama. So, I _will_ stop you, Kyuubi."

"Tsk. You are the same troublesome little sister that I remember from all those centuries ago," the Kyuubi huffed, as he turned away from the kids and faced her. Yugito had stalked around him, as she knew he wouldn't try to attack the kids for fear it would leave him open to her attack. But without any prior warning, the Kyuubi roared, creating a massive shockwave, which was directed at his opponent. Yugito's eyes widened as the shockwave blasted her away. Well, it not only blasted her away, but also the walls, and most of the vegetation. It would leave a permanent one hundred fifty-foot scar in the Uchiha district.

Being blasted through a wall, Yugito knew she had no choice but to pull out more of the Nibi's chakra and stop the destruction. '_I just pray Konoha won__'__t see this as an act of war… Raikage-sama wouldn__'__t forgive me if I caused a war between our villages.__'_

"It's a good thing cats have nine lives," Yugito hollered, swatting away the rocks that had fallen on top of her. "All right, it's time we stop playing nice."

"Be careful, Kitten, the Kyuubi's ability to generate shockwaves will counteract most of our skills involving flames," the Nibi urged caution. "He isn't just simply invulnerable against it. My brother was always fond of the fire element, even though he never dedicated himself to it as much as I did."

'_Great, and what am I supposed to do?__'_ Yugito replied.

"Together, we are stronger. And Uzumaki-san is still trying to break the Kyuubi's hold, I can feel it. But I do not know how long Uzumaki-san will be able to continue his resistance… his power is fading fast. So, overpower the Kyuubi, and fast. Do not play around, as you usually do, because there is always a chance that the Kyuubi would decide to take a risk and break the seal. My brother was never known for his patience."

'_If that would happen, we would be powerless to stop him- yes, I can feel that much…__'_ Yugito frowned. '_Ok, here we go… Version one should be enough.__'_

Yugito roared, though not creating a shockwave like the Kyuubi, it was followed by a surge of chakra that easily matched the amount of chakra the Kyuubi had in his three-tailed form. Even though the cloak she formed one had two tails, and her body was covered with a light-blue chakra that bubbled in a similar fashion as the Kyuubi's orange chakra. Yugito knew that she didn't have to be stronger in terms of raw power, because her control was far better. Besides, she simply was a much better shinobi than Naruto, who had far less experience than the jonin.

Still, she wasn't foolish enough to believe that a simple chakra cloak would be enough to easily subdue the Kyuubi. Yugito knew well enough that if she should take the possessed boy seriously, or she would risk her being overpowered by the Kyuubi. After all, the Nibi warned her that Naruto would not be able to resist the Kyuubi's hold indefinitely. So, no matter how much stronger she was right now, it would be unwise to play around, no matter how it went against her own nature. If the Kyuubi got mad enough, it would try to rupture the seal and break free- and Yugito had no intention of letting the boy die. His earlier performance had made her somewhat interested in him. Perhaps he was the one to change the world to something better? '_His potential definitely surpasses Bee__'__s, and based on his earlier behaviour he doesn__'__t seem to be as foolish as that oaf either… Though intelligence matters little in the face of a bijuu's vast power.__'_

The Kyuubi growled in annoyance as Yugito intercepted him. Her speed was far superior to his own, and reaching for the three genin who stood frozen there, watching how he had taken over his prison's body, would be impossible. '_Seems like I have to break that woman who dares to use my sister__'__s chakra first, before I can play with those kits…__'_

Yugito knew who the Kyuubi had been targeting, and lashed out with her two tails, batting the Kyuubi away. She needed to get him away from those genin. The Kyuubi was blown into a building across the street by the strike. _'It was the second one to get destroyed this night, and probably would not the last one…'_

* * *

Tsunade cursed violently. She was still rather groggy; the influence of the sake she drank earlier still impeded her movements, as she rushed over the roofs of Konoha. Quickly, she and Shizune met Jiraiya, who in his worry, barely had the time to greet his former teammate.

"Naruto," he grumbled, as the three noted an explosion on the edges of the Uchiha district. "We need to speed up. Seems like Yugito is already there to stop him."

Tsunade could only blink when she saw her teammate picking up his speed. '_Damn.. And I used to be as fast as Jiraiya.. I really need to start working out, I__'__m getting rusty.__'_

* * *

"He recovers much faster than I had anticipated," Yugito mumbled, as she watched the Kyuubi rise from a now-ruined building and reviewed her options. For the last few minutes, she had smashed him around like a baseball, blown him up, and set him on fire, but despite her clearly demonstrated superior power and chakra control, it meant nothing to him. Even her sharp claws had barely scratched him, and when she threw him away he would just stand up as if nothing had happened. The crater around the place where he fell demonstrated the impact and power, but it didn't faze him. '_The Kyuubi__'__s endurance is definitely higher than yours, Nibi.__'_

"He is extremely durable, yes. But while he can take it, as the Kyuubi won't run out of chakra, Naruto isn't as lucky. It is his body, and the damage to it will be substantial, no matter how quickly my brother heals it," Nibi warned. "Continuous cycles of healing are not healthy for humans, you know how much trouble it took to transform to the higher stages at first…"

'_True,'_ Yugito sighed. '_I suppose I have no other option than to move to version two then…'_

"Patience, kitten, patience. Just pin him down."

'_What?__'_

"Just do it. Can't you feel him approaching? And he is followed by others."

* * *

"Nii-san.." Karin stood there, terrified by the chakra she sensed.

"We need to get inside," Kiba seemed to pull himself from his terror. "We need to warn the others and get out of here. With that Yugito woman reacting in equal force, the two of them could flatten the entire district!"

But Hinata just remained silent and shook her head. She would not leave Naruto alone. '_Please win Naruto-kun… Please… please don__'__t die!__'_

* * *

The Kyuubi growled in annoyance. Little by little, his little sister's container had been chipping away his power. But now that she had moved from the translucent red cloak with bubbles of chakra, to the dark red second form of release, her power was too much for him to handle. The physical manifestation of the two-tailed cat overpowered him completely.

'_Should I just break this wretched boy and take the chance? Or… or should I give him another chance?_' the Kyuubi mused. '_He isn__'__t as bad as the two before him, even though he is infinitely more reckless… Then again, neither of them received me when they were babies. They both had a chance to develop on their own before I was sealed within them.__'_

His musings were interrupted when Yugito slammed him into the ground with earth-shattering force. The Kyuubi gritted his teeth, and quickly forced the boy's body to heal. '_The kit__'__s body won__'__t be able to handle this kind of damage for much longer. What should I do? Even if I break free, there is a window of opportunity for my annoying sister to take me down. I will not have access to my full power immediately… That was the thing that that accursed red-hair also exploited years ago.__'_ The Kyuubi struggled to break free from his sister's grasp, but her strength was too much. '_The toad is approaching. I need to decide. No, if I break free I will lose, and be sealed once more. If only that girl hadn__'__t appeared! Only an Uzumaki can endure me; curse my bad luck that she had to pop up now!__'_

* * *

Tsunade jumped down, quickly followed by a winded Shizune, and saw her old teammate bending over Naruto's unconscious body. "What the hell happened here, Jiraiya?" she demanded to know.

"The Kyuubi happened," Yugito answered for him, with a sharp voice. Tsunade frowned a bit upon seeing the exhaustion on the woman's face. "Stopping him required… drastic measures. Version two was enough to easily overpower him, but it was rather trying."

"Yeah, you could help patching him up, Tsunade. If you're sober enough, at least," Jiraiya mumbled. Tsunade gestured to Shizune to take Hinata and Kiba inside, while she urged Karin to step forward.

"What happened to him?" she asked her former teammate once again.

But in his place, Yugito explained, "I pinned Naruto down, and gave Jiraiya-sama the time he needed to supress the Kyuubi's chakra.".

"The seal seems damaged. I had already noted that after the finals, and warned him about the possible danger, but that damage should not have been enough for Naruto to lose control like this," Jiraiya added. and

The worried tone disturbed Tsunade. _'After all, if the seal had really broken…' _Starting her investigation, she noticed Naruto was relatively unharmed. "His body is healing quickly," she remarked. "He'll be fine in a day or two. His exhaustion is the worst part, aside from the damage he caused to his chakra pathways. The only irregularity…"

"What?"

"His chest. If I didn't know better I'd say he recently sustained some serious injury here," she pointed, as she turned to look at Yugito. "Did you stab him through the chest?"

"Don't look at me," Yugito frowned. "I only pinned him down and suppressed the Kyuubi's chakra. I didn't wound him. Not seriously, at least. Well, those scratches on his left shoulder might be considered serious, perhaps… but I held back. I know full well that me killing Konoha's jinchuriki would start a war."

* * *

With Gaara still looking completely frantic in his room, Temari and Kankuro looked up as Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata walked in. "It was Naruto, the Kyuubi broke out," Kiba sighed. "He is fine now."

For the first time, Gaara responded to what others had said. "I felt… I felt it: the rage, the bloodlust. Shukaku went… How did he… how did Naruto keep it back? He should have lost control completely, I felt it!"

"Because of his seal," Shizune said matter-of-factly, as she walked in. "Yondaime-sama left an extremely strong seal on Naruto, as he imprisoned the Kyuubi. And not without reason, it seems. Yugito-sama said that only a fraction had broken out… and if all that was merely a fraction…"

"Will Naruto be alright?" Hinata asked with concern.

"Sure he will," Kiba boasted, mostly in order to hide his own concern. "You saw what he could do, at the finals. No offense," he added, looking at the sand siblings.

"It is not as simple as that," Shizune sighed.

"Our seals weaken over time, don't they?" Gaara guessed.

"Using the chakra from the Kyuubi seems to cause damage to the seal, yes," Shizune admitted. "The more Naruto-kun allows it's chakra to flow through him, the faster the seal will degrade."

Hinata gasped as she heard this. She had been proud that Naruto had been controlling such strength, but now it turned out he only had caused more problems for himself. Now she understood why they got the mission to protect Gaara and his siblings. The Hokage had kept Naruto close because he knew this had been going on. "Then we must make sure Naruto never has to use that chakra again," she said with a determination that surprised Kiba.

"No… he said it himself," Gaara frowned, his voice still sounding rather absent. Temari had never seen Gaara like this. What kind of monster would the Kyuubi be, to scare her brother like this?

"What?" Kiba demanded, impatient when Gaara paused. "What did he say?"

"It is our burden. We have to live with it. Endure it. Grow from the pain it causes us. But… how are we supposed to become strong enough to challenge a bijuu?"

Hinata sighed. She felt lost that she couldn't even help Naruto.

"It is not just a battle you have to face on your own," Shizune said, surprising Gaara. "No one can do everything all alone. And with you two facing a demon of that magnitude, you both will need all the support you can get. Neither of you is alone," she assured.

"That's right," Temari smiled. "The old guy said that you and Naruto should grow stronger, while not depending on the demon's chakra. We will make sure that you do!"

* * *

Outside, Karin helped Tsunade move Naruto so that Tsunade could close the few wounds that were left to him. His white shirt had been shredded to pieces, and Karin felt troubled that she had to remove the bloody remains of his white shirt from her newfound brother's chest. She felt troubled, because she didn't want to see her brother hurt.

These last few days, Karin had helped Shizune with her duties at the hospital. Overrun with wounded, they needed every able hand to help them, and with Shizune vouching for her, Karin had at least done a lot of useful things. That made her happy, because Karin believed that she would be discarded if she was useless to Konoha. But seeing all those who were wounded, who were strangers to her after all, was something completely different from seeing her own brother hurt.

"Move him a bit to the right," Tsunade pointed at the redhead. '_I hope Jiraiya is able to calm things down quickly.__'_ He and Yugito had left to see the Hokage. Jiraiya had sealed the corpse of the late anbu, as well as two chunin who had been there for unknown reasons. Considering Naruto's wound, which looked like it had resulted from a blade piercing his chest, the two Sannin had jointly concluded that the entire episode was caused by an attempt on Naruto's life. Worse even was the fact that Naruto's blood was on the tanto of the anbu, which suggested that the anbu had been the one to attack. It implied that the anbu weren't as loyal as they were supposed to be.

Tsunade sighed from having more headaches to deal with, while there was already a hangover from all the sake of the night before. '_Now, let__'__s focus on getting this brat up to speed. With his healing rate it shouldn__'__t take long, although the scans show that he needs to cut down on using chakra for a few days. Damn brat just recovered from his battle with the Ichibi, and now he does this. And if Jiraiya is right, it is all according to the Kyuubi__'s plan.'_

* * *

"Naruto-niisan needs to rest for a while," Karin said. She and Tsunade had brought him inside, to a room which Shizune had prepared. Once there, the two finished healing the still knocked-out Naruto.

"How is he?" Kiba demanded. "Is he all right?"

"Tsunade-sama says he will make a complete recovery, and he'll be up and running in a few days," Karin reported. "Although, she said he had to limit his use of chakra for now. Jiraiya-sama would make sure of that, she told me."

"Naruto-kun was still a bit weakened from what he had done during the finals and the invasion," Hinata said. "The chakra the Kyuubi forced through him seems to have done some damage to several tenketsu."

"Must be nice to have those eyes," Kiba grumbled. "Why didn't you say that earlier?"

"You didn't ask?" Hinata smiled weakly. In fact, she had been too pre-occupied to tell the others what she could see, too worried to think straight.

"Anyway, he'll need to rest for a few days," Karin sighed. "No way am I going to let him die. I just found someone who I can call family, so no-"

Whatever Karin wanted to say was cut off by a severely annoyed Uchiha who barged into the house, unannounced. "What the hell did that moron do to my Clan's property? Where is he?!"

"…" Gaara stared at the Uchiha, wondering if it was permissible to kill the boy or not. Sabaku no Gaara was not someone who enjoyed being startled, not one bit. "Get out," he said with his most emotionless voice.

The tone was enough to make Kankuro pale. Yes, the others could see him pale. It was the middle of the night, so he did not wear his war paint at the moment. He paled because this was one of the two tones Gaara used to indicate that he was pissed. The other type of voice, the one showing that the Ichibi drove him to insanity, was usually heard seconds before sand crushed someone. This emotionless tone, on the other hand, was the one that could be loosely translated to 'this is your last warning'. Everyone who knew Gaara well enough knew that if he said something with this tone, it was your cue to run away- and run hard.

Temari knew it just as well. "Gaara, no! We can't cause an incident here, okay?"

"Whatever," Gaara replied, more disappointed than anything else. He privately felt a little proud of himself that he had shown so much restraint. Usually organs would have already been scattered over the floor, and his sand soaked with blood.

Sasuke, however, did not care for the small victory won by the sand siblings in their road towards anger management. Uchiha Sasuke was furious. First the Hokage commandeered one of the larger houses on his clan's property, only for it to be followed by at least three houses in the district suffering damage beyond repair. "Where the hell is that dobe? I know he is the one who caused all this chaos."

"What did you call my brother?" Karin growled.

Sasuke frowned a little, but chose to ignore Karin. However, the commotion did draw the attention of a certain woman with a hangover who didn't like people shouting. The murderous intent of the Sannin was not something easily ignored.

"What are you doing here, brat?" the blonde grumbled. "Naruto isn't able to see anyone now, so either wait or get lost."

Sasuke bristled. "He destroyed much of my clan's property, he has to-"

"Who cares about a few abandoned buildings," Tsunade cut him off, not caring about him cringing as the word 'abandoned'. She knew very well why no one lived there, but she couldn't care less about that at the moment. "If you have any complaints about this situation you should take them up with the Hokage."

"Fine, then he'll make the dobe pay for the repairs."

"Naruto was attacked by someone else," Tsunade growled. "And who cares about repairing those buildings in the first place. Stop living in the past, kid. You're much too young for it. Now get out of here, before I have had enough with your attitude."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, before he turned around and stomped away.

"Geez, what an asshole," Karin said angrily. "What was his problem anyway?"

"This compound was inhabited by the Uchiha clan, Sasuke-san's family," Hinata explained, as Tsunade huffed in the background. "His clan was decimated, slaughtered by one of their own, and now Sasuke-san is the only Uchiha living here. This is all he has left of his clan…"

* * *

"Well, that was an interesting show," Sakon said.

"Seems like the faggot has some issues with his temper," Tayuya snickered. "But what the hell caused all this destruction?"

"The same person who radiated that insane chakra, I bet," Kidomaru guessed. "Perhaps that blond piece of trash we saw at the finals?"

"I don't care, whoever it was, even if it is the brat Orochimaru-sama told us to avoid, he disturbed my sleep. So he will die," Sakon promised.

"Ah just shut up, you lazy asshole," Tayuya smirked, enjoying her teammate's anger. "Who is going to take the first watch?"

"You," Sakon snapped at her, before jumping back to their camp. With Orochimaru's guidance, they had been able to enter Konoha without being noticed. And using an abandoned facility which Orochimaru had used before he had to flee from the village, they had a relatively nice place to stay, as well. At least, it was better than camping outdoors, where they would risk being discovered. Even with the techniques Orochimaru had taught them, which would allow them to avoid being detected by sensors, hiding in plain sight was still unwise.

"Totally worth it, you stupid two-headed muppet!" Tayuya shouted, grinning widely.

"That girl really has some bad manners," Jirobo sighed, looking back at his red-haired companion.

* * *

"Hiashi-sama!" one of the servants was knocking on the door of the main bedroom. "My apologies, but it is urgent."

Hiashi grumbled and stepped out of the bed. Hitomi frowned, curious what was going on, so she put on a robe to cover her nightgown and joined her husband.

"It is really bad, Hiashi-sama. One of the guards inspected his cell, and when he did, it was already too late to save him.. He was already gone."

Hiashi froze for a second. "Explain," he ordered.

* * *

Hiruzen had a headache- and not the kind that he got used to now, because his body had deteriorated each day due to the poisoning. No, this headache was caused by a young Uzumaki.

"What now," he mumbled, sitting in his office, all alone. "Yamato has still not fully recovered, and apparently my anbu can't be fully trusted on this subject either. The Kyuubi and Ichibi caused too much havoc, enough that even my most loyal shinobi would turn against Naruto and Gaara… Now who am I supposed to make their guard?"

With Naruto weakened, the old Hokage would normally have put either Tsunade or Shizune on such a task. They were both highly capable shinobi. But with the number of injured, Hiruzen couldn't take them away from the hospital. Jiraiya wasn't available either, as he would leave later that day. Living up to his promise, the toad sage accompanied Yugito and her team of genin back to the border. Although the man knew he had to hurry, Hiruzen still expected that his student would be gone for two or three days at least. Then he walked down the list of people he would trust and who knew Naruto. Kakashi was out on a mission, Yamato was out due to injuries, and Kurenai would probably return tomorrow.

'_People who would be capable of understanding Naruto__'__s position are rather scarce,__'_ Hiruzen sighed. '_How many would know the burden of a… wait, that__'__s it!__'_

Pressing a button on his desk, his secretary responded quickly. Despite the early hour, the man had already been around for more than an hour. The incident with the Kyuubi had woken up a lot of people, after all. "Hokage-sama?"

"Bring me Mitarashi Anko."

"Yes sir. Should I also arrange breakfast?" the middle-aged chunin suggested.

"I suppose that would be a good plan," Hiruzen sighed. "Or else Tsunade will be at my throat again for not taking care of myself…"

The chunin swallowed, and quickly moved out of the room. After all, Tsunade did hold him accountable for these sorts of things. And he knew very well that the busty blonde was not someone to be trifled with.

* * *

"I found and destroyed the remains of Sasori's body, and retrieved his ring," Itachi reported. He and his partner Hoshigaki Kisame were standing in a circle, flanked by six shadowy projections, meeting in a hidden cave in the Land of Fire.

"That is most unfortunate, but it was to be expected considering that the invasion failed. What about Orochimaru?" the leader inquired.

"All things seem to indicate that Orochimaru defected, Pein-sama," Itachi said. "Witnesses saw him flee the scene after Jiraiya of the Sannin came too close. Rumors state that Orochimaru succeeded in wounding the Hokage, and that he is currently sick, but the Sandaime is still active. It is plausible that Tsunade of the Sannin has healed him."

"All three of the Sannin were there?" the only woman among the Akatsuki spoke.

"Yes. I do not know why though," Itachi admitted. "The invasion failed due to various unexpected events. Tsunade being in Konoha is one of them, but the attendance of the new Mizukage was also outside of our plans."

"And the jinchuriki?" a tall figure asked in a rather bored tone.

"The jinchuriki of the Ichibi and the Kyuubi are both alive. There is, however, a complication. The jinchuriki of the Kyuubi defeated Sabaku no Gaara, and then somehow altered his seal."

"He did what?" one of the shadows started to curse. "Then this whole thing was one giant clusterfuck. I told you that you should've sent Kakuzu and me!"

"If you went there the invasion would have turned into a slaughter, Hidan," Kakuzu's gravelly voice sounded. "Though, there were a few interesting bounties to collect.."

"Enough," the leader silenced them. "We need to find out what changes have been made to the Ichibi's seal before we can extract it. But it doesn't matter much. We need to wait before we can begin the sealing process, considering the Sanbi is yet to reform. But it is unexpected that the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi had that much strength. By all accounts, Sabaku no Gaara was unstable and therefore able to gather a lot of the Ichibi's chakra."

"It seems that Konoha's jinchuriki is not very stable either," Itachi half-lied. "I would advise against taking any action against Konoha for now. The Kyuubi is likely to break free on its own if this development continues. It seems unlikely the boy can hold back the Kyuubi for much longer, and if he is able to keep the Kyuubi contained, his power will be crippled because of it. Unlike, for instance, the Hachibi and the Nibi- the Kyuubi would never cooperate with humans willingly."

"Noted," Pein agreed. "Using Sunagakure for this invasion was taking a chance, but correct as it would draw too much attention on us if we attacked Konoha ourselves. However, it is disappointing that we missed this chance to capture two jinchuriki at once."

"How about Orochimaru?" Konan asked.

"That damn snake fled," Kisame growled. "All we found in his hideout were traps."

"I did warn you not to enter it so casually," Itachi remarked calmly. "But Kisame is correct. All evidence supports this claim. The two known hideouts have both been evacuated, and it was apparent that Orochimaru had spent a lot of effort to clear his tracks. I think it is safe to assume that Orochimaru betrayed us, and that we should treat him as an enemy."

"So now what?" Kakuzu was starting to get impatient.

"You two bring the Gobi's jinchuriki to the main hideout," Pein ordered. "If it is only one, we would be able to keep him imprisoned until we can begin the process of extracting the bijuu. After that, you and Hidan will track down Orochimaru. I am certain you will be able to collect more funds along the way. Zetsu, you will dispatch a clone to keep watching for the return of the Sanbi. With Sasori out of the picture, you will be responsible for tracking down all the jinchuriki. Itachi, you and Kisame go to Ishigakure. Their daimyo has an interesting job for you. Apparently a nukenin from Iwa has been seen in the vicinity, and he could be an interesting recruit for our cause."

"Leader-sama?" the shadow who had remained silent during the meeting spoke up. "Can I have Sasori-senpai's ring? Please?" the man begged in a childlike fashion. "Pretty please?"

"Tobi is a good boy," Zetsu's white half said, shrugging when Pein looked at him.

Tobi nodded, and started jumping up and down. "Tobi Is a very good boy. Can Tobi have Sarori-senpai's ring now?"

"Fine," Pein grumbled.

"Yesss!"

"Behave Tobi, behave," Zetsu's blacker half corrected the overenthusiastic Tobi.

And then the meeting was concluded.

The shadows quivered and then dissolved. Kisame turned to look at his partner. "So, what about your little brother?"

"What about him?" Itachi said blankly, still annoyed by Tobi's antics. '_Why does he even act like that. I makes no sense.. It doesn't seem to be acting either, unless he is good enough to fool my eyes._'

"I thought you would look for him while you were in Konoha. How was he?"

"Sasuke was… behind schedule."

"Calculating bastard," Kisame smirked. "And why didn't you tell them about your interest in the jinchuriki? Don't try to hide it, you were all antsy after you returned from Konoha."

"Naruto has potential, but it is still too early to say how he will develop. But ultimately it is inconsequential. As I said the odds are against him. And even if he managed to overcome the Kyuubi, he would still fail. Because, even if I became too weak to deal with the boy, he would still fail because he would not be able to handle your unique advantage."

"You make it sound as if he could become a worthy opponent."

"As long as the others don't interfere, Kisame, he might very well become a person who has the ability to make you work for your money."

"Understood," Kisame's smirk widened. "I can't wait. It's been a while since I had a good fight! No way in hell I'll let that bastard Hidan take away my fun, not again!"

"You're still sore about that?"

"Hell yeah! I had dibs on that guy, and that fucker Hidan knew it! But this time I'll be the one gloating about catching the perfect prey, hah!"

* * *

"Seriously, it's the second day now, I can move around just fine," Naruto begged. He was sitting in the bed to which he had been confined, being forbidden to leave it. But he had spent enough time there to recover, and sitting still and doing nothing was not really a hobby of his.

"No."

"But Hinata, I-"

"No," Hinata said resolutely. "Tsunade-sama told you that you could only get out of bed if either she or Shizune-san said you could. So no, you can't get out."

"Well, get baachan then, she'll see I'm fine."

"Naruto… your definition of 'healed' is not something that many others would share…" She didn't even bother to suppress the weary sigh, showing her frustrations clearly to him.

"Eh?"

"You are too reckless!" Normally, Hinata would be far too shy to speak up to him, but right now her concerns outweighed her embarrassment.

Naruto sighed. "So you are still mad at me?"

"Y-yes, the risk you took was… You should be more careful!" Hinata flushed a little. '_I__'__m sorry Naruto-kun, but if I didn__'__t do this you would never listen and rest as ordered.__'_

"You know as well as I do that there was no other solution when it came to dealing with Gaara," Naruto said calmly. "I had hoped to avoid using the Kyuubi's chakra, but once Gaara pulled out that much of the Ichibi's power I had no other option. Besides, I already knew the seal was weakening gradually, I only hastened what would happen anyway."

"Why are you always trying to do everything on your own?" Hinata asked, downcast because she felt rather helpless.

"…" Naruto didn't know what to say. His first response would be to say that he was alone, but that was not right. He didn't want to insult her by saying she was too weak either. But how could make her see that he was different from her?

"And where were you that night? Gaara-san said you left the estate for a while."

"I had a talk with Neji," Naruto said grimly. "When I came back to this place, two chunin were following, looking for an opportunity to ambush me. When I came here, I decided to confront them…"

"Why didn't you warn anyone? We could have helped you, you know that!"

"They were only chunin," Naruto shrugged, fidgeting with the tip of his white shirt. No matter how long he had lived among the Hyuga, he could never get used to being stared at with those byakugan- especially not if the person he least expected it from glared at him. "They weren't supposed to be any trouble, and I felt the anbu idiot approach. I didn't think it would be any trouble."

"But he instead attacked you…" Hinata said softly.

"Yeah. I mean, I knew that he hated me, but I presumed he would honor the vows he swore to Konoha and the Hokage. I was wrong about that, as you can see. In a way, you could say the Kyuubi saved my life. Though I would rather have died than attack you, Kiba, and Karin.."

"Naruto!" Hinata said, shocked.

"What? It's not like I… Ah, whatever. It happened, neither of us can change it," Naruto sighed. "But at least nothing happened. And feeling the Kyuubi sulk for the last two days is somewhat amusing."

"What… what is it like? To be a jinchuriki?" Hinata asked shyly.

"… You don't want to know."

"What little Gaara-san tells us makes it seem like you rescued him from being tortured on a daily basis…"

"Gaara's seal was bad. Whoever drew that thing was a complete moron. Then again, fuinjutsu never seemed to be very widely spread. Even the stuff I found in our libraries is substandard compared to the Uzumaki scrolls," Naruto tried to divert Hinata's attention. But he immediately saw that it did not work. "You're looking right through me, aren't you.. Your mother teaches you a bit too well, at times. Fine. Yes, my seal is stronger than Gaara's, but the Kyuubi is far superior to the Ichibi. When it told me that the number of tails indicated how strong a bijuu is, I thought he was just bragging. He's a proud bastard, after all. But the difference is quite obvious to me now."

"So, you suffer as much as Gaara-san did?" Hinata asked, now very worried.

"Nehh. Not yet, at least. I can feel that the connection is getting stronger each time I use its chakra though," Naruto shrugged it away. "But the old pervert is going to take me on a training trip so I can get stronger, like I told you before. So, I'll be fine, probably. I just need to get stronger, so that I can withstand the Kyuubi's influence better."

Hinata remained silent for a few moments, before she sighed.

"I didn't ask for this, Hinata. If I could, I would have stopped the asshole that put that fuzzball in me. But instead, the Yondaime is revered as a hero, while I'm… well, let's just say that I am unwanted. I wonder how many requests Jii-san got this time, from people who want to seal off my chakra, or simply imprison me…"

"Imprison you?" Hinata gasped.

"Yeah, apparently some people thought it better that I was removed from active service after what I did to stop Gaara. Just ask Gaara how he was treated in Sunagakure… The bijuu are the least of our problems. At times, I think the Kyuubi was right that humans are more evil than any demon could ever be…"

"…"

"Now that you interrogated me, can you tell me why you were so mad at Karin?"

Hinata choked by his sudden question. "I-I-I w-wasn't mad at K-Karin-san, I just… just.."

She wasn't able to evade his question, but she was strangely stubborn about not answering it at the same time. So, she stuttered. This was the third time he had asked her, and the third time she started to flush like this, as if her brain had short-circuited. '_Ah well, at least it seems she doesn__'__t have some kind of weird grudge against Karin either. They talked casually to each other, and whatever it may have been, it seems like they solved it. It must__'__ve been one of those mysterious girl-things. Hmm, I guess I should make it clear to Hinata that I__'__m not expecting an answer, or she__'__ll run away again,__'_ Naruto sighed. '_And if there is one thing worse than being confined to a bed, it is to be completely alone while being confined…__'_

"I really don't get you. One moment you order me around, and then you get flustered like this," Naruto chuckled. "If you don't want to talk about it, then fine. Though I hope you're not going to fight with Karin or anything."

Hinata nodded, her face still red, but didn't trust her own voice.

"Geh, who would have known.. A sister!" he smiled.

Just outside the room, Ako stood in the hallway, with a large smile plastered on her face. '_You would be happy if you could have seen this, Haruki. Perhaps your expectations on them becoming a couple might even come true. Step by step, she seems to have become better at interacting with him normally. While she used to just faint whenever he greeted her… she has truly grown a lot this past year. I wonder how they__'__ll develop. Although, I still wonder if the clan would ever allow such a thing. But I am sure Naruto will find a way once it gets that far. He always does.__'_

* * *

"What's going on?" Karin wondered when she saw Ako coming down the stairs. The young Hyuga was still smiling.

"Nothing," Ako said. "Shizune-san has still not arrived?"

"No… Then again, things were crazy in the hospital," Karin sighed. "Is Nii-san still okay?"

"Hinata-sama has just forbidden him to get out of his bed. She can be surprisingly strict at times."

"I guess. Are she and Nii-san… you know?"

"What?"

Karin blushed. "Well, the way she looks at him when he is looking in another direction, I assumed she…"

Ako shrugged. "That is something they have to work out eventually. Just like you and Kiba still have a way to go before you are a couple."

"K-K-Kiba-kun?" Karin gasped. "But I didn't… Haven't.. I mean…"

Ako giggled. "Don't worry, I can keep secrets. I am loyal to Naruto, and you are his sister, aren't you? Though, I hope you are less troublesome than your brother…"

* * *

Karin's head jerked up when the door opened. "Shizune-neesan?"

"Sorry to disappoint," Kurenai smiled. "Karin, I wasn't expecting you here already."

Akamaru barked happily, and Kiba stood up from the chair he had been sitting in. "Kurenai-sensei! You're back already?"

"Yes, it turned out the mission was easier than anticipated. And when I met Kakashi and his team, I heard enough to know that I had to get back quickly. How is he?" Kurenai asked.

"Naruto is fine, you know him," Kiba shrugged. "But apparently his seal is starting to crumble. Our idiotic anbu guard tried to kill Naruto. If you ask me he was less troublesome than the one whom Hokage-sama assigned afterwards."

"Hey! I heard that," a voice came from the kitchen. Kurenai frowned and immediately knew what Kiba meant about trouble.

"So you get assigned to guard Naruto and Gaara, Anko?" Kurenai pinched the bridge of her nose. "What did you do to earn yourself such an assignment?"

"Mhh, I eh… I might have accidentally destroyed a few shops," a slightly embarrassed Anko walked into the room, followed by a smiling Ako. Both were carrying food to the dinner table.

"I guess that's why they assigned you to this place; in an empty district like this, you can cause fewer victims," Temari remarked, carrying a saucepan to the table.

"Hey! It wasn't my fault, but that cat of yours who-"

"Chie taunting you is not an excuse to wreak havoc like that," Ako chuckled.

"Ugh… Why do you keep protecting that cat…"

"I don't like strangers sending snakes to eat the house cat. Nor do I like people who order their summons to strangle children."

"Anko…" Kurenai suddenly seemed to radiate a dark and menacing aura. "What did you do?"

"Ah… Kure-chan, I didn't… I mean, she exaggerates a little by saying that I-"

Slap. Kurenai hit Anko on the head. Not hard, but enough to get the message through. "When will you ever learn, Anko? If you keep acting like this, no one will ever forget…"

"Sorry Kure-chan," Anko bowed her head, and seemed really embarrassed this time. "I know… But that cat stole my dango."

"That she did, and I'm not returning her blanket to her until she apologizes for it," Ako said.

"Sorry."

"…until she apologizes for it _and_ actually means it."

"No fair!"

Anko made a face at the cat, which only made Kurenai slap the back of her head again. "Behave."

"Sorry…

"You and that cat are exactly the same…" Kurenai deadpanned.

"We know that already," Kiba sighed, causing the snake mistress and the playful cat to object in equal indignation. "I'll get Gaara and the Make-up kid."

"Good, then I'll fetch Hinata-sama and bring a plate of food to Naruto," Ako replied.

* * *

Tired from a long day at the hospital, Shizune dragged herself to the Uchiha district. Well, not literally, of course, but the woman was rather exhausted nonetheless. Checking up on the boy with his boundless energy and zero sense of self-preservation would no doubt add to the fatigue- and she was part of the Kato clan, and not the Nara clan!

But she volunteered for the task, so she had no right to complain. Tsunade had been ready to go, but Shizune told her she wanted to meet up with Karin. Tsunade had smiled at this and told her she could see why she liked the kid so much.

'_Hmm… Perhaps Tsunade-sama is right, when I was her age I resembled Karin a lot. Heh, even the part where I had a crush…__'_ Shizune sighed when she thought back. The boy had been a year older then her, and it had broken Shizune's heart when he died in a mission. She knew that genin had a high chance of dying on their first mission outside Konoha, but she never thought that he would… '_Look at me. I__'__m so tired I__'__m getting all gloomy,__'_ Shizune sighed.

Still, it had given her somewhat of an understanding of how much it had hurt her master when her uncle had died, of how it still hurt her. '_She and uncle were really close… Compared to them, Sanjuro and I were more like strangers. We didn__'__t even get a chance to date properly… and still I never stopped imagining what my life would have been like if he had lived. Ah well, I hope that Karin-chan has more luck than I had. At least Kiba has a team around him that won__'__t abandon him.__'_

* * *

"So, can I finally leave this damn bed? Hinata doesn't even allow me to read my fuinjutsu scrolls. I want to do _something_," Naruto whined. "Please?"

Shizune could barely contain her laughter when she saw the perplexed expression on Hinata's face. "I-I d-didn't mean it like that, Naruto-kun!" she squeaked. "B-but Tsunade-sama said that-"

"You did well, Hinata," Shizune smirked. "Yes Naruto, drastic measures were needed. You would ruin yourself if no one would stop you and force you to take the time you need to recover."

"Yeah, yeah, so am I healed already?"

"Don't you 'yeah yeah' me," Shizune was too tired to deal with a sly twelve year old like him. "You are way too reckless."

"Who cares, that fox heals me anyway."

"I thought you would realize by now how dangerous it is to rely on the Kyuubi."

"…it wasn't my fault I got stabbed in the chest by some perfidious anbu."

Shizune rubbed her forehead. "Just be a little more careful, okay? And be glad that I'm the one telling you this. If Tsunade-sama had been here, you would have needed another few days to recover. In fact, you should count yourself lucky that Hinata and Ako-san managed to convince her that tranquilizers weren't necessary."

During the exchange, Karin had gotten a sore stomach from suppressed laughter. She had seen enough to conclude that her new-found brother was stubborn, but he had done nothing but lose arguments. Not that Karin pitied him, she actually agreed with the others. In fact, she had told him so when he had mistakenly hoped that she would be a bit more lenient regarding his restrictions on movement.

'_At least he seems to listen to Shizune-neesan__'__s warning. Then again, he knows she is one of the best medics in the world, there is no way he could deny that… I wish I was a little like her!__'_ Karin thought. She had spent a lot of time helping Shizune at the hospital, and had grown a deep respect for her profession- not that Karin believed she could do such things. '_It's_ s_ad that Kusagakure only had interest in my abilities as a sensor. I completely suck at everything else. Who am I even kidding, thinking I could become as cool as Shizune-neesan?__'_

* * *

**Bonus: What not to do with sake**

* * *

Chie yawned. Her minions were still training to be proper cats, and with the wrathful snake mistress around the house, Chie felt a bit uneasy in their temporary home. It was not very surprising, considering how the woman had sent several snakes after her once she had seen her.

Still, it was less boring than this current aimless drift through the village.

"Ako-sama is still busy with the house, Whisker-two-leg is still confined to his bed, while White-eye-two-leg-hime is busy looking after Whisker, or else being trained by the Queen of the white-eye-tribe. And the others are boring…" Chie sighed. "Makeup-two-leg is always busy playing with his dolls, Dusty-two-leg is way too silent, while miss Prickly-two-leg is rather boring as well. And she started out so well with those chocolate chip cookies… I don't know why she refused to give me more. Spoil-sport."

Jumping from one rooftop to the other, Chie saw a familiar face. Or rather, two familiar faces. Well, they were so similar they might as well be counted as one face. "Oh, this could be fun… it might be a bit cruel, but fun to watch nonetheless."

* * *

"That was very youthful Lee, I'm so proud you mastered it so quickly!" Gai exclaimed.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

The poor waitress, who had been watching the scene in horror, was hit by some freakish vision that left her absolutely terrified. But the green-clad duo never even noticed the screaming woman running away, while screaming "my eyes, my poor eyes" over and over again.

Later they ordered a meal from the shop owner, a man who was familiar with Gai, and had been wise (or traumatized?) enough to look the other way earlier.

"Oooh, curry rice?"

"Yes, Lee, its the only meal youthful enough for a celebration!"

* * *

'_My ears.. Why do I have such good hearing? Or are those two so freaking loud?__'_ Chie shuddered. She stood outside and waited until her plan came to fruition.

* * *

"Lee? What is wrong? What are you doing?"

* * *

Chie nearly fell from the roof as she couldn't control her laugher. Beneath her, the restaurant was virtually destroyed, with only one wall left standing straight. Her plan of adding sake to all the drinks had been a success. '_I knew he couldn__'__t handle alcohol, and I did hear Big-bowl-head-two-leg say it was dangerous… But this?_' Chie snorted as she saw Gai making another futile attempt to catch the unleashed Lee.

'_I__'__m definitely going to do this again!__'_

"Mhmm," someone scraped her throat.

"Oh crap," Chie whimpered.

"What are you doing this time," Ako asked with a deceptively sweet voice.

'_Oh damn, she__'__s using 'the voice__'__.. I__'__m doomed,_' Chie thought, as she gulped and looked up. "I was only watching, I swear."

"Nice try, little lady, but I'm not buying it. Not after I saw your laughter. You are grounded, you hear me? Grounded!"

* * *

**A/N**: Poor Chie. Well, not really. She got what she deserved. And how do you like Hinata changing her attitude a little? Well, you could say she had a good motivation, learning that Naruto risked the integrity of his own seal to save Gaara. And thereby willingly followed the plan the Kyuubi made to regain freedom. Well, willingly: it was that, die, or kill Gaara and risk war. At times, the best choice is just the one which sucks least.

I might hear you think: there is no such thing as weakening seals in the manga. Correct, at least for Naruto himself, because it did happen with some of the other jinchuriki (Bee's predecessor and Gaara, for example). But I said I wouldn't just repeat the manga. Take Naruto's ability to sense hatred, for instance. You might find some answers to those 'differences' in the next chapter: **Revelations**. Perhaps I'll reveal what happened at the Hyuga estate as well…

With regard to Hinata: some of you are a bit annoyed that there isn't much romance yet. I understand it, but please remember: this is a story about a twelve (nearly thirteen) year old boy, who carries a lot of emotional scars and a burden which most likely kills him, and a twelve-year-old girl who struggles with her own shyness. Would it make sense to show romance at this point? Nevertheless, their emotions play a fundamental role in this arc.

Before I proceed to the obligatory request to leave a review, I will first give my thanks to **Illuminated**. Now, review! I command thee!

-Z-

* * *

_Illuminated_: I take it that Karin hasn't been bitten yet.

_Z._: Nope, no bitemarks. Yet.. In the manga, when Karin participated in the Chunin Exams, she wasn't covered in bite marks either. Although I'm not entirely sure if that was canon or filler from the anime. But I wanted to show a different Karin. Why? Because I want to explore the Uzumaki clan. We've seen so much from the Uchiha clan (to the point that it became repetitive), and to a lesser degree the Senju and Hyuuga clans, but the manga never seemed to care about Naruto's clan. It still puzzles me why Kishimoto never went that direction.

Edit: woohoo, 700 favs and 900 followers! Next chapter at 1.000 follows? ;)


	44. Revelations

_For the first time since I started The Honoured Guest the amount of views has exceeded the amount of words. Thank you all for your support!_

* * *

**Chunin arc**

**Revelations**

* * *

"So, you ready?"

"Shizune said I could move around, as long as I didn't use too much chakra," Naruto sighed.

"Well, we are only starting practicing this, so chakra won't be necessary," Tenten smirked. "Is it true Tsunade-sama placed restricting seals on you?"

"Yes… I can only use what baa-chan said to be a quantity of chakra that a jonin would have," Naruto grumbled. "I can't even make more than three kage bunshin without feeling tired."

Tenten chuckled a little. "Is it so frustrating to be normal?"

"I suppose. Having a demon like the Kyuubi crammed inside you also has a few advantages. So, what is the plan?"

"Well, now that you have recovered, I figured we could start training. I mean, my team is pretty much off duty while Neji is absent, and Gai-sensei is on missions all of the time. And you are assigned to guard Gaara and the others."

"Yes, that is why I suggested splitting it: one morning training with spears, the other on fuinjutsu. Also, Karin and Hinata will be joining us on the fuinjutsu thing."

"Oh, ok. The more the merrier," Tenten smiled.

"You guys will probably need to cooperate for the bigger seals anyway, so doing it this way makes it a lot more efficient in training."

"Agreed. But, I didn't find much on spears or tridents, and I haven't used those that much anyway, so instead I suggest doing something similar: bojutsu."

"Bojutsu?"

Tenten revealed two scrolls and summoned two staves from them. "This staff is a bo," Tenten said while she threw one of them at Naruto. "It's made out of the hard wood of a red oak," she started the lecture she had prepared in advance. "This specific type is called a rokushkubo, as it is six foot long. Although this kind of weapon isn't specifically a spear, I picked it because it is pretty similar in some ways."

Naruto swirled it around a bit and thought the bo felt oddly well balanced.

"As you can see, the bo is thick. It is about 1.25 inch thick at the middle. But you notice it is a bit tapered. The middle part is called the chukon-bu, but the ends, which are named the 'kontei', are less thick. Like this one, the kontei are about three-quarters of an inch. Because of the thick chukon-bu, a bo enables its user to block and counter an attack."

"Still sounds rather different from a spear," Naruto rejoined a little skeptically.

"Why are you so fixated on spears anyway?" Tenten wondered.

"…"

"Won't tell eh?" Tenten sighed. "You really like your secrets, don't you? I was expecting you to be all 'spears are cool' and stuff. That's how kids our age usually react in my dad's shop.. Ah well, it is true the bo is not a spear. It can used to thrust, swing, and strike. These thrusting, swinging, and striking techniques are similar to the unarmed movements of some taijutsu styles. These scrolls I brought along usually treat the bo as if it was an extension of your limbs. Still, the upwards movements are much like spear techniques. And by gripping one of the kontei, rather than leaving both hands at the chukon-bu section, you effectively increase its length and make it very similar to a spear. Hell, you could even handle it as an odachi if the situation forced it."

"Sounds versatile," Naruto remarked.

"That's why I picked it!" Tenten smiled proudly. "Rather than training on specific weapon, you practice the fundamentals of a wider range of techniques. That's why my dad trained me in bojutsu. Though I should warn you that I started out with a jo, which is a much smaller bo, because we are not yet tall enough to use the six foot bo. But considering you wanted it for spears in the first place, I just decided to pick the version for adults."

"six foot is indeed a bit much for the 'extension of your limbs' thing," Naruto agreed. He was one foot shorter than the staff was long. It didn't seem the most practical solution to him, but he trusted Tenten's judgement on this. '_Actually, I suppose the Hyuga do rather little with weapons. They rely purely on taijutsu, and it almost seems like it is an insult to them when they have to use weapons. Odd, with those eyes of theirs, they would be incredible archers. Imagine them as snipers…__ I wonder how they even got such a strong tradition with regard to taijutsu. It hardly makes sense. Juken is useful, but to only rely on that seems like a waste of their eyes. But perhaps they were just too proud, thinking that archery was the coward's way of fighting. Or perhaps they think themselves to be too noble for ranged combat. They're surely stupid enough to come with such reasons. While the only thing a shinobi needs to do is to execute their tasks as swiftly and efficiently as possible, their foolish pride would only limit their abilities.__'_

"Ok, shall we start with a spar so that you can figure out how the bo feels, or do you first want to train a few kata?"

* * *

"You're awfully distracted today, Hinata-chan," Hitomi chided her daughter gently. When it was just the two of them, Hitomi dropped the formal façade she usually wore in the presence of others. She knew Hinata understood this duality in her mother's behavior, quite unlike her younger sister. Everyone had a soft side, even her husband. Though Hitomi thought she saw the man she once fell in love with less frequently than she preferred, and seen the distant and cold clan leader persona became less of a façade and more his real personality. '_He once was so honest and caring, so sweet and shy when we just began dating…__'_

"Sorry mother," Hinata apologized.

"Well, what is wrong? Did you say something wrong to Naruto-kun?"

Hinata flushed. "M-mother!"

"Now now, we have discussed this before: do not try to hide your feelings from yourself."

"Yes mother.."

"Your affection for him is quite obvious, even to the untrained eye," Hitomi smiled. "Whenever you are depressed or cheerful, it is usually because of Naruto-kun. So, what happened that makes you so distracted today?"

"N-Naruto-kun… He chose to use the Kyuubi's power, but by doing so he damaged the seal that imprisons it," Hinata replied, somewhat flustered by her mother's remark. However, she had more to add.

Hitomi could see it clearly. The anger, frustration, sadness, and above all: the worry. "Did he explain why he did it?"

"Yes," Hinata sighed. "He told us that he was the only one capable of stopping Gaara without killing him. But still… why did he have to risk his own life like that? It isn't fair!"

"Life is not fair, Hinata. No one asks for your permission. The world doesn't consider fairness. What happens, happens. Many within our clan believe that we are led by fate, that it is our fate that is unfair to us. Personally, I disagree with that view," Hitomi said with a sorrowful voice.

"Mother?"

"Hinata, if something bad happens… Do you blame your fate, or do you blame the one responsible for it?"

Hinata blinked away her confusion at the sudden change in her mother's demeanor. "The person responsible, of course."

"Then don't you agree that people blind themselves by thinking about concepts as fairness and fate?" Hitomi asked. _'You have to learn this lesson, my girl, or you won__'__t grow.__'_

"Naruto-kun once said that it would be nicer not to see through all the lies."

"But?" Hitomi insisted.

"But while our byakugan helps us see through the lies which others tell, it doesn't help us with the lies we tell ourselves," Hinata replied after a minute of silence.

"Do you think Naruto-kun fights for himself?"

"Eh?" Hinata felt as if her head was literally in turmoil. Hitomi's style of teaching predominantly focused on making her daughter see the connections between things, to let her daughter find a way to connect the dots. But not just that: some things were related while one expected them unrelated, while others were actually unrelated while everyone supposed they were related. '_Mother makes me doubt everything, yet tells me to draw confidence from the fact that our doubts allow us to improve. While those afraid of doubt hide themselves in the lies they proclaim to be facts, and fail to rise above themselves. Doubt is necessary to learn… But why does she ask about Naruto-kun now? I know what Naruto-kun… that__'__s it, I didn__'__t doubt Naruto-kun!__'_

Hitomi could see the realization on her daughter's face. "You admire Naruto-kun, but you have to learn that this admiration can prevent you from understanding who he is and what he wishes to achieve. Now, can you answer my question?"

"Naruto-kun does not fight for himself," Hinata mused.

"Always try to look beyond the layers people want to show, true insight shows more than people see themselves. That is why I taught you to be true to your own feelings. It is our empathy that gives us access to the true insight of the byakugan, not cold logic."

"Naruto-kun also does not fight for Konoha.. If he did that, he could have found other solutions to defeat Gaara-san. No, when he saw Gaara-san, he saw himself. Gaara-san shares his fate as jinchuriki."

"What about Gaara-san made Naruto care so much?"

"Gaara-san nearly lost control, he had… he had troubles with his seal," Hinata suddenly realized what her mother wanted her to see.

"And he saw his own problems, and is afraid he would end up just like Gaara-san," Hitomi nodded. "Yet, because he fears such a fate, he did not want Gaara-san to suffer it. What does this tell you about Naruto?"

"He cares more about others than himself?"

"That certainly would explain his reckless nature," Hitomi laughed. Hinata looked a bit surprised at her mother, because the woman did not laugh that often. "O, how my cousin could complain about that," Hitomi smiled, both sad about Haruki's death and fondly remembering him.

"Does this mean Naruto-kun intends to… give up?"

"I do not know," Hitomi said honestly. "I cannot say how it would be to be a jinchuriki. I can hardly imagine the hatred Naruto or Gaara face, both from the people around them, and the demons they imprison. And still, they have access to a vast power, even if it is beyond their ability to control that power properly. I suspect Naruto-kun imposes more responsibilities on himself than he should. He knows what he can do, but he wants to go too fast."

"Too fast?"

"If he waited and trained to gain more control, he would not face such risks for himself. By acting now, he may have weakened his seal, and brought the Kyuubi one step closer to regaining freedom. And still, he does not intend to let the Kyuubi break free. What does this tell you, Hinata?"

Hinata frowned, and despite giving it a long thought, she couldn't come to an answer.

"Help him," Hitomi said, seeing her daughter had yet much to learn, even though she was at the right path. "Even if he does not see the need for help himself. And while you are doing this, try to find the answer to my question."

'_Yes Hinata, you must see this yourself. He intends to take the demon down with him, I knew it when I last spoke to him. His eyes betrayed him, he has but little hope for himself..__'_ Hitomi repressed her urge to sigh, not wanting to worry her daughter. Not yet at least. '_And someone without hope will take big risks. But if Hinata is near, he would refrain from such risks. I know that he would never want to hurt her, no matter what the consequences for himself are…__'_

She watched as her eldest daughter, completely preoccupied by her own thoughts, left the room they used for their training session. '_Oh Hiashi-kun, if only you understood. Our girl is so much smarter than you give her credit for. Yet you only chase the superficial strength which our clan values so much. Why can__'__t you see that our byakugan can used for more than just our gentle fist style? Then again, you never understood that our insight is derived from our own emotions, and not from cold logic. Our clan is so caught up in the lies and deceit that created our traditions. And you lack the strength to break through those traditions. If only I had recognized that sooner, if only I had known our clan__'__s true history when you were still open to such progressive ideas...__'_

* * *

"What's with all the noise?" Temari wondered.

"Miss Mizukage is leaving today. I saw the villagers had prepared some kind of miniature festival when I reported to Jii-san this morning. Quite odd to see how quickly opinion can change. Then again, she did deserve her place as a hero of our village," Naruto explained. "Then again, after Jii-san announced the new alliance between Konoha and Kirigakure people lost the last doubts they had about her, I suppose. Ah well, I can understand. She's a bit odd, yet a very kind person."

"An alliance?"

"Yeah, defensive alliance," Naruto nodded. "Jii-san said that he believed Kiri would change, and from what I saw Miss Mizukage truly intends to change her village. Apparently they are fed up with all the carnage and betrayal that their village was known for during the reign of their previous Mizukage."

"Wow… This is big news," Temari blinked. "With Konoha now allied with Kiri, I really hope our council does everything in its power to re-establish the past alliance between us.."

"They will," Gaara said. "Konoha allying itself with Kirigakure will upset both Kumogakure and Iwagakure. It will alter the balance of our world. Our village will have to ally itself with Konoha, or Iwa will turn against us. They would feel threatened if our three nations would ally and exploit any chance they get to weaken a potential alliance between three nations."

"Probably," Naruto shrugged. "We still have a peace treaty with Kumo, but after their past transgressions I doubt that there is much trust between us. Iwagakure would be even less happy, considering the grudges that everyone holds after the past wars."

"They still seem rather livid about what the Yondaime Hokage did," Temari agreed.

"Who doesn't," Naruto grumbled, resenting the man for sealing the Kyuubi within him.

"So… there's another festival?" Kiba said, not really caring about politics. "Sweet! Why didn't you say anything? You guys want to go too?"

"Kiba… I think it is better for Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro not to be there. It is more or less a celebration of our victory during the invasion," Naruto said softly. "I doubt the people will like seeing people from Suna at such a time."

"Oh… I see," Kiba mumbled. "Ah well, at least there is always next week's festival."

"What are you talking about?" Temari frowned.

Naruto sighed. "You and Kankuro could go if you wanted, but Gaara should stay out of that one too."

"What? Why?" Kankuro didn't understand it.

"Next week is the annual festival in the remembrance of the day the Kyuubi attacked Konoha," Naruto said, surprising the others with the bitterness in his voice. "Needless to say that jinchuriki are not invited." He turned and walked away.

"Well, that's something I wasn't expecting," Kiba frowned.

* * *

"So, what got into you kiddo?" Anko sat down next to Naruto. They sat on top of the roof, the side that faced away from Konoha.

"Nothing," Naruto grumbled.

"Aww come on, you can tell Anko-neechan," Anko smiled. She was bored to just be a guard, and she had heard enough from Kurenai about these kids to like them.

Naruto looked at her, wondering if she ever stopped joking around. '_Well, right now she__'__s not the same bloodthirsty lunatic who tried to drive me out of her training ground,__'_ Naruto mused, and then pointed at her neck. Instantly, her smile disappeared. "So you can understand how I feel," he smiled somberly.

"I suppose I somewhat understand your position," Anko grimaced. "So what is going on with your temper?"

"I hate festivals."

"Ah, so it's about the annual festivities."

"You understand what it is to be hated for something you can't help. How old were you when Orochimaru left that mark on you?"

Anko blinked. "What do you know about… oh, the Uchiha."

"Yes."

"Orochimaru was my jonin-sensei," Anko confessed. "But I know little about the period when I got this shitty thing. My memory is hazy. He probably removed whatever he deemed to be too risky. And quite thoroughly too, not even the Yamanaka were able to unlock those memories…"

"Must've been quite a betrayal."

"…"

Naruto looked at the tokubetsu jonin and saw her sad grimace. "Stop it," he said, pointing at the seal. "I can feel it. Your anger, the seal seems to react to it."

Anko frowned. "You feel it? Are you telling me you're a sensor now?"

"Not really. I just seem to be able to sense the negativity in people, their darkness. So, your act as the sadistic and crazy torturer doesn't really work that well," he smirked. '_She probably just does that to keep people away. To prevent herself from being hurt again, by all those who can__'__t see the woman behind the seal. Or by those who betray her for other reasons. Did Jii-san assign her to me because of that? He probably knew his anbu couldn__'__t all be trusted, so he chose the one person capable of understanding a burden that usually only other jinchuriki can fathom. Even if her seal is weak, as Orochimaru is a far cry from the Kyuubi__'__s overwhelming power__…'_

"Wiseass…" she grumbled. "So, what is with your festival-phobia?"

"Imagine that each year, there was a day were all the victims of Orochimaru were remembered through a festival. How would you think the villagers react when they see you, his former student and the one who bears his seal, at that very festival?"

Anko grimaced. "What does that have to do with it?"

"When I was a kid, I never understood why there was one day when I was treated particularly badly. In the orphanage, it was more or less a custom to condone violence from other kids against me, but every year there was that one day where the adults actually encouraged the other children to beat me up," Naruto sighed. "So, when I was four, I ran away. I discovered that there was some kind of festival in the village, so in my curiosity I started to explore it a bit.. I woke up a few days later in the hospital, and still don't remember what had happened. When I was five, I was thrown out of the orphanage the day before it. The woman said that it was the proper punishment for me, after what had happened the year before. I tried to hide, but something exploded. Still, I wasn't that badly wounded. Fires never did hurt much, after all. When I was six, shortly before I entered the Hyuga clan, I hid better… It took them all day before they found me. That is when I discovered that some people thought that hurting me was part of the festival. As if it was some kind of game. A fox-hunt, as they called it…"

"What? You can't be serious?" Anko uttered in complete disbelief. "That's horrible!"

"You wanted to know why I hate festivals. It is the worst birthday party anyone could get," Naruto shrugged.

"Do you hate Konoha?"

Naruto looked at the snake mistress. It was the first time he truly saw her as a kind and gentle soul, rather than the rough and short-tempered attitude she usually had. '_She really should stop hiding like that. She is a far kinder person than most would expect her to be… Just what emotional scars does she bear?__'_

"From what I saw when we went to see Jii-san this morning, people aren't too fond of you either. I decided to tell you this, not because like I wanted to whine or something, but because you would understand my position. I took a chance, in hope that you would understand. Think about this: you still serve Konoha too, why?"

Anko nodded, and then frowned. Naruto chuckled a bit as he saw her struggle to find the answer. "Even though Konohagakure is my home, I don't particularly like it- not as the village is right now. But I intend to change it, to show them all that they were wrong- that it isn't me who is the monster, but the one who created me. I will do whatever I can to make this a better place for the few friends I have. So that future generations don't have to suffer our fates."

She couldn't immediately reply. "And here I thought you were just another stupid brat. I underestimated you, kid. You are a lot smarter than I gave you credit for."

"We who are marked have two choices: either to stay stagnant and wither away, or to move and grow beyond ourselves. You should know that our burdens force us to grow at faster rate, just to survive in this hostile environment."

She gave an involuntary shudder, and touched her curse seal.

"A burden is not just something which slows us down," Naruto remarked. "It is also something that can drive us. Although it carries great risk, because it is so terribly tempting to give in to the temptations it can offer..."

* * *

"Ready?"

"What are you planning?" Karin asked reluctantly. "I know I agreed with this, but this seems a bit stupid."

She looked down at the sheets Naruto had given her, Tenten, and Hinata.

"Well, I asked you to read it," Naruto blinked.

"You said you'd teach us our clan's fuinjutsu. Not this weird scribbling!"

"Well, these are the basics," Naruto shrugged. "I refuse to just let you replicate seals when you don't know how they exactly function. Besides, you guys will face more trouble than I do, because the more demanding seals will require you to team up with others. Neither of you possess enough chakra."

Karin sighed. "Could you at least show us something?"

"Didn't you see enough during the final round of our Chunin Exams?" Naruto chuckled. "But I suppose I could…" he suddenly twitched and turned towards the house. "Dammit Temari, don't use your fan like that!"

"Sorry!" a voice shouted back, though it didn't sound too convincing.

"You better be, I can't spam these things around like I'm used to doing," he grumbled while going through the hand seal to create a new clone. He was left a bit winded in the effort. '_Seriously, if I don__'__t understand her training method to master the use of wind chakra, she should explain it better instead of slapping me with that stupid giant folding fan…__'_

He coughed. "Ok, as I was saying… what was I saying again?"

"You were going to demonstrate a seal," Tenten snickered.

"Ah, yes. I'll just do a simple weight seal, and explain the basic idea behind it. I gave you all copies of the basic theory I think you should first go through, so after I do that one seal you can go read."

"When were you supposed to be at the office of Hokage-sama?" Hinata asked shyly.

"At twelve. So there is time, I have got at least forty minutes before I have to leave."

"So then, start!" Karin said impatiently. She had literally being nagging him to teach her some of their clan's secrets.

"Ok, one of the basics of Uzumaki-style fuinjutsu is the signature swirl that can usually be found in the center of seals. It is basically the same vortex-like symbol that is used as the symbol of Uzushiogakure. The symbol, however, is not just used as decoration. It is the place where the chakra is sealed, while the entire system of signs and connections distributes that stored chakra in such a way that the intended effect is created. Basically, the vortex is you, while the system surrounding it consists of the hand signs, the shape transformation, and the nature transformation. And more. For instance, each person has his own unique type of chakra. The drawn system also contains filters to isolate the type of chakra for which it is intended. Or, in your case, can blend chakra of multiple people in order to create one single jutsu."

"Erm.. Nii-san, why are you explaining all this? Why can't we just copy existing seals?"

"Karin, can you execute a jutsu when you see the hand signs someone else uses?" Naruto asked.

"Well, no but…"

"It is said that our clan was wiped out because people feared our fuinjutsu," Naruto explained. "That should tell you how dangerous fuinjutsu is. I refuse to teach you anything you don't know the risks about. A simple weight seal isn't that dangerous, but if you have for instance the Ennetsu Jigoku seal… One missing connection, one unclearly drawn corner sign, and it could blow up and destroy you and everything around you."

Karin gulped, and Hinata and Tenten looked equally distressed. "Good thing that Lee decided not to come," Tenten whispered, despite his earlier words and acknowledgement that knowledge on fuinjutsu would be a useful thing to have. "Is that why you asked Hinata to join? I mean, her chakra control is top-notch."

"Yes, that's part of the reason why I asked her," Naruto smiled as he saw said Hyuga blush from the praise. "I suppose I could have asked Ino as well, but as far as I have seen she has less finesse when it comes to chakra control. And her temper would be bad too, because learning this stuff will really be a test of patience. Meanwhile, Sakura has too little chakra to be really useful, even though her control has always been the best of our class. Not to mention that her love for theory would be a great asset, but I doubt she would willingly come to this place. And I'm not sure if I wanted her here either. As for the others, well I barely know Shino so I can't judge him very well. I refuse to teach Sasuke any of our clan's fuinjutsu, so he is out too. And Choji and Shikamaru lack control. Well, in Shikamaru's case the issue is more motivation than control… You three are the only ones who meet the qualifications to learn fuinjutsu, and also the only ones who I trust enough to teach these clan secrets. Even if two of you aren't Uzumaki," Naruto chuckled.

He wasn't lying about the latter. He saw Karin as his sister, and if she had the same kind of talent with regard to fuinjutsu, she would pick it up quick enough. Hinata was his first and best friend, and he fully trusted that her ability and intelligence would more than suffice to learn fuinjutsu. And Tenten, the girl he basically traded knowledge with, had already shown her talent towards fuinjutsu. Even though it was mostly dormant, considering her position as a clanless girl. No one had taught her anything beyond the basic seals that could be found in Konoha's library. And even with that limited knowledge she managed to create an interesting combination where she could quickly draw a great number of weapons from her sealing scrolls.

"However, like I said earlier: mastering fuinjutsu will not be easy for any of you. None of you possess enough chakra to create the more demanding seals on your own. You do not have the chakra reserves for it. That is why you three need to know how seals work, because that is the best way to ease the cooperation."

"So… We need to draw seals in a different way because we need to activate them together?" Hinata frowned.

"We possess different types of chakra," Karin nodded. "I can feel that."

"So what alterations do we need to make to seals in order to do that?" Tenten asked eagerly.

"Hold it. I told you to start at the basics," Naruto halted the bun-haired girl's enthusiasm. Rolling out a scroll, he quickly drew the weight seal. "Ok, so you see the basic layout: the vortex which holds the chakra at the center, and the four quadrants you see here," he pointed at each section. "Now, I am not going to explain how each section works, nor how they interact with each other. That would require me to explain what the signs themselves mean, and how the connectors between those signs work, as well as the main chakra conductors. That is stuff you will find in the theory."

Naruto drew a much simpler and smaller seal next to it. "This is what happens if you thoroughly understand a seal: you can create shortcuts. Mind you, though the basic function is exactly the same as what its big brother does, this small one is far less effective. In durability, power, and relative chakra cost, the entire range of performance is worse."

"Then why use that smaller one?" Karin frowned.

"Because in battle, you do not have time to draw the big one, and we cannot have every seal prepared before we go into battle. I mean, even if I took the amount of effort it would take to carry so many scrolls with pre-written seals in them into account, the sheer time it would cost to activate would be a disadvantage. In a battle, each second counts. And these shortcuts can be created by your chakra itself, using the chakra writing method, not by writing it out in ink."

"But you can use barriers to give yourself time, right?" Tenten asked.

"True, but those have limitations too. You'd never have the initiative and always leave time for your opponent to counter your attack before you even execute it. Because of it, much of the Uzumaki fuinjutsu style requires preparation, and in general it is predominantly aimed at ambushing opponents or defense. If we don't have the initiative, fuinjutsu is hard to use effectively due to the preparation time."

"It is like rigging an area with traps," Hinata realized. "Unless you know how to instantly execute a seal, but that would be much more difficult I suppose."

"That leads to this smaller seal," Naruto nodded. "Now, many of the scrolls I have learned up til now don't offer these shortcuts. And the practical use is also limited in many cases. I mean, you saw my fight with Lee: I needed direct contact to apply the seals. Though, I have the advantage of using my clones as substitutes."

"But you could use other objects, like kunai or arrows, as well?" Tenten asked.

"Yes, of course one can. But that requires you to have those objects prepared, or at least carry kunai with blank notes or something. And for some seals, that method would require a workaround as well. Take this weight seal for instance: if I applied it on a kunai and activated it, only the kunai would become heavy."

Tenten nodded, although her head became a bit dazzled with the number of variables that she would have to take into account with fuinjutsu. '_Tweaking a seal was do-able, but this… can I even do this? There is so much I need to learn, it is mind-__boggling__…__'_ However, unlike Tenten, the other two girls had little to no experience with fuinjutsu at all- to them it was like Naruto was speaking a completely different language.

Seeing the dismay on faces of his 'students', Naruto began to laugh. "Relax, it's not like you have to figure it all out on your own. I'll help you however I can. I mean, I had to pretty much figure it all out by myself, but you don't have to go through that. I mean, it took me a few years, and that was _with_ the use of the kage bunshin no jutsu. So don't expect to master this stuff in a week, okay?"

Her enthusiasm crumbled, Karin nodded in defeat. "Yes nii-san…"

* * *

After teaching them some of the basics of the fuinjutsu theory, Naruto had to hurry to the office of the Hokage. He left Anko to guard Gaara, as he didn't know how long it would take before he would return. Unlike the reports he and Anko had to give the old man every now and then, this summon had been different.

Entering the old man's office, Naruto was shocked to see how old and fragile the man looked. "I'm fine, Tsunade, please leave us. Anbu, you three leave the room too. Tsunade, seal the room when you leave, I do not want anyone to listen in on this conversation," Hiruzen commanded.

"Hokage-sama, are you-"

"Yes, Raido, in private," Hiruzen cut him off.

Unable to go against his direct orders, the three guards left the office. Tsunade grumbled something at Naruto about 'don't you dare get him upset' and left the office as well.

"What is that all about, Jii-san?" Naruto frowned.

Sorutobi Hiruzen sighed, and felt the pain in his bones. '_It is like this child makes me feel twice as old. Oh Naruto, I wish I could have kept the truth a bit longer from you… but I do not have the time. And if I waited any longer, it could pose a threat to Konoha.__'_

"There are several things I need to discuss with you, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen started. "First of all," he pointed at the pile of documents that had been thrown in the trash can. "Those are the requests I received after your little escapade a few days ago."

Naruto swallowed and looked at the papers- the top one seemed to be a request to send him to jail.

"Many petitioners seemed to believe that you lack control over the Kyuubi, and wanted me to imprison you, seal your chakra, or even execute you… it's needless to say that I denied every request, and I sent letters to all who filed complaints explaining that it had been a response to a betrayal by one of my own anbu…"

"So much for a change in reputation.." Naruto mumbled.

"Things were looking up after what you did during the invasion, yes," Hiruzen agreed. "But the fear of the Kyuubi will remain, it seems. But there are a few things I need to tell you before… before I die."

"I'm sorry, Jii-san," Naruto said, downcast.

"Don't be. If anything, I thank you, Uzumaki Naruto, for giving me this extra time. If it hadn't been for the partial antidote Tsunade created out of your blood, I would have long been gone. And I would have suffered a lot more pain than I do now. No, I am nearly out of time, and quite frankly I do not really mind it. I have lived a long life, and though I will be sad I have to leave my loved ones behind, I know better than most that this is merely the cycle that all life has to follow," Hiruzen smiled placidly. "But before I go, I would like to see my successor take over my position. And I only have a few people capable of that. But none of them are willing, and the one who is willing is the man I cannot give the position. I called you here because you might sway his decision."

"You want Ero-sennin to take the hat, don't you?"

Hiruzen chuckled, always liking the nickname the boy had given to his former student. "Yes, Jiraiya is by far the best alternative, don't you agree?"

"Well, by the looks of it, it would be him or baa-chan," Naruto shrugged. "And I don't think that someone who runs away from her past and tries to drink her pain away is fit to lead a village. I don't think that being Hokage is an easy job, so unless she has a serious change of heart, I doubt she would be able to take it. She is too cynical."

"Ah… I suppose your assessment is correct, even though it is somewhat harsh," Hiruzen sighed. "Tsunade has faced a lot of sorrow. And everyone has a point at which they break…"

"Yet what point would there be in giving a broken person the hat?" Naruto countered. "Not that I say it because I hate her, but I'd rather see Tsunade-baachan doing something that makes her happy- something that suits her better than such responsibility."

Hiruzen stared at the boy. '_If only I could have lasted another few years. What kind of man would he be in five years? Sure, he would still be young for taking my position, but Minato was young too. If only I had more time. I definitely need to discuss this boy__'__s potential with Jiraiya, though I have little doubt that he sees the same thing as I do… no, he probably sees it even better. His insight in human nature has always been one of his strongest points. If this child takes control of the Kyuubi__'__s power, I doubt that anyone would be able to stop him.__'_

"Jii-san?" Naruto frowned, a bit confused by the old man, who had become lost in thought all of a sudden.

"Yes? Oh, yes, we were discussing Jiraiya. The reason I called for you is because Jiraiya refused my position when I offered it to him. So, we agreed to resume our discussion after he returns. He left Konoha to deliver Yugito-san to the border of the Land of Lightning, because we thought it was better for her to leave the village after the fight between her and the Kyuubi," Hiruzen explained. "But he refused the position because of you, Naruto."

"Me? Why?"

"Because he promised that he would teach you. He feels like his duty to you would not allow him to become the Godaime Hokage."

"So? You want me to tell him I don't need his teachings anymore?" Naruto frowned. "He would see right through that lie, and you know that, Jii-san."

"I don't want that. But I would prefer another solution. One where Jiraiya can stay in Konoha while teaching you what you need to learn at the same time. The future of the village is more important than any individual, Naruto. And while you are definitely important to Konoha, the village needs good leadership in these times."

"…"

"Do you think that such an arrangement is possible?"

"I suppose. It would require that I stay here too.." Naruto grimaced a little. '_Though it would be nice to stay close to the others, it would also mean that I can__'__t get away from this hatred-filled place. Then again, there isn__'__t really another solution, is there? Jii-san is right. Ero-sennin is the best option he has. He__'__ll need someone strict enough to keep him in line though. Someone who makes sure that he isn__'__t going to change regulations on the hot springs and all… he needs to get someone extremely strict as his secretary.__'_

"Okay, I'll try to convince him. But you know the old pervert is as stubborn as a goat."

"A comparison to a toad would have been more fitting," Hiruzen smiled.

"Really? The toads seem pretty laid-back to me," Naruto shrugged. "But if I am forced to stay here, I want one thing in return."

"And that is?" Hiruzen was a little surprised, in all his years Naruto hardly ever asked anyone for anything.

"Revoke your law."

"My law?"

"The one that forbids anyone from telling the truth about me and the Kyuubi," Naruto said, somewhat on edge. "No matter what your intentions were when you made that law, the ignorance of people regarding me and my burden caused more damage than it ever benefited me." Naruto watched as the old man's shoulders slumped, and the lines in his old face seemed deeper than ever.

"I… I am sorry…"

"Don't worry about it. I know you did it because it was your intention to protect me. But now is the time to revoke that law. People have seen too much anyway," Naruto said. "They fear and will hate me anyway, but at least it would be nice if they knew the truth about me. Why I because like this, which idiot caused it, etcetera."

"You think that would change their opinion on you?"

"If it means that people will see that I am Uzumaki Naruto, jailor of the Kyuubi, and not the Kyuubi himself, it's worth a shot," Naruto shrugged. "But, you said you wanted to discuss several things, but so far you only talked about Ero-sennin taking the hat."

"Then I will make sure that the law will be revoked. I will explain it to the council and the people of Konoha when I announce my resignation. And yes, there were a few other things… First of all, I heard you found someone of your family?"

"Yes. Tsunade-baachan figured out that Karin is one of the Uzumaki clan as well. It's quite awesome to learn that I'm not the only Uzumaki anymore!"

Hiruzen chuckled. "I see you accepted her as well. Well, I was supposed to grant these to you when you were legally an adult," Hiruzen handed Naruto a folder the size of a book. "This contains the title deed, the description of, and the history of the Uzumaki manor. I cannot expect you and Karin to live with the Hyuga, while you are only their guest."

"Wait… Uzumaki manor? My clan had such property in Konoha? Why wasn't I told before?"

"Naruto, you should know that the Uzumaki manor contains several dangerous artifacts of your clan. Because it is shielded by your clan's barriers, only a few can enter the property. As such it was not the best place for you to grow up, all alone," Hiruzen defended his decision. "I have asked Tsunade to show you around after our meeting is finished. But I must warn you, while the living quarters are intact, the temple building and some of the annexes received damage during the attack of the Kyuubi. But they can be rebuilt. The most important are the living quarters, which survived that day perfectly. Though I presume it is rather dusty by now, considering how no one has lived there since your mother moved out…"

"My mother?" Naruto asked, feeling equally stunned that the old man knew her, something which he had always denied, and curious. "My mother lived in Konoha?"

"Yes," Hiruzen sighed. '_I better start with his mother.. He will want to know who she is, why she came to Konoha, and then… he will likely not be too happy to learn who his father is.__'_

"Yes, I knew your mother well," Hiruzen sighed. "Naruto, please understand that I didn't keep this knowledge from you without very good reasons… In fact, I must urge you to keep what I am about to tell you a secret as well." He waited until Naruto nodded that he understood. "Your mother was sent here from Uzushiogakure, the village Hidden by Whirling Tides, which was the shinobi village of the Land of Whirlpools."

"Why did she come here?" Naruto wondered.

"If I remember it correctly, you knew about the Shodai Hokage's wife, Uzumaki Mito, didn't you?" Hiruzen asked. Again, Naruto nodded. "Your mother came here because Uzumaki Mito had become old, and she was in need of a… replacement."

Naruto looked sharply at the old man, wondering why he chose to word it like that.

"What only a few people know is that Mito-sama had sealed the Kyuubi within herself after Shodai-sama defeated the infamous Uchiha Madara. Your mother was selected because she had a particularly strong chakra, and was chosen to inherit Mito-sama's burden."

"She what?!" Naruto got angry. Incidentally, some of the Kyuubi's chakra started to leak out, also changing Naruto's eyes. Hiruzen put up his hand to stop the boy from talking any further.

"Mito-sama trained her in the ways of your clan, and when the time came, Mito-sama transferred the demon into a seal on your mother's body," Hiruzen continued, trying to ignore the betrayed look in the boy's eyes. He continued by telling Naruto how his mother had grown up in Konoha, how she had gone to the academy, how she had agreed to take over the burden, and how she still had a good life.

"What was her name…" Naruto felt crushed by hearing that his mother had been a jinchuriki just like him, but at least he was relieved that she had not experienced the same kind of hatred as he had.

"Uzumaki Kushina."

"Why did I never see her name in any record?"

"…that is complicated,"Hiruzen sighed. "I will continue with her story first. As I told you before, Kushina had fallen in love at a young age, and she eventually married that man. After some time, Kushina became pregnant of you, Naruto." The old man smiled when he thought back at the sight of the happy red-haired woman, who proudly proclaimed that the child she still had in her womb would become the next Hokage.

"We never knew what went wrong… how it could go astray," Hiruzen's voice nearly broke. "We knew that pregnancy and childbirth were dangerous for a jinchuriki, because the seal would be at its weakest due to the strain of childbirth. What exactly happened that day was never clarified. Kushina was brought to a protected place, along with guards and healers… but they were all killed. Even my wife, Biwako, died that day…"

Hiruzen swallowed away his tears. '_Kami.. I have become so sentimental now that I stand in the face of my own death. But I cannot stop. I cannot falter. I must tell him.__'_

"Despite the precautions, the Kyuubi broke free. There is reason to assume that it was abetted by someone else, but there never was any proof. What we do know is that the Kyuubi killed your mother, attacked the village, and in the process killed your father."

"Who was he?"

"Your father… was the greatest hero Konohagakure ever produced. He was Kushina's classmate, her best friend, her first crush, and ultimately her lover. And it is peculiar, but… though we saw him battle the Kyuubi, we never found his body. It is assumed every trace of him had disintegrated after the Kyuubi attacked him, but many suspect that this is a lie…"

"Who was he?" Naruto urged, already fearing the answer.

"He was so happy when Kushina became pregnant. I still remember how he dreamt of having a son, to play with him, to train him, and to have that child succeed him. Naruto, I know this is hard for you to bear, but… your father is my successor, the yellow flash who turned the tides of the previous war. Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage. A man precious to me as if he had been my own son…"

Naruto just sat there, stunned, and stared at the ground near his feet. He had slumped down in his chair, struggling to deal with this revelation. "…you mean, that he… That that bastard sealed the Kyuubi in his own son?" Naruto panted, struggling to contain his rage. Had he been a bit calmer, he would he reacted differently, but the already thinning layer of patience that hid his constant rage could not take this revelation. "And you saw him as your _son_? Then why did you abandon me to such a fate?! If I were the son of Konoha's so- called greatest hero, why did I have to go through all that? Why was I abandoned like that?"

Hiruzen seemed to shrink at each word that Naruto threw at him. '_I knew that this knowledge would make him hate me. But he can hate me all he wants, I will step down anyway. I don__'__t want this to form a wedge between him and Jiraiya, so I will take all the blame on me before I die. For the well-being of Konoha, I must ensure that the jinchuriki remains loyal… no matter how much it hurts me.__'_

"That man forced his infant son to bear the hatred of the Kyuubi? And you tell me that he is my father? He could have chosen anyone! _Father_," Naruto spat. "I refuse to call that bastard my father! I will never bear his name, nor will I continue his legacy. I don't wish to be a monster like him!" Naruto growled, not able to think rationally any longer. The only thing keeping him from losing control were the suppression seals which Jiraiya placed across his body, as well as the limiter Tsunade placed so that he couldn't use too much chakra.

Regaining a little bit of his composure, Naruto recalled his childhood. "Now I see why you told me all those stories about him when I was a kid. You wanted me to admire my father, and you even succeeded at that for a while." Tears of anger and sadness welled up in his crimson eyes. "I practically worshipped him, all because of what you told me. He was everything I dreamed of becoming myself, right until I found out that he was responsible for what was done to me. Do you even know how betrayed I felt when I found out? Have I meant that little to you, Jii-san?" he whispered, nearly begged. The ragged tone of his voice tore through Hiruzen's heart. The pain, the anger, but above all the betrayal, he could hear it in the voice of a boy who had not even reached his thirteenth birthday. "Was I just a tool to you, for you to manipulate and mold as you wished?"

Naruto now cried openly, and shook his head in denial. "I can't believe my mother loved such trash. Then again, she was a jinchuriki... perhaps he just manipulated her as well."

"No, Naruto, you can't say that it is-" Hiruzen wanted to protest, no matter how weak his voice was. He heart pounded, and his throat felt like it was too tight to even allow a speck of oxygen to pass through to the lungs.

"Don't talk to me as if you care," Naruto said angrily. The revelation of his father's identity broke restraints he had put in place so long ago. He had promised himself to never fool himself with impossible dreams, but he had underestimated how strong his own desire to know his parents had been. While Naruto lived in the orphanages, he always had dreamed that strangers would pick him up, claiming to be his family. While he lived among the Hyuga, he had absorbed every bit of knowledge he could find on the Uzumaki clan, and felt as if every little thing he learned brought he one step closer to his family- to his parents.

Now the man who cursed him with his fate turned out to be the man in whom Naruto had seen his greatest hope. Moreover, this kind old man, his grandfather-figure, had been the one to keep the truth from him, and even attempted to manipulate him. Naruto felt as if his heart had shattered. '_Is there no one I can trust?__'_ his desperate thoughts ran. '_Yes, one… his care was unconditional.__'_

"Hyuga Haruki is my father," Naruto decided. "I will carry on my mother's legacy, and his teachings. Namikaze Minato is merely my tormentor, and I will never acknowledge him as my family!"

Naruto wiped the tears of his face, and stomped out of the office.

Before the heartbroken Hokage could even say a word. '_Kami… please give me the time to talk to him once more. I know that I had to tell him. Not telling him would only increase the dangers he still has to face. And I knew the consequences, but please… please, I don__'__t want to leave these plains without his forgiveness__…'_ he thought as he did something he had not done in many years. Sarutobi Hiruzen cried. '_I am so sorry Minato, I failed you completely.__'_

* * *

"Oi, brat!" Tsunade shouted, running to keep up with the boy who stormed out of the building.

Finally catching up, Tsunade grasped him by the shoulder, only to see the hollow and desperate look in the boy's eyes. "What the hell did that old goat tell you to get you to freak out like that?"

"The truth…"

Tsunade looked at him and wondered what could have made such an impact on the boy. Hiruzen had told her that he would give the Uzumaki temple complex to the boy, and that she should show him around there. In the meantime, she had told Shizune to look after the old man, but she now thought that it was a mistake. '_Whatever sensei did to spook the brat like this, I don__'__t think I__'__ll let this one pass easily,__'_ she grumbled internally.

"Did you know? About my parents?"

'_Again those eyes. Is this his problem?_' Tsunade wondered. "I won't say I knew them very well. I left Konoha before you were born," Tsunade admitted.

"How many people knew?" Naruto demanded angrily. "How many lied to me?"

"Well, aside from my perverted teammate, and my sensei… I don't know, it might be that Kakashi knew," Tsunade frowned. "He is Minato's last surviving student, after all," she added upon seeing his look. "Look kid, this was a matter which had been classified to an extreme degree. You cannot imagine what other villages would do if they knew…" she looked around once more, checking if there really was no one within hearing range. "This is the kind of thing that could create wars, kid. If Iwa knew, they would invade us without a second thought. And I bet the Raikage wouldn't mind helping them to settle the score either. The Yondaime was the most feared man of his generation. That fear led to the extermination of his family. Why else do you think he removed every record that contained references to your mother? Hell, he would've burned down the nation for her!"

"Then why did he do this," he gestured to his stomach. "To her child? Why did he condemn me to such a fate?"

The wild look in his eyes terrified her. "I do not know kid… Honestly, I wish I did, but no one knows exactly what happened that night. Well, no one but the fox that is sealed within you." He remained silent for several minutes, staring at the grey autumn skies. Tsunade knew he was conflicted about his father, and in hindsight she realized she should have known this in the first place. '_Jiraiya practically drowned himself in sake that night, and when I asked him why, he told me that Naruto hated Minato this much… while he was unable to tell him the truth as long as sensei forbade it. Oh, what a cruel twist of fate.__'_

Gently, she laid her hands on his shoulders. "Listen, I know you are angry about this, even though I can hardly say that I would understand. I haven't gone through what you had to go through. But I knew Minato well enough to say that he never ever did anything without a reason. We don't know what happened to Kushina, or why the Kyuubi broke free. Minato was even more skilled than Jiraiya when it came to fuinjutsu… it just makes no sense to think that anything could happen to Kushina's seal while he was around. But something _did_ happen, and he needed to find a solution- or the Kyuubi would have destroyed Konoha, either directly with its own claws, or indirectly once the other nations learned we lost control over it. And you have always known the inevitable truth: only an Uzumaki can withstand the Kyuubi's corrosive chakra. Minato had no other option…"

Naruto looked up at the blonde woman, and his eyes betrayed his understanding, even though he wanted to remain angry.

"If anything, you should be angry at me," Tsunade sighed. "Apart from your mother and you, I was the only known Uzumaki… if I had been there, I could have been the jinchuriki instead of you. Then I would have faced all the hatred, not you. If only… if only I had been-"

"It is pointless now, baa-chan. It happened… No one can change the past," Naruto swallowed away the lump in his throat.

"When are you ever going to stop with calling me granny…" Tsunade grimaced.

"You are Uzumaki Mito's granddaughter, aren't you? That makes you part Uzumaki, and my family," Naruto chuckled, though there wasn't any genuine happiness in his voice at all. "If Karin is my nee-chan, you are my baa-chan."

"Fine, it is not like I will ever win this. The gods know that you are as stubborn as Kushina. Let's go to your new property. I admit that I look forward to seeing it, I haven't been there since Mito-obaasama passed away," Tsunade sighed. '_If this is his reason for calling me an old woman, I__'__ll let it pass… but dammit, why does he have to look so similar to Nawaki? I could never stay angry with him either. Perhaps it is because they both are from Uzumaki blood.__'_

* * *

"Sandaime-sama," one of the guards stepped out of the shadows in corner of the office, while Shizune entered to quickly run a diagnostic on the old man's heath situation.

"Raido…" the old man replied wearily. "Why didn't you obey?"

"I have to protect you, Hokage-sama, even if it is from yourself," Namiashi Raido defended his disobedience. Not that he had been extremely secretive about it, as Hiruzen had easily seen though his guard's disguise when he remained in the office. "And you did not mind because you knew about my loyalty to Minato-sama."

"I did," he gestured to Shizune that he was fine and that he would like some privacy.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner? You know we swore our loyalty to Minato-sama."

"And what would you have done? What do you think the village would think if Minato's most loyal guards suddenly took in a blonde baby whose background was a mystery? It would have been a dead giveaway. And it would have been war all over again. Why do you think I never took the boy in my care? The further he was from us, the better his true heritage remained hidden," Hiruzen admitted, even though it hurt him that he allowed the boy to suffer for the good of the village.

Raido sighed, and the weal-like scare on his face rippled as the usually so-calm man now scowled. "But still we should have done _something_ for the child. And we still can."

"What do you propose?" Hiruzen sighed.

"Let me teach him," Raido demanded with a stern voice. "Genma is dead and Iwashi is too young to have known Minato-sama. He did not swear the same oaths as I did. I know the truth, and I will teach him the Hiraishin no Jutsu."

Hiruzen remained silent, looking pensively at the windowpanes.

"He hates Minato…" Hiruzen was annoyed that he couldn't control his emotions. '_I knew this would happen… so why does it hurt so much?_

"That will change. His emotions now- he was shocked and felt betrayed, but once he takes the time to think about it… he will know you did the best you could. He will see that Minato-sama did the best he could," Raido said calmly. "Sandaime-sama, I swore my loyalty to Minata-sama. Therefore, I request to leave the Hokage guard platoon and instead serve Naruto as his guard, and whenever I can as his teacher."

Hiruzen's eyes widened. '_Nothing goes as planned today, even Raido comes with surprises. Though, he definitely isn__'__t the kind of person who makes these decisions on a whim. He is completely serious about this. I can see it in his eyes,_' he mused. "That is not my decision to make, Raido. You know very well that I will not stay in this position for much longer. If you wish to leave your position, then you should take it up with my successor. As for Naruto's protection… until Tenzo has recovered from the mental damage he suffered, Anko will protect the boy. And you know well enough how fierce she can be when she needs to. And from what I see, she seems to like him as well. Besides, the guard platoon is already one man short, so you cannot resign right now. My successor will have to appoint new guards first."

Raido nodded in agreement, even though he had his reservations. "If Naruto leaves the protection of the Hyuga to live at the Uzumaki compound, I will join him. Whether your chosen successor agrees to this or not. I could not honor my oath because I was oblivious to the fact that Minato-sama had a child. But now that I know that this child is his son, I can no longer ignore my oath."

* * *

Two men were in a dark room. One kneeled in front of his leader.

"Our tool failed, exactly as you predicted Danzo-sama," the Root anbu said.

"It is of no consequence. He was expendable," Danzo replied. "The results were still better than anticipated. His outburst only showed the village he lacks proper control. I know my old friend is already scheming something, and I expect he will present his chosen successor soon."

"Don't you wish to oppose the candidate, Danzo-sama?"

"It is pointless, because we still lack the proper leverage to gain a majority in the council," Danzo did not show any emotion, no matter how he felt slightly annoyed. "The Hyuga have a bad habit of standing in the way of the goals of the Root of Konoha. But our plans are in motion. Soon, the boy will be driven into our control. We have shown the village his weakness now. Soon, they will agree that he is too dangerous to allow him to roam free…"

"Do you think it is wise to oppose the boy directly? He might not be very skilled yet, but the raw power he possesses…"

"An enemy who hides his ability easily appears to be strong. Yet, when the mystery ends, the limitations become visible. Dealing with Uzumaki Naruto will not be as difficult as you think, Hyo. Order Sai to keep an eye on him."

"As you wish," the man bowed.

'_Even in the worst case, there is always a failsafe. Perhaps that option is even better… easier to control,_' Danzo mused.

* * *

**Bonus: An innocent Yamanaka.**

* * *

"Shintenshin no Jutsu," Ino declared. And then she felt her consciousness take over the tiny body. It had been so easy to lure Sakana, just offer him a fish and he would do anything for you.

'_Hmm, daddy wasn__'__t kidding when he said that taking over small animals was a weird experience. On one hand, it is relatively easy, as if the cats have weaker consciousness then humans, but on the other hand… controlling this tiny body is hard. And the tail! Maintaining balance with the tail will be something that takes time to become accustomed.__'_

Siro meowed as he saw his possessed brother stumble away.

*You walk like you have been drinking that sharp-smelling liquid again. Sakana? Oi!* but Siro did not get a response. *I know, Chie-sama will know how to deal with this!*

* * *

*This is animal abuse,* Chie grumbled, not so pleased that her subordinate got controlled. *And you say that it is your master who does this?*

She and Siro looked down as Sakana awkwardly frolicked through the empty alley.

Siro nodded. *Then I suppose I shall say my greetings… Because I know just the thing to repay this insolence!*

Chie jumped down and startled Sakana – well, Ino. The possessed cat fell over in surprise, and quickly regained his (her) footing.

"So, a little two-leg dares to abuse _my_ subordinates? You know I can't let this one pass, don't you…" she chuckled evilly. Faster than Ino could process, Chie dashed forward and slapped her on (Sakana's) head.

'_That is Naruto__'__s weird talking cat! Not good, not good at all. Release! Huh? What is going on? Release!__'_ Ino started to panic. '_What is this, I cannot get out?__'_

"That should keep you in your place for an hour or so," Chie smirked.

* * *

*Chie-sama, are you sure this is wise? Ino-sama will not like this?* Siro meowed cautiously.

*She deserves this, Siro. We are cats, not guinea pigs!*

*This might be a bit… drastic.*

Chie merely smirked mischievously.

* * *

"Thank Kami I finally returned. I am so going to kill that cat. And Naruto along with it, I am sure he somehow thought that cat that weird seal. To think she could trap my mind in the body of someone else. I never even heard of such a thing!"

Fully intending on storming to the Uchiha district, Ino charged out of the room where she temporarily stayed. At that point Sakura saw her… and burst into tears of laugher.

Ino was left speechless by the sight. "Wha… what is going on?" she eventually said.

"Your… your hair… look in the mirror," Sakura snorted, failing badly in her attempts to control her laughter.

She saw red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, and all the colors in between. Ino's mouth fell open when she saw that her blonde hair had been painted in every color she could think of. "That cat… that cat did that… I will kill that cat…" she mumbled.

"Erm… cat?" Sakura frowned. "You haven't been drinking my dad's sake, have you?"

"I will murder that malicious feline," Ino said so menacingly that the Haruno stepped back in fear.

* * *

**A/N**: So… another long chapter in which I fired a lot of different things at you guys. I hope you could keep up. I have introduced bojutsu, discussed Hitomi's insights, expanded the theory behind fuinjutsu, gave a few (important) hints towards Naruto's past, and most of all Naruto's response to learning that his father is the same man who ruined his life by sealing the Kyuubi within him. Not that he knows exactly what happened to Minato, or how and why the Kyuubi was sealed within him. And then there is Danzo… what might he be planning?

Credits to **DarkMagister06** for the idea behind changing Ino's haircolor. And to the almighty **Illuminated** for his beta work. And to all of you who support this (slightly out of control) hobby! Will we reach the 1000 followers mark this chapter?

It took me a while to finish the chapter, so sorry for the delay! Wrote two chapters for my other fic, Pareidolia, and invested a lot of time in reading. So, for a change, I make a recommendation: **My Precious People** from **Serious Sam**. Not just to return the favor, but also because his story is pretty damn awesome! It has mystery, twists and turns, a darker and smarter adult Naruto, it also has one of the best NaruHina plots I've ever read; it just kept me hooked for the entire ride. Check it out! It's a long story but it's worth every second.

Hmm, I suppose I could do this recommendation thing more often. Oh, and don't forget to leave your review!

-Z-


	45. The hidden compound

_THG now has over 1.000 followers, and 300.000 views! I__'__m still having some trouble believing my little fic got this popular! To celebrate it, I thought it was a fitting moment to pick a new cover image. Hope you like it!_

* * *

**Chunin arc**

**The Hidden Compound**

* * *

Tsunade wondered how quickly Naruto's moods could change. When he left the office, he had been both furious and woeful due to the information that the Sandaime Hokage had given him. She knew that Naruto would be angered, and could somewhat understand it, as his father had been none other than the man responsible for all the hatred he faced. But after she managed to dampen his fury a little, he had shown a pensive expression she had never expected to see on a boy his age.

'_Then again, he never had a normal childhood, between the hatred he faced from the village and the demon he has within him.. I can hardly imagine how much the painful experiences forced him to grow up. Still, to see such an old expression on such a young face… I haven__'__t seen such a look since the last world war, that traumatized look… Sensei, why did you tell him now? It is obvious he wasn__'__t ready for such a burden yet. This child doesn__'__t need another problem added to his already long list of burdens,__'_ she sighed. "Third alley on the left," she directed him.

They were headed toward the property that belonged to the Uzumaki clan. After all, with the discovery of a second Uzumaki survivor in the form Uzumaki Karin, Sarutobi Hiruzen had deemed it wise to return the property to their ownership. Still, it was a bit out-of-the-way, near the outer walls of Konoha. It was situated on – or into, for some parts – the same mountain side in which the giant stone faces of the four Hokage were carved, to look down at the village. But at the same time, the compound was surrounded by forest, at least the part which was situated 'down the mountain'. There had been some buildings and a large private training ground 'up the mountain', but according to the documents which Tsunade had seen prior to Hiruzen's meeting with Naruto, those buildings had all been destroyed by the Kyuubi's onslaught.

"Baa-chan… why did you leave the village?" Naruto startled the woman with a sudden question.

"I was tired of the endless cycle of death and destruction. I wanted to get away from all that… sorrow."

"You lost those dear to you," Naruto already knew due to Jiraiya.

"I did," Tsunade admitted with a pained expression.

"And that is why you left?"

Tsunade looked at him and realized he didn't fall for the easy answer. "Partly," she admitted. "I blamed Konoha for sending out my kid brother to a mission he shouldn't have taken. I blame Konoha for the death of Dan, who took… took too much risk."

"They sacrificed themselves for the sake of the village, so by our common definition they would be heroes," Naruto couldn't keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

"If dying is heroic, we created a lot of heroes in all the wars and our countless battles," Tsunade scoffed. "But oddly, those who profit most from the bloodshed never have to risk their necks in the field."

"You blame Jii-san and the council."

"Yes. But… also myself," Tsunade sighed.

"You think you should have saved them," Naruto deduced.

"If only I had been on time, if only I had been faster," Tsunade had a sad grimace. "I saved so many lives, yet I failed the ones that I loved most…"

"You shouldn't be so harsh on yourself. Their deaths were not your fault. They weren't even the fault of those who killed them… it is our system that drives us to slaughter each other-" Naruto frowned, the dark and pensive look still in his cold blue eyes. "-A world where people become tools. A world where the elderly send the young out to die, so that they can amass more wealth and power. A world where a father would use his infant son to imprison a demon… Tell me, did you ever hear how the Yondaime Kazekage sealed the Ichibi inside Gaara?"

Tsunade shook her head.

"Before Gaara was even born, while he was little more than an embryo in his mother's womb, he became a jinchuriki. Apparently the Kazekage thought that it would be a good experiment. Good enough to sacrifice his unborn son, good enough to kill his wife. It seems to be a habit of kages.."

"Minato never would do such a thing!" Tsunade protested.

"Everything for the sake of the village, isn't that their motto?" Naruto looked up at the blonde. "It seems our leaders would gladly destroy the world, if it be in the best benefit of their village. I mean, if this is what they can do to their children, I would be frightened when I consider what they could do to strangers…"

"You should be careful, kid, because that sounds dangerously close to treachery. And with your position as jinchuriki…"

"Why do you think I say such things to you? You're the one with the questionable loyalty here," Naruto chuckled humorlessly. "Even though Jii-san and Ero-sennin hope differently."

"…" Tsunade scowled but was unable to counter that statement. In fact, she knew that many questioned her loyalty, and if she was honest, so did she. '_Dan and Nawaki dreamed of becoming Hokage, yet when sensei offered me the position I knew I wasn__'__t up for the task. And this brat just pointed that out… he is surprisingly smart.__'_

"A Hokage should be more than a mindless slave, who merely executes the tasks which the village demands to be done. A Hokage should protect a village… even from itself. What is a village, if not a part of this world? Frankly, I fail to see the point of why Shodai-sama even created the system of the hidden villages. It only shifted the limits of our thinking, and never erased it. The only thing that changed was that instead of clans that fight, it is now villages which fight. It isn't the system that should have changed, but mankind itself."

"He intended to end the era of war between the clans, and to bring… It seems the villages indeed have long forgotten my grandfather's dreams about peace. It is still us versus them," Tsunade agreed. "We moved from an era where clans waged war, to an era where villages wage war."

They left the last streets and entered a small forest near the edge of Konoha, but before Konoha's walls. "The Shodai Hokage had great dreams, but underestimated the darkness within the hearts of humans. From what I learned from the history books, he was too naïve. I mean, look at me, and how the village sees me. Was that his dream?"

"Is it a bad thing to have hope?"

"Perhaps not, but if I talk to someone and that person acts very friendly, nearly everyone else would accept that this person is actually friendly. But because of the Kyuubi, I feel the seeds of darkness within their hearts. I sense the malice they intend to spread, the hatred, the greed they want to satisfy. Tell me, Baa-chan, if I see the world as it is, why should I fool myself by thinking humanity would change?" Naruto admitted the doubts which the Kyuubi had sown in his heart.

"…then why did you feel so betrayed just now?"

Naruto looked down and remained silent. "Because I underestimated the pain that people can inflict with good intentions," he nearly whispered.

"You know sensei is dying. Are you really that angry at him, or can you forgive him? If you talk about darkness, you shouldn't be so unforgiving and selfish yourself, either."

"I can forgive, but I won't forget," Naruto sighed. "You are right about his reasons to keep it all classified, but still… why did he have to manipulate me like that? Why did he insist on making me admire the man who caused all my pain, the man he knew was my father?"

"No one is perfect kid. Everyone messes up sooner or later. And sensei is old and ruled the village for a long time. I don't even want to know how many impossible choices he has been forced to make. But are you going to condemn him for his flaws? Can you really expect him to be perfect? Grant him some peace of mind before he passes away. Don't start grudges against him over a choice that not he but your father made. Do you want to be governed by the same hatred you see in others?"

"You should've been an academy teacher," Naruto grumbled. She had a similar ability like Iruka: talk him into a corner where the only thing left to do was to admit. "Fine, I'll go see Jii-san. He can't help what the Namikaze did."

Tsunade smiled, and patted him on his head. "Good boy. You might become Hokage-material after all. Who knows, perhaps you will even forgive your father one day. Perhaps you will be able to get to know the truth from the Kyuubi, and learn what truly happened, the day you were born."

"He may have had a damn good reason," Naruto scowled. "Not that that rotten fox is going to tell me anything. Nor will I trust it. It would only like to piss me off, so that it can try to escape again."

"… Perhaps it is better not to ask," Tsunade agreed. '_I sure as hell wouldn__'__t want to face that demon myself. Let Jiraiya deal with this, it__'__s between his student and his godson after all, so he'll know best how to handle this.__'_

The path through the small edge of forest had become rather dilapidated over the years, and Tsunade made a mental note that this was one of the many things that needed to be fixed. Then again, it wasn't the most important thing on the extensive list. '_The reports made it seem like half of the property was shot to hell though. Good thing the kid is loaded with his inheritance. Though, I__'__ll tell him that after he sees the buildings,__'_ Tsunade smirked at the thought of seeing his disillusioned face. '_I definitely need something to distract him from what sensei told him. And knowing that he has a compound to rebuild could give some sense of direction to his life. A clear goal to work towards.__'_

The path ended, and the two blondes stood before an elaborate torii. Looking around him, Naruto noticed the barrier. "So this is the only way in."

"Only those of Uzumaki blood, like me, or those people who are officially allowed, such as the ruling Hokage, have permission to enter these grounds. All the others are repelled. Even those who are allowed to enter, but are under a genjutsu or other controlling jutsu, cannot enter. It's a pretty amazing piece of work. Then again, the Uzumaki never were a people that delivered half-assed work when it came to fuinjutsu, especially not for barriers like these."

"Allowed to enter?"

"It's a scroll where you can… ah well, you'll see it eventually. Obaa-sama left a pretty extensive description on the working of this barrier. Your mother wasn't the most focused person, so Mito-baasama never really knew if the kid truly understood something or not. Ah well, she was a kid back then, so who could blame her."

"A scatterbrain like me?"

"I won't say she was that bad," Tsunade grinned. "Let's get in."

Pouting a bit after Tsunade had had her fun, Naruto followed the woman inside. '_This barrier really is a piece of work. Only this section of the torii serves as an entrance. I bet the rest is pretty much impenetrable. It would be a perfect place to stay and train if Ero-sennin accepts to become Hokage. It would certainly be nice to have a place where I don__'__t have to worry about intruders,__'_ Naruto considered the benefits of living in such a closed-off compound.

"This construction is called a torii. When Obaa-sama came to Konoha, the Uzumaki clan insisted on making this temple here. Obaa-sama said that it was because the clan always created such a temple in any permanent residence of our clan members, and this temple was created as a symbol of the bond between Konoha and Uzushiogakure," Tsunade lectured. "These torii are from a rare kind of tree that only grew in the Land of Whirlpools itself."

As they passed through the torii that marked the entrance, Naruto couldn't help but be awed. The intricate patterns that covered the wooden posts were amongst the most advanced he had ever seen. And the sheer size of the object only made him appreciate the skill of his fallen brethren even more.

Past the torii, Naruto and Tsunade walked on top of a wooden platform, and Naruto noticed that was built on top of the large pond that started after the torii. The pond led to a small bridge that spanned from the platform to the small cabin on top of the large boulder at the centre of the pond. From there, Naruto saw another bridge leading to his right, but inside the cabin was also a path downstairs. This was the path Tsunade chose. Walking down, Naruto saw that there was a lower bridge leading to the right of the pond.

"Where are we going?" Naruto wondered.

"The temple itself is on the plateau on our left, but that area was damaged when the Kyuubi attacked. Where we are going is up there," she pointed at the broad building latched to the mountainside. "That building contains the living quarters, master bedroom, guest rooms, and a large shared kitchen and dinner room. My grandmother lived there, as she preferred to seclude herself. Her burden made her dislike many people."

"So my mother lived here as well?"

"She was trained here by Mito-obaasama, yes. And before she married, Kushina lived here."

* * *

"Hey, is Naruto here?"

"Kankuro? Why are you looking for nii-san?" Karin was the only one of the three struggling girls who replied. Struggling, because the 'simple theoretical introduction to fuinjutsu' Naruto had compiled for them was anything but simple.

"Well, considering how he is formally our guard, I wanted to ask permission to get into town. And I'd rather ask him than that crazy woman."

"Isn't Kiba-kun somewhere?" Hinata mumbled rather distractedly.

"Kiba-kun is in his room," Karin's frown immediately turned into a smile. "I, eh, I am a sensor, so I have to keep a close eye on my surroundings, right?" she reasoned, not willing to admit that she constantly kept track of where Kiba was located.

"Right… I guess I'll ask him then," Kankuro backed away carefully.

Tenten sighed in exasperation. "I hope Naruto returns soon. This talk about a 'hard corner' and a 'soft corner' in sealing patterns is impossible to understand!"

"What?" Karin blinked. "Eh, I must admit that I haven't gone past page five yet."

"Nine," Hinata grumbled in a 'do not disturb so shut up' kind of voice.

Tenten looked a bit bewildered, and decided to keep it to herself that her 'issue' only started on page seventeen.

* * *

"This is amazing!" Tsunade chuckled when she saw Naruto had smiled wider then she had ever seen before. "Can I really live here?"

"Well, this place would be yours and Karin's, yes. But you haven't seen the best room yet."

"What? I thought you were joking about this guest room thing, each room is better than my cottage at the Hyuga compound."

"You haven't seen the master bedroom yet. Your mother's room," Tsunade smiled. "Though, I have to warn you, because it is a little messy. Kushina was always a bit chaotic, much unlike Minato… And after she moved out, no one ever came here. Well, I did, when sensei told me he'd give the place to you, but otherwise… I'm no cleaner anyway."

"I'm glad I take after my mom," Naruto remarked grimly.

Just as Tsunade had said, the master bedroom was larger than the other rooms. Like the others, this room had its own bathroom, and was just as dusty from twelve years of being uninhabited. Well, probably even longer, because Kushina had not used this room often since she married Minato. But it was nothing that a few clones couldn't solve. What was more shocking to Naruto, were his clan's symbols that were everywhere in the room. On a large green board behind the double bed, on the wardrobes, on the side table… everywhere Naruto saw little things of his clan. And the most interesting piece was a large painting on the wall in the back.

The light through the windows gave him a perfect view of the still-life painting of a large village in a lush environment. A river ran right through the village, over which spanned several bridges, and mountains and steep hills were seen in the background. But the village itself was very different from Konoha. There were multiple high-rise buildings, relatively close together, and it did not give the impression of a shinobi village at all. Naruto could not see any defenses at all

But the caption left little room for doubt. This was what Uzushiogakure looked like, before its destruction.

What Naruto and Tsunade looked at was the 'village of longevity', the home of the Uzumaki clan, and the only place in the Land of Whirlpools where many people lived concentrated at one place. The painting would almost give the impression that the nation was rather industrial, but Tsunade told Naruto that the opposite was true.

"The people of the Uzumaki clan were rather averse to organizations and hierarchy. The clan did not like to live in a strictly-organized city. So, the majority of the population was spread out over the island. Mito-obaasama often told me that her life withdrawn from Konoha was something that was perfectly normal in Uzushio. I fact, many people who owned an apartment or flat in Uzushio, only used that when an assembly was inevitable- Because Uzushio did house the government of the island. She often stared at this painting, and sometimes she admitted being a little homesick."

"Is this all gone now? How?"

"No one really knows what happens to Uzushiogakure. It happened during the chaos of war, not too long after Kushina came here," Tsunade sighed. "All contact with Uzushio was lost, and only a handful of survivors was left."

"There are more?"

"Well, Kushina lived because she was in Konoha, and I suspect that Karin's parent survived due to similar circumstances. I can't say whether there are more members of your clan left, but whoever launched that attack would surely have tried to finish the extermination of the Uzumaki clan. If anyone survived, they would have hidden themselves very well," Tsunade turned towards Naruto, and gave him a sad smile. "Let's go see the temple, alright?"

* * *

"How did the Kyuubi even attack this place? I mean, wouldn't the barriers have kept him away?"

"Perhaps, but that wouldn't have been the issue," Tsunade sighed. She pointed up the mountainside. "Up there, there were originally more buildings that belonged to the Uzumaki compound. They were guarded by the same barrier."

"Were?"

"Yes… with her status of jinchuriki, and the dangers that giving birth to you put her in, she was taken to one of the buildings up there. You were born there," she smiled.

"And my parents died there?"

"Well… from what I heard, you and your mother were found at a different location. No one knows what happened though," she sighed. Tsunade gestured at the old wooden doors of the temple. "Shall we?"

As they walked through the old building, Naruto couldn't ignore the feeling that he knew this place. The wooden floor creaked under their feet as they moved through the hall towards the large room at the back of the temple. That larger room was strange… not only because of the strange sensation Naruto felt when he set foot in the room, but also because he had a strong feeling that he should remember this place.

He looked around and felt confused by what he saw. "Masks?" Naruto mumbled under his breath. On the wall at the back of the room, there was a small platform, and on the wall, below the decaying curtains that were hanging above, Naruto saw the strangest masks he had ever seen. "I've been here before! When that man from Kumo kidnapped Hinata and me, all those years ago, he brought us here!"

Tsunade frowned, and remained silent for a few moments as she thought about how this could have happened. "I think the three of you could have come here because of you, Naruto."

"Well… it's rather weird being back here after all these years," Naruto looked around, and eventually found what he was looking for: the shards of the broken mask he had worn to become undetectable. '_With these shards, I might be able to figure out how the missing part of the seal really worked. I took the largest piece of the mask with me back then, and managed to replicate the seal, but the chakra drain is a bit excessive. Perhaps now I could make the stealth seal actually useable?__'_

"Naruto, I must warn you about these masks."

"Baa-chan?"

"Obaa-sama told me that only the rightful owner of the shrine may come close to these masks, and considering how you are Kushina's son, I would bet that is you now. But I would advise you never to carelessly experiment with these things. It is said that they are cursed," Tsunade told him.

"Many of them do feel _wrong_," Naruto agreed.

"Most of the rubble had been cleared after the Kyuubi attacked, but it would take time to properly rebuild this compound. Due to the restricted access, only few may enter. And because Konoha was rebuilding, sensei did not have time to rebuild this area."

"When was he going to tell me this place was mine?"

"You may be legally an adult in many aspects, due to your rank, but many things are still not allowed for those underage. And legally, while you are not either jonin or at least eighteen years old, you cannot be a clan head. And the latter would require significant support from the other clans as well."

"And thus I couldn't inherit my clan's compound.. But why can I do so now? And what about my mother?"

"Kushina didn't live here all by herself. She had several servants living here, who also had taken care of Mito-obaasama. But they all died the day you were born. As for why you can live here now, the regulations I gave before are not really precise. In fact, aside from the Uchiha clan's heir who lives alone on his compound, there hasn't really been a precedent for your situation. But with your promotion to chunin, and the discovery of another Uzumaki, sensei pushed the decision through the council."

"Geh, yeah, now that the truth is out, I bet the Hyuga aren't too reluctant about ditching me," Naruto smirked. "I meddled a bit in the internal politics," he added, when he saw Tsunade didn't understand.

"So that is why Hiashi agreed so easily," Tsunade realized. She had found it a little odd that he would give up his position. '_Having the village__'__s jinchuriki living on your grounds did bring some additional political leverage. But apparently the burdens outweighed the benefits now.'_

"This place is awesome though. I can understand why Mito-sama would gladly live here. Away from all the hatred.."

* * *

Tenten yawned and stretched. "Well, I'm going now, I promised to help my dad in the shop, so I can't stay the entire day."

"We will make sure that nii-san teaches us properly tomorrow," a frustrated Karin replied. "And don't forget to share the news. Hinata's plan is actually pretty awesome."

"Hey, I was the one who reminded you three," Anko shouted out. "And where is Dusty?"

"Weren't you here to keep an eye on Gaara-san, Anko-san?" Hinata wondered.

"Meh, don't bore me with details. Use those pretty eyes of yours."

"He is in his room, either sleeping or meditating."

"He really loves to take a nap, doesn't he? Well, I hear the Ichibi attacked him when he slept, so I bet he has a lot of sleep to catch up now that the gaki fixed his seal."

"And it makes your job way too easy," a deceptively calm Ako left the hall. "Here," she threw a broomstick at the snake mistress, "go clean."

"So strict.. I bet Iruka likes when you're strict with-" Anko was cut off when Ako glared at her. "I didn't say anything," Anko put up her hands in defeat.

"Not yet at least…" Karin snickered.

"I'll go out and talk to the others," Hinata threw her study material aside. She came to the conclusion that fuinjutsu was surprisingly difficult. '_Naruto-kun made it seem so easy…__'_

* * *

On their way back, Naruto felt a little overwhelmed with all the events of this day.

"Oh, before I forget, sensei also said that there is a sum of money left by Minato and Kushina. It isn't that much, because their house and most of their belongings were destroyed that night, but it should be enough to repair and replace whatever is needed for the Uzumaki compound. I mean, most of the structures are kept in place with oak crossbeams which fit into holes chiseled into the cliffs. Some of those crossbeams might need to be replaced. And those crossbeams and the support structure itself might not be completely safe right now."

"Not to mention the repairs for the temple…"

"Yes, sensei said that he wasn't sure if you wanted the place, so he wanted you to decide whether or not to spend those funds on the compound."

"I will. I don't care much for the upper levels, but the living area should be solid, and the temple is important as well. What is left could be spent on the upper levels."

"You saw the stairs leading up, on the right of the temple?"

"Yes, it looked rather shoddy."

"That building served as storage for food, water, and all other goods. Nobody has been up there since the Kyuubi attacked, but there is a chance that there are still seals or barriers active up there. But, sensei made a pretty extensive description of the place, so most information can be found there."

"Thanks, Baa-chan," Naruto smiled at his blonde relative. "For everything. This day has been crazy. At least you stopped me from doing something I might have regretted."

"I hardly did anything," Tsunade scoffed. "Have a little faith in yourself."

'_How can I, Baa-chan? You don__'__t know what I am becoming. If those seals weren__'__t restraining me, I don__'__t even want to think of what I could have done to Jii-san,__'_ Naruto's smile became a bit sad. "Perhaps. But doubt has kept me alive up till now."

"Don't you want to know what happened to the Namikaze clan?"

"Those bastards never looked after me, so no."

"They couldn't have, Naruto. The Namikaze clan was a small and rather unremarkable clan before your father rose through the ranks. They were so proud of Minato, and yet he became the death of them. The shinobi of the clan were targeted and killed one by one during missions. The rest of the clan fell to the hands of assassins. Jiraiya once told me that one baby survived, but even he didn't know who it was. Though, he was kinda drunk when he let that slip. I do know for sure that the rest of the clan was annihilated. The world was trembling in fear due to your father's prowess, and they took it out on his family."

Naruto saw the pained expression on Tsunade's face. "Is that why there are hardly any members of the Senju clan left?"

"Yes," Tsunade admitted. "We suffered the same fate. Or perhaps it was even worse, because in their time, both grandfather and uncle were legends throughout the world. My family was murdered or kidnapped for 'other purposes' which I don't want to imagine. The few that were left alive abandoned the Senju name and hid their heritage. Yet still there are a few who carry my clan's blood. But only a few, compared to the days before our clan disbanded. But hiding amongst Konoha's population was the only way to survive. Even those strong enough not to fear any assassin would still hide for the sake of their loved ones. Look at Minato's family. Or Sarutobi-sensei's eldest."

Tsunade sighed. "Those bloodlines with exceptional qualities have always been feared. And when truly remarkable people rose up, it often meant that their relatives were equally feared. Because everyone knew that there was a chance that particular ability could resurface in that person's kin. So it is 'customary' to target them. Why do you think Minato and Kushina went to such lengths to hide the fact that they were married, or that she was pregnant? They both had seen their clans being wiped out to near extinction. Truthfully, if I hadn't met Jiraiya a few years ago, I wouldn't have even known that Minato and Kushina had a kid. I mean, I left years before you were born.."

"Our world sucks…"

"Come, I'll treat you some sake."

"Baa-chan..."

"What? It really helps you when you try to forget about all this shit."

"I'd rather find a more productive way to protect my family. Though I doubt Karin would be targeted because of me. I mean, my power comes from the Kyuubi, not from some bloodline ability."

"The proficiency in fuinjutsu was what made the Uzumaki clan so feared, just look at how good Minato became at it. I can assure you that Kushina really had her hand in that."

"Perhaps, but Karin doesn't know such things yet. And my skill at it is probably also mostly unknown. I mean, even with the stuff I did during the final round of the Chunin Exams, I still didn't show the craziest skills I found in the scrolls."

"Still, people might target her because she is your new-found sister," Tsunade warned him. "So always be careful at what you do. Be careful who you oppose. Shinobi work from the shadows for very good reasons. Not just to protect yourself, but also those close to you. I mean, what if someone went after that Hyuga girl because of you?"

Naruto halted, and turned to face her. "I will not allow that to happen," he said icily. "Never."

"You really care about her, don't you?" Tsunade smiled.

"She is the first friend I made. Well, besides jii-san and Ero-sennin of course, but they are way older. Hinata was the first one of my age who didn't treat me like… well, like how I was used to being treated."

"She's only a friend?" Tsunade smirked.

"She's my teammate. And… she is different."

"Oh, that's how kids call it these days?"

"What? I didn't mean-" Naruto began to protest, but Tsunade just laughed at him and pulled him in a hug.

"Cherish your friends, gaki," she smiled at the now thoroughly confused Naruto. "You'll figure out what you feel for her one day. Or what she feels for you."

"Feels for me? What do you mean?"

"Perhaps I'll tell you, but only if you stop calling me Baa-chan."

"What? Why?"

"To be called Onee-chan is much more befitting for a woman in the full glory of her youth," Tsunade proclaimed proudly.

"That's exactly why I call you Baa-chan, Baa-chan," Naruto replied with a deadpan expression.

"Why you…" Tsunade's forehead was now decorated with a bulging vein.

Both blondes could be seen laughing as the Senju princess chased the Uzumaki heir through the village. Tsunade knew that he needed to vent some of his emotions.

* * *

"Gaara-san, can I ask you something?" Hinata still felt a little awkward around the former psychopathic murderer.

She observed a nod, but Gaara did what Hinata hated most when talking to others: he remained silent and spoke as little as he could. It reminded her very much of her father, and therefore she associated it with disapproval, and it made her hesitate all the more.

"D-do you know why Naruto-kun is so… silent?"

"Naruto-san seems agitated," he remarked dryly. "You seem to know him better than I do, Hinata-san."

"I don't know," Hinata sighed, and felt incapable. "I thought it might have been related to the K-Kyuubi."

"And that I, as a jinchuriki, would understand."

"Yes."

Gaara shrugged, and focused on the few grains of sand in his hands.

"Well?"

"The Kyuubi does cause problems. But I do not think that is the reason," for the first time Hinata saw something resembling hesitation on Gaara's stoic visage. At the same time, he saw she didn't understand. "It is hard to explain."

"What is it like, to be a jinchuriki?"

Gaara looked a bit confused. No one ever asked him questions, they just ran away. Ever since his uncle perished, Naruto had been the first to treat him differently. He had given him a chance to _be_ differently. And while Temari acted relieved, Gaara knew very well that his brother still had his 'reservations'. But considering the things he had done, he couldn't blame him. But this girl, she didn't treat him like something different. Yes, she was anxious, but she seemed nervous around most people. But to ask him questions like this… "Unexpected."

"Unexpected?" Hinata wondered how being a jinchuriki could be unexpected.

"Your question. No one ever asked it before. And I doubt anyone asked Naruto as well."

"But why? You are important."

Gaara smile weakly, and watched the grains of sand float in the specific patterns he commanded them to. "We are not important, we are necessary. That is why we are tolerated, not as humans, but as weapons. That is why no one understands," some of his old anger started to mix in his gravelly voice and he lost control over his grains of sand. "We stand on the precipice, from which the bijuu wish to drag us down, while the humans do not care to help us maintain our balance."

"Not everyone would stand by idly," Hinata said hesitantly.

"Perhaps. There are a few, like my sister and you yourself, who try to understand. I do not know if Inuzuka-san and Karin-san truly understand, but at least they treat us normally as well. And others, such as my brother, can't really look past their fears. But this household is a bit odd, even if it is just temporary; it is… pleasant."

He sighed, and tried again to make the tiny grains follow his mental commands. Hinata remained silent and watched, intrigued by the display.

"Jiraiya-sama suggested that attempting to perfectly control only a few grains would be the best training for me," Gaara explained, not really comfortable that anyone paid attention to him. "While I cannot focus on quantity, he suggested I had to focus on quality."

"And it requires you to remain calm," Hinata deduced.

A certain cat chose this moment to join the conversation. "Dusty-two-leg found a great way to blind opponents, if he could cast a single grain of sand into someone's eye, it would form a great distraction." The two looked a bit curiously at the feline. "What? I can be serious if I want to be!"

Gaara just shook his head in denial. And this time, Hinata agreed.

Hinata went out to search, and eventually found Naruto. It was two days since he had seen his clan's compound, and ever since then he had acted a little strangely. Now withdrawn and silent, Naruto barely spoke unless spoken to, and he was rather distracted. He was to be found sitting on top of the roof of their temporary residence at the Uchiha district.

Apparently he was in deep meditation, because he did not respond to anything she said.

"I'll wait here until you wake up," she sighed. She really wanted to know if she could help him with whatever was bothering him so much, but she was determined to do what she could.

* * *

Naruto leaned back again the massive pillar of iron. It was one of the massive bars that imprisoned the Kyuubi, and Naruto just used it as a support to lean again. Much to the Kyuubi's mistrust, because he had never seen anyone turn his back on him.

"I don't get it, Fox," the blond sighed. "You always try to piss me off. You know how much I hated that bastard. Why didn't you tell me he was my father?"

The colossal Bijuu looked down at the boy who sat just outside his prison. "Why should I have told you?"

"You use my hatred and anger to control me. You knew what happened the day I was born. You knew that he was my father, and I bet you hate him for imprisoning you inside me, so I just don't get it: why didn't you use that to piss me off?"

"You actually want me to anger you?" the demon chuckled darkly.

"What happened that day?"

The Kyuubi grimaced. "If I am not mistaken I told you once before that I hardly remember anything from that day."

"Still, you knew about the Namikaze, didn't you?"

"…"

"Fine," Naruto sighed. "It's not like I expected you to be very cooperative anyway. Not after your recent attempts to break free."

"Why would a prisoner and a warden trust each other," the nine-tailed demon remarked dryly. "I will start trusting you when I am free."

"Wow, what a comforting thought… you'll start trusting me when I die. Just great. And here I thought you would eventually start to see that we are both prisoners. So much for pleasantries. You can just keep rotting here for all I care," Naruto sneered at the demon as he moved out.

* * *

With a deep breath, Naruto woke up from his meditation. "Blind bastard," he suddenly snarled, unaware of the startled Hyuga at his side. "Hinata? What are you doing up here?"

"Ah, I was… was concerned," Hinata blushed, secretly happy that it had already become late enough for her embarrassment to be hidden in darkness. Well, she thought so, but Naruto's eyes were better accustomed to such conditions.

Not that he would tell her, knowing full well that any remark on her blushing only made things worse. '_Though she mostly got over that habit of fainting,__'_ he mused. "I had some things to discuss with mister big and fuzzy," he patted his stomach. "Nothing to be worried about."

She, on her end, saw just as clearly as during the day. When activated, the Byakugan wasn't blind in the darkness either. And she saw clearly that Naruto was lying. "W-what happened? These last few days, you acted so..."

Naruto sighed. "Those eyes of yours are really getting better by the day, aren't they? I should congratulate Hitomi-sama next time I see her," he smiled gently. "But yes, there are a few things that could be qualified as 'troublesome'."

"Did you find something at the compound?"

"Eh? No, not really," Naruto frowned. "Though I guess I could say 'yes' at the same time. My mother lived there. The old man told me who my parents were," he admitted hesitantly.

Hinata gasped, but then she realized that he was conflicted about this knowledge. "But isn't it a good thing to know who your parents are?"

Naruto leaned back and stared at the face of his father in the Hokage monument. "It is nice to know who my mother is," he eventually said. '_No, I__'__ll have to keep that a secret. Though I trust her more than anyone else, none should know who my father is. Not yet at least.__'_

"Who was she?" Hinata was a bit confused why he refused to talk about his father like that.

"Uzumaki Kushina. She was brought here as my 'predecessor', so to speak," his grim expression made Hinata shudder, and the realization of the meaning behind his words quickly followed. "Though it also saved her, I suppose. She did escape the annihilation of our clan by coming to Konoha, after all."

"What was she like?"

"I can show you some pictures. There were a few left in her room at the compound. I can show them to you tomorrow if you like."

"I-I'd like that," Hinata stumbled over her words, startled by the offer he made. "But what about your father?" she said after gathering the courage to ask about the subject she guessed was causing him pain.

"I'd rather not talk about that man," he replied with a definitive tone. "It's late. I think it is time for us to retire."

"Oh… Okay. Goodnight, Naruto-kun," Hinata couldn't help but feel disappointed. "And I apologize for-"

"Don't. There is only one person who I blame, and that isn't you. He is dead, that is the only reassurance that I have."

She saw the rage he tried to hide. The growing rage he had to contain, although it grew nevertheless. And she felt sad. '_It must be difficult to live as a jinchuriki. Not just how the people treat him, but also the demon itself. Gaara-san said he felt as if the Ichibi tried to eat his soul away when he slept. And Naruto-kun said the Kyuubi is even stronger…__'_

"I'm glad that everyone agreed," she mumbled to herself. "Perhaps it will cheer Naruto-kun up a little."

* * *

"Danzo-sama."

"Report."

"They said that they want to wait first," the blond Root operative informed his master.

"Ah, yes, regrettable but it was to be expected. There is no immediate threat to them anymore, so I expected them to wait. Besides, I did not count on getting their support before Hiruzen handed the issue to the council for voting."

"Do you wish for us to take action against the other candidates?"

"Knowing Hiruzen, he would either have the Senju princess or that fool Jiraiya to succeed him. Neither of them should be confronted at this point in time. No, I think Tsunade would be his first choice, as she would have an easier time of getting the council's support. But the fool is most likely the most skilled of the two."

"We shall keep an eye on them."

"But keep your distance," Danzo warned. "They earned their reputations for good reasons. In the meanwhile, I have a more delicate job for you, Fu."

The blond Root operative looked up at his master. "Delicate, Danzo-sama?"

"I need to get access to someone close to the Kyuubi. Amongst his classmates, there is one who might be more easily swayed. Unlike those from the clans. Find a way to convince her of our ways, although you should set it up in such a way that we are the only option she has left. This is not a matter that should leak out."

"As you wish, Danzo-sama," Yamanaka Fu bowed. Though on his way out, he scanned through the folder, and wondered how useful his niece's friend could be. '_Eliminate if you cannot ensure her complete loyalty,__'_ Fu read. '_Possible threat: Haruno Kizashi. Details can be found in appendix.__'_

Yes, Fu quickly realized why his master declared this a highly sensitive issue. But the potential reward would be equally high. Having a mole near the Kyuubi would be very useful.

* * *

"Ahhh, only one more week of being in custody," Anko smiled during breakfast.

"So, Yamato-san will return?" Naruto guessed.

"Yes, he finally got his lazy ass out of the hospital!"

"Hospital?"

'_Oh crap, why did you blurt that out? Think before you speak, Anko, think. He isn__'__t supposed to find out that Itachi was here,__'_ she silently scolded herself. "Something went wrong while he was on a mission."

"Well, that means we have to hurry up a bit- if we only have one week to clean this place up," Ako smirked evilly.

"What do you mean 'we'? I do all the work here! Why do you keep punishing me?" Anko's fake tears rolled over her cheeks.

"And the award for best actress goes to…" Chie spoke up.

"Shut it, you little dango thief!"

Gaara grimaced a little. "Why do you two always have to be so loud? It is worse than Temari's first contact with espresso."

"Said by the coffee addict himself. How could I know that stuff was so strong?"

"You didn't need to drink an entire mug of that stuff, all at once," Kankuro agreed with his little brother.

"At least she didn't kill people," Naruto chuckled and Anko's mouth made a small "o".

"…point taken," Gaara said with his usual deadpan expression.

"Oh, and if you guys want to go to the festival, perhaps Anko wants to accompany you two?"

"She has guard duty," Ako destroyed the newest spark of hope for the snake mistress to escape from her servitude. "But I assume that Kiba and Hinata-sama would gladly join you."

"We will ask them when they return," Temari said. Kiba and Karin were out to walk the dog, while Hinata had to return home for lessons with her mother in the morning. '_Well, even though everyone besides Naruto knows that we won__'__t need to ask.__'_

"Oh, that's right, you're going with Iruka-sensei, aren't you?" Naruto smirked.

Ako, who had just been taking a sip of her morning coffee, choked and coughed.

"What? Did you really think that Iruka-sensei could sneak into this compound without me noticing it? I left that gap in the barriers for a good reason, because only someone with the byakugan would've found it…"

Anko suddenly whistled, and the heavily embarrassed Ako blushed and remained silent. Only Gaara completely missed the point. Then again, he had a thing or two he needed to learn about human interaction.

"Whisker-two-leg, it is dangerous to embarrass females when mating rituals are involved," Chie remarked. Although her attempt to warn Naruto was genuine, it pushed Ako just one step too far.

"Mating rituals? What are you…" Ako stopped, and realized what the cat was talking about. And then Ako's fuses blew.

"She moves remarkable fast for a civilian," Anko frowned, watching as the furious Hyuga chased the cat.

"She's still a Hyuga, even though she had little talent for being a shinobi due to her limited chakra reserves. But believe me when I say that she is scary by default. Serious, never piss her off," Naruto started to sweat a little when he thought back at the last time he 'crossed the line'.

"Tell me about it. All I did was torture that kid a little, and she still blames me for it."

"All you people from Konoha are insane, aren't you?" Kankuro wearily shook his head.

* * *

"Well, stalking him is rather uneventful," Kidomaru yawned.

"Not if the silver-haired piece of trash is around, he nearly noticed me the other day," Tayuya voiced her annoyance in her own uniquely subtle way.

"Why are we all here? He's bound to come here any moment now," Jirobo remarked. The Sound Four stood at Sasuke's training ground at the Uchiha compound.

"That's the plan, you dense fatso," Tayuya wasn't patient enough to explain it before. "We're going to confront that pussy."

"Oh, okay," Jirobo shrugged. "Not that I really care. I wonder why Orochimaru-sama didn't just order us to capture those eyes. I mean, besides the eyes, that piece of trash isn't worth much."

"They're our orders and we follow them," Sakon cut off the other three before the same discussion on Orochimaru's unhealthy obsession with the Uchiha boy could start _again_. "Orochimaru-sama must have his reasons. I bet you can't simply transplant those things, and Orochimaru-sama needs to have the fully functional version."

"So he is planning to make that piece of trash his next body?" Tayuya scoffed. "He doesn't even come close to Kimimaro. I mean, just look at those pathetic attempts to use the cursed seal. And he even got the Cursed Seal of Heaven, and still he can't use it."

"He's approaching," Jirobo warned.

* * *

Sasuke was tired. Whenever he wasn't out on missions, he was training. '_And still it is not enough,__'_ he was so frustrated with his lack of growth. The Chunin Exams had shaken him up. He should have been much further ahead of the others, but instead he was beaten. '_That sand demon and the Uzumaki overpowered me so easily, the Hyuga seemed to be better at taijutsu than I was, and that Hyoton trash just used a simple trick to defeat me because he was too scared to-__'_

Sasuke's musings were interrupted when a crude voice startled him. "Oh great, and the faggot is as perceptive as a brick as well. I really wonder why we are wasting our time on this piece of trash," a rather aggressive-sounding girl spoke up.

Activating his sharingan, Sasuke immediately became guarded. '_Four of them? How could I not notice anyone before?__'_

"We were hiding," a dark-grey haired boy remarked. "You could see it as a test. And you just failed it…"

"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded.

"Don't try to order us around, princess," the red-haired girl scoffed.

"Hey Sakon, didn't Orochimaru-sama ask us to test him a little?" a six-armed boy smirked. He seemed rather anxious, as if he was dying to attack.

"Orochimaru?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "What does he want with me?"

"He gave you power, but you can't even use it?" the grey-haired one that the other had called Sakon spoke up, voicing his disapproval. Judging by his position within their group, he seemed to be the leader, though Sasuke couldn't really determine because they all seemed more or less on the same level of strength.

"It was sealed," Sasuke gritted his teeth in anger.

"Cheh, not like you could've used it. I bet you woulda died in ten minutes."

"Enough! Answer my questions."

The largest of the four stepped forward. "I'll give him a try."

"Just try to avoid giving him any permanent damage, Jirobo," Sakon commanded.

"You're giving up your four on one advantage? Do you wish to die?" Sasuke frowned. His opponent remained silent though. "I gave you a chance to explain yourselves, but so be it." His sharingan seemed to glow as he soared forward. Of course, none of the four were surprised by his speed. They had seen him train enough to know how strong he was. Observation was a powerful weapon, it was a lesson especially Kabuto had often rubbed in. It was one of the reasons why especially the impatient Tayuya detested the be-spectacled one, although one had to admit it didn't take much to get on her shit list.

"I'm the slowest of the Sound Four. I am south gate's Jirobo," the plump boy remarked.

"Don't waste time on being polite, you stupid fatass!" the angry Uchiha heard the girl growl from among the assailants as his strikes kept missing their intended target.

Jirobo sighed. "Why can't you ever talk a bit more lady-like, Tayuya?"

Thinking his opponent was off guard, Sasuke threw several kunai and shuriken. They hit, but it didn't do him any good. "Kawarimi," he grimaced. '_And I didn__'__t even see him do the hand seals for it.__'_

"Oi, stop yapping like a wimpy little dog, and show us if you are worth our time," Sakon ordered.

"Why don't you- _oooph_," Sasuke was thrown back when a large fist made contact with his stomach. Even with his sharingan active, he hadn't seen it coming. "So you want me to take you on seriously, well you asked for it," he panted as he got up again.

"I already know what you can do," Jirobo wasn't really impressed by the fact that Sasuke had caught him with wire, but allowed his opponent to come near anyway. After all, he couldn't help that the Uchiha thought he had the upper hand.

His furious striking made Sakon frown a little when he saw the Uchiha move faster than he ever had seen him before. "But still not enough," he sighed. Jirobo simply grabbed the Uchiha's leg the moment he tried to swing it at his opponent's neck.

"Use your seal, or I will quit kidding around," Jirobo said sternly.

"I told you it was sealed," Sasuke growled. '_Dammit, why did they had to attack now, I__'__m already near the point of exhaustion from an entire day of missions and training.__'_

"Ah, you must think that if you had your seal, you could easily beat us, don't ya?" the six-armed one spoke up. "Jirobo, switch out with me, will ya?"

"Kidomaru, play however you want, but if you kill him I won't spare you," Sakon scowled. He knew all too well how eager Kidomaru was to humiliate opponents. He hardly ever saw these things as 'fights', but rather as 'games'- rather painful games, as well.

"Okay princess, first lesson," Kidomaru said cheerfully at the annoyed Uchiha. "You are not the only one Orochimaru-sama has set his eyes on."

Sasuke knew that this was going to be difficult, but now he saw the same markings the seal had given him in the forest of death, only now on his opponent. He could see the chakra overflowing. And then Kidomaru disappeared.

Not for long though; with all his effort, Sasuke forced his sharingan to the limits and quickly traced his opponent, but it was too late and Sasuke couldn't avoid the six fists that were swung at him. While he was dodging right, three fists made contact and floored the Uchiha.

'_This isn__'__t a fight, before, I had some semblance of a chance, but this… I__'__m being trashed!__'_

"You know, you'll always be weak if you stay here. This pathetic village, filled with those foolish civilians, you'll never become truly powerful if you keep playing games with your 'comrades'. Pretending to be happy. You're only going to remain weak if you stay in this shithole. Orochimaru-sama can give you strength. Think about it. Didn't you wish to take on that cute brother of yours?"

"Yes, we offer you power, Uchiha Sasuke," Sakon stepped forward. "But you are the one who has to make the choice. Orochimaru-sama has no use for people who don't follow him willingly. Not if they're supposed to be more than the average lab rat, at least."

Tayuya jumped up a nearby building. "We'll be back in a few days. You better make your choice before that, or I'll just drag your corpse to Orochimaru and be done with it."

Kidomaru laughed out. "Yes, I bet Orochimaru-sama would get better results when experimenting on your corpse. Ah, if only that other Uchiha was near. Then again, facing Uchiha Itachi is suicide. Especially compared to a wimp like you," he taunted. "He was at least capable of scaring something. Hell, you'd not even be able to scare that pink-haired moron from your stupid little team."

Sasuke jumped up and charged in blind anger, too frustrated to even think and consider the consequences. He was lucky though. Sakon only knocked him out, despite his annoyance.

"I am really starting to feel like Orochimaru-sama is making a mistake with you…" he mumbled.

* * *

**Bonus: How not to use sand.**

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Gaara's monotone voice silently asked.

"You wanted to practice your precise control over sand, didn't you, Dusty-two-leg?" a certain black and white cat whispered back, her entire body ready for what was about to come. "Besides, this is what you two-legs call comedy, and you said you wanted to be a more sociable two-leg."

"She isn't going to like this though."

"Prickly-two-leg isn't going to find out, would she?"

"…I guess not."

* * *

"Are you practicing dancing moves or something?" Kankuro frowned at the sight of his sister's awkward movements.

"Sand. Sand in my clothes. Every time I get it out, it itches again," Temari growled. Kankuro rubbed his eye, trying to remove the irritating speck of dust. "It is freaking autumn, how could there be so much dust in the air? Not even in the freaking desert did it happen this often," she continued her rant.

* * *

"Good work Dusty, now we could move on to Make-up-two-leg's wooden two-legs, and mess up their joints with-"

Someone started to cough. A very annoying a persistent cough that Chie, sadly, knew all too well..

"Oh poop, I got busted again," Chie hung her head in defeat.

"I take it you set up Gaara to spread all that sand over the courtyard as well? And here I accused Anko of not sweeping it," Ako said with a deceptively calm voice. "Gaara-san, could you clean that mess up?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'll let you off easy this time, even though it disappoints me that you allowed yourself to be manipulated by this little lady," Ako grabbed Chie by the skin in her neck when she saw the feline tried to crawl away. "And we are going to have a little talk with Anko-san," she smiled at the cat.

"Why are you taking me to that crazy two-leg?"

Ako kept smiling at the now increasingly nervous cat. "I am sure Anko-san would be able to determine a proper punishment for your attempt to corrupt Gaara-san."

* * *

**A/N**: Well… and then we got back to the same place as where the story started. I hope you didn't mind me mashing up the ideas of the 'Uzumaki clan's mask storage temple', the design of Mito's bedroom we saw in the manga, and the 'training cave' from the Road to Naruto movie. I liked the design of the latter, so I decided very early in the story to do something with it. Truthfully, I never expected that this story would last long enough to get back to it. But it did. Planning ahead paid off!

I gave a recommendation last time, and I suppose I'll make it a topic for now. After all, I've read so many fics up till now, I'm convinced that there are a few worthy of being recommended. The story I want to recommend now is "**Team 8**" by **S****'****TarKan**. Not the most original pick, considering how it is pretty much the most popular Naruto story on this site, but still: this is the fic that started it all for me. Someone on Narutoforums recommended that story, and I gave it a try. Needless to say that I got me hooked. It was my introduction to fanfiction, and it was good enough to make me want to write something of my own. Not that I am delusional enough to think that I can just write something that is as good as "Team 8!"

And as always: thank you **Illuminated** for beta-ing this chapter! And now **review** time! Do you like Sasuke so far? Or do you agree with Sakon? There'll be more action around Sasuke soon!

-Z-

PS: how did you guys enjoy the new 'Naruto gaiden' chapter? Kishimoto sure seems to have some kind of grudge against Sakura..


	46. Thirteen

_Hi there! Before I start today__'__s chapter, I have an important notice for you all: I__'__ve opened up a poll on my profile page. Naruto and team 8 (including Karin) are my main characters at this time, but I feel like I__'__m piling up too many side characters. So, I made a list of all the more notable characters from Konoha, and you all can pick a maximum of four choices: __**who do you like most**__? I__'__ll keep the poll open for the remainder of this arc._

* * *

**Chunin arc**

**Thirteen**

* * *

Days passed quickly for Naruto. Whether it was training on bojutsu together with Tenten, training on wind chakra under Temari's guidance, the occasional taijutsu spar with Rock Lee, or his 'sessions' teaching fuinjutsu; it all filled the days of Uzumaki Naruto. It wasn't even his main effort. No, the majority of his time was spent on _learning_ fuinjutsu, rather than teaching it. He felt like he made quick progress on the theoretical level in understanding how keys could be made on the confining type of seals, however. The confining type was the one he had applied on Gaara in order to keep the Ichibi in check. But after all, Gaara needed a key in order to control his seal and avoid the scenario in which the Ichibi could overload the seal and break free from its prison.

The issue was, rather than creating a new seal with a key, Naruto intended to alter a seal that had no key or 'keyhole' at all. Worse even, it meant that Naruto would have to break open Gaara's seal and insert the part with the 'keyhole'. Although Gaara's original seal rested within the one which Naruto placed on top of it, that seal was considered unstable at best. So, Naruto had to figure out a way to alter the seal as quickly as possible in order to minimize the risk of the Ichibi's chakra bursting out and taking over Gaara's body.

It all came down to Naruto because he had made the seal, with the help of the chakra given by the Kyuubi. If any other seal master, such as Jiraiya, had altered the seal, its integrity would be weakened. So it is needless to say that this was a task that consumed all of Naruto's concentration.

This concentration was rather convenient for some of the inhabitants living in the temporary residence in the Uchiha district. The abandoned estate where they lived since being tasked with Gaara's safety was bustling with activity, and amongst those residents, Hyuga Hinata was probably the busiest. Most of the arrangements were made by her, after all. Of course, her being occupied also led to the situation where she did not realize that Naruto had been away for an entire afternoon. But she, Ako, Anko, Karin, Kiba, and when available Kurenai as well, had to made sure everything was ready.

* * *

"Jiraiya-sama, we have reached the border and our paths must diverge," Yugito declared, and bowed respectfully to the man who had once saved her from being destroyed by the very demon that was sealed within her. "I thank you for honoring your word, even though Konohagakure was in such a condition."

"Don't sweat it," Jiraiya didn't like all the formal stuff. "I gave my word, and I'm not going to break it. Besides, Konoha is strong, they don't need me."

Yugito gestured her three genin to move on, so that she could talk to the Sennin in private. "Konoha might not, Jiraiya-sama, but Naruto-san will need your help. I saw how he is starting to slip."

"I know," Jiraiya grimaced. "That kid has some serious obstacles. But I'm going to take him with me and train him into the ground. I'll make him strong enough to beat that fox back."

Yugito tilted her head a little, as if in thought. "That will not be enough," she said after a moment of silence. "Strength without reason is pointless when battling the bijuu for the control over your very body and soul. Naruto will need a goal, a dream so strong that his determination becomes inviolable. Only with a will of iron would he be able to undo the Kyuubi's corruption and break the hold it has over him. He needs an unshakeable heart. Only his heart can drag him through this ordeal."

"I know," Jiraiya repeated himself. "And the Kyuubi is no doubt powerful and intelligent enough to exploit every weakness the kid has. Still, I don't get it. I knew his predecessor, and she never had that much trouble containing the Kyuubi."

"The Kyuubi was sealed with Naruto when he was just a baby, wasn't he?" Yugito waited until Jiraiya nodded in confirmation. "Then you could say that there is a degree of coalescence between Naruto and the Kyuubi, and not just a child whose focus is to imprison the bijuu; their chakras will merge more and more. Whoever made that seal intended the Kyuubi to be used as a weapon, just like what Kumo did to me, or what Suna did to Sabaku no Gaara. However, Naruto's seal isn't strong enough to last forever. Not to mention that the Bijuu vastly overpowers Naruto. Perhaps the one who sealed the Kyuubi underestimated its power, perhaps the sealing ritual was disturbed, or perhaps the person who sealed the Kyuubi simply was not strong enough to make a stronger seal. An even more unlikely scenario would be that he actually believed Naruto would be strong enough for the task."

Yugito shook her head and made to continue. "But no one in their right minds would place such trust in a baby… I do not know for sure what the intentions were, as I am not an expert on the area of fuinjutsu. I do know, however, that Naruto needs to be separated from other people. He said he could sense a person's malice, that he could sense the darkness within our hearts. If so, exposing him to so many people will mean that he is exposed to an incredible amount of hatred. Hatred, which will seep into his heart. Hatred will only aid the Kyuubi in his efforts to escape, as it will corrupt Naruto."

"On the other hand, other people might give him the strength he needs to endure all this. He needs his friends," Jiraiya argued. "And the more he's aware of their feelings-"

"A simple gesture isn't going to just change the distrust he has," Yugito grimaced. "People like us… It is so easy to forget we were once normal humans. But the Bijuu inside us change us fundamentally. He will accept that difference eventually, but right now, he won't let anyone go past the defenses around his heart."

"So, you want me to take him to no man's land and leave him behind?" Jiraiya frowned.

"Separation from other humans might be his best chance. Don't be fooled by thinking that your village is a good place for him, because none of the hidden villages treat their jinchuriki well. However, you can't leave him on his own either, he will need your guidance, Jiraiya-sama. I know I did when I was in his situation. No matter how he acts, no matter what he said, he will be desperate and yearning for a way out. On my darkest days, I even considered taking my own life. Help him," Yugito urged, also from the pain she still had in her own heart. "Help him to become whole again. Help him to find the thing that might be able to heal his wounded soul."

"I will do whatever I can," Jiraiya pledged. "Yugito, be careful. If Orochimaru and that other man were from the Akatsuki, and my fears are correct, it might be the case that they will come after you as well. I do not know why, but I intend to find out why they were aiming to capture the jinchuriki. It is likely they only aimed for the boys because they thought they could control them and use them for their own effort… but with my former teammate nothing was ever that simple. Knowing him, there must be some larger scheme."

"I will be careful, and I will make sure to warn my fellow jinchuriki. I am sure the Raikage will be grateful for your help, Jiraiya-sama," Yugito smiled.

"Good, I might need that gratitude one day, if I want to find people who can teach Naruto how to control the Kyuubi's chakra."

"I would be honored, but I think Bee-san would be more qualified for the task. Even despite his 'deficiencies' when it comes to social interaction. Thank you, Jiraiya-sama, and goodbye."

"Travel safely," Jiraiya smiled and waved. Though the famous author inside him couldn't help but notice the curves which were accentuated by her tight black pants. '_That might be a good idea for the next Icha Icha.. A hot teacher and her young and innocent student,'_ he couldn't suppress a perverted giggle. '_O yes that will definitely be good. Now all I have to do is collect some more high quality research material..'_

* * *

It was the day of the festival. Uchiha Sasuke for once wasn't troubled by the half-hearted requests for dates. Not even from Sakura, who was remarkably withdrawn after the invasion. Not that Sasuke particularly cared about that. Secretly, he liked his team, and though he would never admit it, he liked going on missions with his team- even with the stoic Aburame, whose intelligence often gave him valuable insights in how Sasuke could improve his own skills. However, that hit the crux of Sasuke's hesitations.

_Improve- _that very word was etched in the heart of the Uchiha. He wanted to get better. He had to. Every waking moment, he saw his slaughtered clan members, his friends, and his family brutally murdered by the brother he once loved so much. How could he even know love again while Uchiha Itachi— his nemesis, his archenemy— still drew breath? How could he form new bonds if the wounds of losing his old bonds hadn't healed yet? '_I will kill him, even if it is the last thing I do,__'_ Sasuke gritted his teeth and thus he kept pushing himself at his training ground.

Still, his determination was faltering. '_Should I take their offer? Could Orochimaru give me the power I need to kill Itachi?__'_ Sasuke did not know. What he did know, however, was that his development lagged behind his brother's- and it frustrated him to no end.

'_I need to know where I stand. How strong am I really? Kakashi was right, I only lost against that Hyoton guy because I was too impatient. I was stronger than him,__' _Sasuke knew that this was true but still… he lost. While Haku was not particularly scaring him, there were two others who did. '_Compared to Gaara or Naruto, what chance would I have? I need to know if this village can make me strong, or if _they_ were right.__'_

"I must know. Are they right that the happiness of this village only weakens me?"

* * *

"Forehead, hurry up!" Ino stood downstairs, impatiently tapping with her foot. "Or else we're getting late. We still need to buy something, you know that!"

"Geez, Pig, what's the rush? You're not exactly in a rush to get back home," Sakura grumbled as she left the bathroom, confident she looked good enough now. After all, there would always be a chance Sasuke was there. Walking down, Sakura knew she needed to warn her father she was going out with Ino. "Dad? Dad where are you?"

Something grumbled from the kitchen.

"Kami, the festival hasn't even started and you're already drunk," Sakura scoffed. Not that he understood. He just stared ahead, virtually unresponsive. "Dammit dad!"

"Give him some space, Sakura," Ino warned her friend gently. "After your mother… he will need some time to deal with it."

"I know," the pinkette sighed. "Still, this would be easier if he hadn't turned in a full-blown alcoholic."

"He will change," Ino promised patiently. "Shall we go?"

"Dad, I'm going out with Ino, okay? We'll be back before ten. And please don't drink anymore," Sakura pleaded, though she could not keep the disappointment from her face. "Mom would never forgive you if she saw you like this."

"Bye mister Haruno," Ino waved at the still not-responding man. The man was always so jovial and intense; to see him being emotionally broken like this pained her. Still, she knew that with some time, he would come around again.

When Sakura locked the door, darkness settled again in the house of the Haruno family.

'_I thought they__'__d never leave. Good thing they didn__'__t notice that he was paralyzed,__' _Yamanaka Fu stalked forward like a predator approaching his prey. "Nothing personal, but I have to remove you- for the sake of Konoha," the Root operative whispered in the desperate man's ears. Desperate, because he knew he would never see his daughter again. Desperate, because he knew that she would later remember him as the useless drunk he had been ever since his wife had died. He was hurt, and that her last words against him were full of disapproval only added to that pain. But he couldn't move, and no one would know the truth. He would die as some drunk idiot who had an accident…

But what hurt him most was that he couldn't even say his final goodbye and tell his daughter how much he loved her.

"I would have preferred a painless method, but like I said: it has to look like an accident," Fu sighed. Well, not because of issues of a moral point of view, but because it would only be more work for him to drag the rather tall man around. "So let's go upstairs…"

Yes, no matter how annoying they could be at times, the orders issued by Danzo had to be executed.

* * *

"That should be enough, don't you think?" Ako looked proudly at the collection of foods and drinks in front of them. The brown-haired Hyuga knew that this was probably a little too much, but she reasoned that this was better than a situation with too little food- especially with an Akimichi around.

Hinata nodded shyly. "It is perfect. Thank you, Ako-san."

"It is my pleasure, Hinata-sama," Ako smiled at the younger clan heir. "Haruki and I often tried to do something, but Naruto always refused."

"Small wonder, his birthday hasn't been exactly the best day in his life, has it?" Anko frowned.

"Ah, Anko, you're back already? I hope you actually brought something non-alcoholic this time?" Ako pinched the bridge of her nose, sorely regretting the decision to make Anko responsible for the drinks.

"You made your point pretty clear, sis," Anko smirked while putting several bottles out along with the food. "Where are the siblings?"

"Keeping an eye on Naruto-kun," Hinata knew. "At least, Temari-san is. I don't think that Gaara-san has fully realized what is going on, and Kankuro-san was too busy getting dust and sand out of the joints of his puppets."

"I'm really going to punish that cat for doing that despite that I explicitly forbade her to follow through with that scheme of hers," Ako grumbled.

"Oh, can I have a shot at that feline again?" Anko's devious smile disturbed Hinata enough to take a step or two backwards. "What? Don't chicken out on me girly," Anko frowned. "I mean, how else are you going to get the point through to that gaki if you keep walking backwards?"

"That's enough of your teasing," Ako cut the snake mistress off before the situation would escalate into another fit of blushing or fainting. "Let's make sure the house is clean before the guests arrive. We have another hour until the first ones should be here. Karin and Kiba should be nearly ready, but I'm sure they could use some help."

* * *

Naruto yawned. "Your turn Kichi, come on, don't be so slow."

"Well that's what you get when play cards with just the two of us," the tiny orange toad argued.

"I could summon Gamatatsu if you prefer that," Naruto smirked. "Though that will be my limit, at least with most of my chakra closed off, and I've a damn long day already. Never realized how easily other people would get exhausted."

"Gheh, finally admitting that you're not normal?" Kichi taunted his opponent in an attempt to distract him. Gamakichi had very bad cards indeed. "What?" he wondered why Naruto suddenly looked back to the edge of the estate with such a grim expression.

"Someone's here," the now-grim blond sighed. "I should've known they wouldn't leave me alone today…"

* * *

"Woah, what happened here?" Choji looked at the destruction around the compound. "I thought the invading army didn't reach this district."

"They didn't," was all that Kurenai replied.

Her change in attitude along with the magnitude of the destruction caused to the nearby houses, gave Shikamaru enough information. "Is Naruto still all right?"

"Yes, though the fools that attacked him…" she gestured to their surroundings to make the point come across.

"Stupid traitors," Asuma grumbled. "They should've been given to Ibiki, they died far too easily."

"Sensei, wait up!" the four heard Ino shout. She approached quickly, with Sakura following her in a somewhat less enthusiastic fashion. "Whoa, what happened here anyway?"

"Some idiots from our village tried to attack Naruto," Shikamaru filed her in, knowing that she wouldn't shut up unless her curiosity was satisfied. "Shall we go?"

"I would like to, but it seems like there are some barriers in place," Kurenai frowned.

"Yes, I thought there would be intruders," a rather tired-looking Naruto said, with a tiny orange toad on his shoulder as he appeared out of nothing. "Sorry, stealth seal," he apologized, when he noticed how he had startled them all. "Though, why are you guys all here? The festival is in the center of the village, not here."

"We're not here for the festival, you moron," yes, Ino's first reaction to being scared like that was outrage. Obviously. "Ugh, just take that barrier down, okay?"

"I assume you aren't here to attack," Naruto complied.

"Why would we do that?" she blinked.

"Jinchuriki aren't popular during a festival that commemorates the victims of a bijuu," Naruto said dryly. "You also want to come in, Shino, or do you just want to keep waiting there?"

"I'll enter…"

The others turned around and saw Shino. Their collective thought was: '_How long did he stand there?__'_

Shino just sighed, resigned to his fate of never being noticed.

* * *

Naruto couldn't help but feel confused. In the backyard, several tables with food and drinks were put up, as if it was a party. Meanwhile, more people entered. Gai, Lee, and Tenten joined Kurenai, Asuma, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, and Sakura. Oh, and Shino, he reminded himself. Even Kakashi popped up along with Iruka, who was immediately greeted by Ako.

"What is going on here?" Naruto felt left out. Apparently, everyone was here for a reason. Though the reason eluded him.

"I i-invited our classmates and s-sensei, N-Naruto-kun," a rather tense Hinata answered him.

"But why?"

"W-well… it's your b-birthday."

"Birthday? Party? You guys organized a birthday party? For me?" the Uzumaki was dumbfounded.

"What's so odd about that, nii-san?" Karin chimed in.

"Nobody ever celebrates my birthday. Nor is it exactly a happy day for me. Haruki asked me once, but I never saw the point of celebrating it."

"Don't be so ungrateful gaki," Anko said in mock anger, bopping him on the head. "Everyone came here for you. And do you have any idea how often that slave driver of a Hyuga made me go up and down the shops to collect all this stuff? Oh, hi Ako," she waved innocently at the approaching, and glaring, Hyuga.

"I'm not ungrateful, just… surprised. I mean, I pretty much hated this day," Naruto did not know how to feel any longer. On one hand, he was happy, but on the other, he still expected this all to be a cruel joke. It was a rather confusing experience.

"Didn't you tell me that times change?" Gaara droned. "People change with it." He and his siblings were also there, although several of the rookies were a bit anxious that he was here. Though the biggest surprise to all had yet to arrive. Hyuga Hitomi entered the backyard, accompanied by her cousin.

He was still wearing bandages for the wounds he sustained during the Chunin Exams, but he was unbound. Neji was free again.

"Neji-niisan?" Hinata gasped. "But how? Father said you were imprisoned."

The stoic Hyuga bowed for his clan's heir – even if that title carried little weight in their clan right now. "I am reinstated, Hinata-sama," Neji replied. "And I wish to offer my apologies for-" That's all he could say before he was tackled down to the ground by a green combination-bear hug from Lee and Gai. Even Tenten, who had sprinted forward as well, cringed at the outcries of 'the undying flames of youth' and 'the return of my youthful rival' from the green-clad duo.

"Congratulations on your thirteenth birthday, Naruto-kun," Hitomi did something only a few Hyuga of the main house ever did: she bowed to show her respect. "I thought it would be fitting for Neji to be here today, considering what occurred yesterday," she smiled.

Hinata looked from her cousin, whose head was still covered with bandages to hide the gruesome burn Naruto gave him during the Chunin Exams, and then turned her pale eyes towards Naruto.

The toad on his shoulder suddenly got an idea. "Yo, I'm going home, I'm pretty sure the old geezers want to be at your party as well, just like Tatsu. Though I doubt pops could fit in this yard."

"I don't have chakra to…"

"Don't worry about that, you signed a contract with us, so the geezers can always track you down and summon us," the toad croaked before vanishing in a small cloud of smoke.

"Naruto-kun? What happened yesterday?" Hinata came back to her senses when the toad popped away. "How can Neji-niisan be free again?"

Naruto looked up at the elder Hyuga, who nodded.

"Your mother and I agreed that Neji suffered enough, so during the trial yesterday, we tried to convince the clan elders that Neji should be set free.

* * *

_One day earlier._

* * *

"Your letter was delivered in quite an ingenious way," Hitomi smiled when she let Naruto into her office. As wife of the clan leader, she had a number of responsibilities for the internal affairs of the clan, as well as overseeing ties with other clans. And while Hiashi was the leader and the only one who could formally sign any official document, Hitomi relieved him of a lot of work.

"Well, I didn't trust the regular delivery service, considering the nature of what I wanted to tell, so Gamakichi was the most logical solution," Naruto scratched the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed. He never really knew how to deal with this woman who seemingly was able to look right into his soul. "But Neji's fate is important to me, Hitomi-sama"

"Why? After what he did, and tried to do, to Hinata, I don't see why you of all people would decide to spare him. Though, forgiveness is the best way to end conflict."

"Spare him?" Naruto blinked a little. "I think he has already suffered enough. Those injuries were rather nasty, so I think he is punished enough already. Not even counting the wounds to his pride. Besides, he was set up by his father to target Hinata. If you want to punish anyone, it should be Hizashi."

"Hizashi?" Hitomo frowned when Naruto mentioned him. '_Does he not know? Is someone else responsible for…__'_

"Yeah. He's the one that told Neji that hurting Hinata would be for the good of the branch house. Though punishing Hizashi too harshly would upset the branch," Naruto mused. "Though, it is inevitable that the rift between the two houses will happen. As far as I see it, it is only a matter of time until the situation spins out of control. If Hizashi would be executed, for instance, I highly doubt the branch would remain loyal. I mean, despite what he tried to do, he is the leader of the branch. I know that this trial will be about both Neji and his dad, so that is why I sent you that letter, Hitomi-sama."

'_He is completely honest. So he really doesn__'__t know… And I can__'__t tell him either, because the others will be watching him. If they see any lie in him, they might even try to start a trial against him as well. Especially with all the rumors circulating about Hokage-sama__'__s health worsening. There are enough people who wouldn__'__t mind using this situation as an excuse to imprison Naruto. But if they see that his honest reaction is honest, they know it will be futile to prosecute him,__'_ Hitomi quickly considered her best course of action. "Why do you want to spare Neji?"

"He will guard Hinata when I cannot. There is a chance that I have to leave Konoha soon, and beside that there is the issue of me finding someone of my own clan. I can't ask you to house Karin-chan within the Hyuga clan as well. No, you've done enough for me, I won't ask for more. Besides, I already have an alternative place where the two of us can live, even if it needs some repairs," Naruto explained.

"Neji as a guard," Hitomi watched pensively. "So the removal of his seal was intentional."

This wasn't uttered as a question, nor was it meant to be one. "That is why I covered it up with those burns," Naruto shrugged, not seeing the point of hiding it any longer to her. "I didn't want anyone to figure out I could remove the seal. I know it would spark a rebellion within the clan, and I don't want to have that on my conscience. I'm not strong enough to force the clan to change, nor am I am strong enough to protect the branch if they try something foolish. No, I'd prefer to keep this hidden until the time is right."

Hitomi sat there, stunned by the sudden revelation. "This is… great news! How did you manage to do it? And why couldn't our elders reapply the seal?"

"I put another seal in its place, which, at least for a few years, prevents the placement of the caged bird seal. And as for how… well, the caged bird seal is oddly similar to the Uzumaki clan fuinjutsu I've learned up till now. It took a lot of time to study it, and after some experiments I found the say to defuse the seal, or even remove it completely."

"So that was what Haruki meant back then," she mumbled.

"How did the Hyuga get their hands on an Uzumaki sealing technique as advanced as the caged bird seal?"

"I do not know, Naruto-kun, but I intend to find out. You gave me more information on the seal then I have found in years. For the first time in my life, I really believe the abolition of our system can be achieved," Hitomi smiled broadly. "And your assessment is right, the time is not right to upset our clan. This must be something that is carefully prepared, or this could end in a horrible slaughter."

"Indeed, if anyone knew, I'd probably be killed before I could say 'ramen'," Naruto sighed. "Anyway, I freed Neji so he could look after Hinata, and he knows that he depends on me renewing that seal to keep his freedom."

"So you don't trust him?"

"I trust his desire to be free, I trust his intelligence, and I trust his determination when it comes to setting the branch free. Anything more is just foolish."

"Very well, I shall aid you when it comes to deciding Neji's fate. But you know that your role in our clan will be part of the trial, do you?"

"Of course, and I don't really mind it. It's not like they could punish me anyway, I'm not part of the Hyuga clan. It's something several of the elders have made very clear for several years, so I don't mind using their argument against them," Naruto chuckled darkly.

"Be careful. You know very well how dangerous these men are."

"That is why I prepared Neji. After what he pulled during the exams, he would be the least likely person to guard Hinata. Or so they will think. And if someone tries to use him for such plots, we might even figure out who's behind the entire thing, and get some proof. Because those rats sure are capable of hiding their tracks…"

* * *

"Hyuga Neji, after hearing your story just now, we are ready to discuss the punishment for your transgressions against the clan," one of the elders said. His hair had the same color as his pale white eyes. Hyuga Eiji was the eldest amongst the councillors, but Naruto had never liked this man.

"I still would like to know where my father is," Neji demanded. They kept evading his question the entire trial.

"Uzumaki Naruto," the other elder, Hiashi's father Hyuga Hideo spoke up. His gravelly and nearly emotionless voice could rival Gaara's, but that was the least of Naruto's concerns. If he would say Eiji was bad, Hideo was far worse. He definitely belonged to the category of the coldest people Naruto knew, but Naruto had never been able to find any evidence pointing in his direction. Whether this meant that Hideo wasn't among the people who tried to assassinate his granddaughter, or whether he was just too smart, was unclear.

"Yes, Hyuga-sama?"

"Where is Hizashi?"

Naruto blinked, looking around him as if he expected a trick question. "Not here."

"That is correct. His burial will be tomorrow," Eiji droned, anger obvious in the old man's voice. "Would you care to explain why you murdered him?"

"Murdered? What?!" Naruto snapped.

"You were seen near Hizashi's cell, the night my brother was assassinated," Hiashi stared at the young jinchuriki as if he tried to find the answer inside his skull.

"I did not kill Hyuga Hizashi," the shock was more or less replaced by a growing anger. Although he knew it wasn't exactly unexpected that people would try to blame murders on him, with his past, Naruto still felt outraged by the accusation. "I would like to know why I am accused of such a thing," he said tersely.

"Do not try to deny it," Eiji shouted, forgetting about his composure for a moment. "His wounds were caused by the same kind of attack that you used against Neji."

Startled, Neji looked at Naruto, and the latter could see the betrayal in Neji's eyes. "How could you…"

"I did not murder anyone that night," Naruto hissed. "I came to talk to Neji that night, nothing more. Although I should give you credit for that stupid accusation. I mean, really? A fire-based attack, and I'm automatically accused of murder? Hell, I don't even have a darn motive to go after him, he was already imprisoned! It wasn't like I had to hide my tracks by going after the man who helped teaching me."

Hiashi turned to his wife, but she shook her head. Several of the elders reached the same conclusion, after having carefully watched Naruto's response. After all, Hizashi's care confused them just as much, because none of them knew what had driven the man to do these kinds of things. "Uzumaki Naruto, I believe you are not the one who murdered my brother," Hiashi said, though his voice made it obvious that no apologies would be given either.

"What? But the jutsu used to-" Eiji protested.

"The jutsu used to assassinate Hizashi could be replicated and used to frame Naruto," Hitomi cut him off. "After all, from what I saw during the exams, his jutsu was not very refined, so anyone with sufficient mastery of katon jutsu should be able to replicate it, am I correct?"

"Yes, Hitomi-sama," Naruto nodded.

"And I see no signs of deceit, so unless anyone has additional proof, I suggest we withdraw our accusations."

"He murdered many of our house!"

"Only those who wanted to assassinate Hinata-sama," Naruto had calmed down, but this composure worried the elders far more. "So, unless you say that they were right and you prefer Hinata-sama to die, I do not see any issues. But if you do…" he left it at that, but the threat was clear. The old council member flinched at Naruto's words, but fear led to the usual response this man had: anger.

"What proof did you even have?" Eiji raged. To Naruto it now was painfully obvious that the old man was used by others who preferred to remain silent while this man drew all suspicion to him. '_The question is: who else is involved in this? I__'__ve had my suspicions regarding that old goat of a Hideo for a while now, is he the one manipulating this geezer?__'_

"In three cases, I caught people at the act, only moments before they could have done any harm," Naruto's voice remained calm, although small traces of the Kyuubi's chakra began to leak out, making the atmosphere in the room rather tense. "They, well the word 'gave' is wrong I suppose, but I got the information out of them leading to the people who were really behind the attempts." Naruto paused for a moment to let it sink in. '_Let them think I suspect them, let them fear.__'_

"There is still no proof. If someone of the main house supposedly did something like that, there should have been a trial where-"

Naruto started to laugh, shutting the man up. "Do you take me for a fool? Do you actually think I'm stupid enough to think that you would believe someone like me over one of your own? I am a jinchuriki. Like your branch house, I face discrimination. And like them, I have to live with those limitations," Naruto spoke softly. "But I have sworn to Hiashi-sama and Hitomi-sama that I would protect Hinata. No matter what means it requires, I _will_ hold that oath. How many people do you think that that fool of a Hajime sacrificed in his ambition to kill Hinata?"

"Enough!" Eiji roared.

"Just shut up, old moron," Naruto remained dead calm, but all those in the room were gifted with the byakugan, and none of them would have had their position if they weren't highly intelligent. So, they saw the rage behind Naruto's calm façade. "Do you think I enjoyed killing people? Especially all those from the branch who were forced to do his bidding, I had to stop them because of my oath, but I never enjoyed it for a moment. I only want peace. But I cannot tolerate some lunatic who thinks his political position would benefit from her death. Then again, a lot more people disappeared afterwards, so I bet my actions made someone anxious. And considering how that didn't stop after I ended Hajime's schemes…"

"What are you insinuating?"

"Nothing, though I find it peculiar that you are so aggressive on this subject. It almost seems like you care more about that traitor than about your clan's heir. As I asked before, would you prefer it if Hinata died?"

"I am rather curious to hear you answer this as well, Eiji," Hiashi agreed.

"I would never want to hurt Hinata, even though I stick to my point that she is unfit to inherit your position, Hiashi."

'_He lies,_' Hitomi realized. '_And he is skilled at it as well, not even Hiashi noticed. If Naruto had not angered him like this, it might even be possible that I would have failed to notice it. But Hideo… his body language was off, if only for a second. Could it be? Could he be behind it? But if he leads the conservative faction, why did he willingly hand his position to Hiashi-kun?__'_

"Then this discussion is closed," Hiashi decided, believing his councillors. "We must decide what to do with my nephew. It is clear he broke our clan's rules, but at the same time I admire his talent. Never in the history of our clan has anyone been able to learn the main house's techniques without proper guidance, and though it is obvious that there is enough room for improvement, the mere fact that Neji showed such skill indicates his vast potential."

"A severe punishment would be pointless," Naruto spoke up, even though it wasn't his place to speak. "The injuries and humiliation I caused him would have been bad enough to get the point through to him." Neji's grimace showed that the latter agreed. Then again, getting the skin burned away from your forehead was not a sensation anyone would enjoy.

Unless you would happen to be immortal, of course.

"If I can make a suggestion," Hitomi waited long enough to not give away that this had been prepared, and quick enough to speak before any of the elders would. "Neji committed an offense against our clan, but Hinata was the one who suffered most. I think it would be fitting if Neji took a position as Hinata's guard. This way, Ko could free up more of his time to execute missions. And if anything happened to Hinata, we could always reconsider Neji's punishment."

Money was always a convincing argument, and Ko was definitely one of the better shinobi within their clan. Perhaps even the best within the branch now that Hizashi had been found burnt to death. "Agreed," Hiashi nodded. "Neji will be responsible for my daughter's safety. If he fails, however, his transgressions will be reassessed, as suggested. And make no mistake that you will be held accountable for any possible failure in your duty."

Now that Hitomi knew who to look at, she noticed Hideo's minuscule nod, after which two of the council members, Eiji being one of them, relaxed. Only Hiashi's aunt, Kayo, voiced her disapproval, preferring a more serious punishment for Neji, arguing that he had shamed the Hyuga clan with his performance at the final round of the exams. But this motion did not pass. But before Hiashi could end the meeting, Hideo chose to speak up.

"There is one more thing I would like to discuss, son. Up till now, Uzumaki Naruto has stayed within our clan as our guest, but after his actions, some consequences should be taken."

"I am not a part of your clan," Naruto repeated the very thing Hideo himself often argued whenever he could oppose Naruto. So now Hideo got the argument back, right in his face.

"A correct assessment," Hideo narrowed his eyes, the only sign of irritation that any without the byakugan would see. However, Naruto clearly felt the man's annoyance, as the temperature of his already cold aura dropped another few degrees. "Nevertheless, our clan did not take you in indefinitely. I propose that we end your status as our guest."

"Heh, you just want me out of the compound," Naruto smirked. "But you didn't have to be so explicit about it, I would've left anyway. After all, I have my own compound now."

"A compound? I am not aware the Uzumaki had any property left in Konoha," Kayo frowned.

"True, but some things are best preserved when they remain… hidden," Naruto emphasized on the latter word while looking at Hideo.

"I am not inclined to remove Naruto's status as our honoured guest," Hiashi looked at his father. "I have no reason to question his loyalty, and beyond that this bond with the Uzumaki clan will no doubt become important. Naruto's promotion to chunin, along with his performance during the finals, made it clear that he will be one of the most powerful shinobi of our village if his growth continues at this rate."

"Thank you," Naruto couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed at the praise. "But I am already in your debt. As far as I'm concerned, the Uzumaki and the Hyuga are friends."

Hiashi nodded in response. "You have saved my daughter on more than one occasion, so the least I could do is give you the benefit of the doubt," Hiashi said on a decisive tone. "So unless any of you has any concrete proof that Uzumaki Naruto made any transgression against our clan, I will not consider this case again." Hitomi smiled to show her approval, as her husband looked at her.

"What will happen to Hizashi's position?" Eiji questioned.

Hiashi frowned. "None within the branch are capable enough right now. Besides, after the display that Hizashi orchestrated, the branch needs a clear message: from this moment on, Hizashi's position will be filled by the main house. Perhaps that Neji can take the position in due time, but that depends on the actions of the branch."

Hitomi's smiled dropped when she realized the consequences. With this seemingly simple decision, the entire branch house was punished, and what little political leverage they had within the clan was just removed. This would only further increase the tension between main and branch, as was the consequence of most of Hiashi's decisions these days…

'_I knew things were going too well,_' Hitomi sighed. '_The branch is going to be infuriated with this. It seems Naruto-kun was right that things would spiral out of control…__'_

* * *

_Present day._

* * *

"So Neji-niisan is appointed as my guard?" Hinata wondered after Hitomi gave her a very condensed version of the story. After all, this was a party, hardly the place and time to tell her daughter that Hizashi had been killed. Especially not because of the circumstances, because Hizashi was now linked to various schemes that aimed to destabilize the clan. The attempt to remove Hinata from the picture during the Chunin Exams by using his own son only confirmed to Hitomi how low the man had fallen.

"Yes, he and Ko will act as guards, taking turns of course, considering Neji will be out due to missions as soon as his chest and his head injuries have fully recovered."

"So you're really back," Tenten cheered. "I'm no longer alone with these two madmen!"

Naruto smiled seeing Hinata so happy. "This is what you wanted, is it not?" he asked softly so that the others wouldn't hear. Hinata nodded, and smiled at him.

"Perhaps now Neji-niisan can be free from our clan's curse."

"Oh, he certainly is free alright," Naruto smirked. "Though, I trust you know to keep that little piece of information a secret for now. If the clan found out that I could remove the seal… well, they wouldn't be happy."

Hitomi smiled and nodded. "Naruto is right, Hinata. And perhaps one day, with Naruto's help, we could free our entire clan," she whispered. "I suppose this is the right moment for me to hand you my gift, Naruto-kun," she continued at a normal tone.

Naruto stared at scroll she handed him. 'The history of the Hyuga clan,' it was titled. And after Haruki's letter, Naruto knew very well how extremely dangerous and valuable this scroll was. "Thank you, Hitomi-sama," he bowed deeply. "This is a priceless gift."

Hinata looked curiously, until she saw the title on the scroll, and looked at her mother in surprise. Their clan's history was an extremely well-kept secret, and a point which she only recently was educated in. For her mother to give Naruto such valuable information... it shocked her.

"Yay! Gifts," Anko jumped in. She and all the others weren't aware of the significance of Hitomi's gift, thinking it was just another boring history of a clan. Not that Naruto blamed anyone for being unaware that the Hyuga clan had falsified its history. After all, even most of the Hyuga didn't know- that was how far the clan had gone to hide its past crimes.

Unlike Hitomi, Anko gave Naruto a set of five vials. Kurenai became rather vocal about her concerns, after seeing the labels on the vials. "Anko! How could you give him such potent poisons without giving him any antidotes?"

"Hey, he wouldn't be stupid enough to drink it," Anko huffed. "Just add some to a kunai or a senbon, and your target will drop like a fly. Those three are for instant kills, all untraceable of course, the other is the strongest paralysis poison I have, and the last one is the most amusing."

"Amusing poison?" Naruto frowned, not really sure if Anko's definition of 'amusing' would correspond with his.

"Use one drop of it and your targets will beg you to kill them," Anko smiled innocently as if she was talking about the latest movie instead of this macabre subject. "It overloads the nervous system with pain, but prevents people from passing out at the same time. Perfect for torture!"

Kurenai pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "You know this isn't exactly the thing to give someone on his birthday, don't you?"

"Why not?"

"Thank you, it's perfect," Naruto ended the discussion. "I'm sure there are enough occasions I could use this. Where it could even save my life."

"See, even the gaki knows his stuff, Kure-chan," Anko chirped.

Asuma put a hand on Kurenai's shoulder to stop her. "I see that you're unique as always," he chuckled.

"Not as unique as Kure-chan, I bet," Anko winked.

"No one is," Asuma coughed away his embarrassment.

"Talking about it, when is your celebration, Asuma-sensei?" Naruto chimed in.

"Celebration?"

"Kurenai-sensei won her bet, didn't she?"

"W-what bet?" Kurenai tried to act innocently.

"Well, the one you tried to hide. You know, that if our team outperformed team ten, then he would have to propo-"

Asuma's (rather loud) coughing interrupted Naruto. "That will be discussed in due time, thank you Naruto-kun. Anyway, let's move on to handing out presents…"

This could loosely be translated as 'shut up about our engagement' and acted as the starting signal for everyone to 'assault' Naruto with gifts. It was, to say the least, a weird experience for the young Uzumaki. Sure, every now and then he had gotten a present while living among the stoic Hyuga, but never for his birthday. To him, it had never been a day worth celebrating.

Kurenai and Asuma had bought him a gift together: a valuable and extremely useful utility belt. Kurenai had ordered it with a few modifications, such as several casings which were attached to the belt, meant to store scrolls. The great benefit was that these casings were waterproof and highly durable, offering Naruto an opportunity to safely keep scrolls close to him even during battle.

Having finished his job escorting Hitomi, who had excused herself and left after giving her present, Neji now stood in front of the line. While his gift caused some amusement among the others, he and Naruto, and even Hinata, knew the true meaning behind it. A book on clan politics, even one considered an essential piece of literature on the subject, was probably the least suitable gift in the eyes of most others, but Naruto saw it for what it was: a warning. His interactions with Neji during the past exam had drawn him into a snake pit with as yet unknown rules- rules which Neji now handed him through this book. Of course, the whispered assurance that Neji would hold on to his promise to guard Hinata with his life far more valuable to Naruto.

It was certainly a more useful gift than Kiba's 'special cream' which aimed to suppress stench. Naruto wondered if the Inuzuka wanted to say something with it, because Naruto never reeked like that before. '_It's not like I had ever farted in the Inuzuka__'__s face, right?' _Then again, in a clan like the Inuzuka, smell was extremely important so the symbolic value of giving this clan-specific cream to a non-Inuzuka was great- but Naruto wondered what the practical use of it was. Most of the others were much more practical by comparison. Choji's food coupons, which Naruto could spend at any Akimichi-owned restaurant, were typically something he would have expected from him. After all, the Akimichi valued food above all.

To Ako's worry, Shikamaru gave Naruto a shogi set. Though, when she voiced her concerns, he promised to teach Naruto shogi as well, even though it was 'a drag'. Ino, and by extension a tired looking Sakura, handed Naruto an extensive book on gardening. The blonde had heard of Naruto's love for gardening, and because it was an interest she shared she found this the most fitting gift she could think of. Following Shikamaru's promise to teach him shogi, she offered to help him with gardening. This was something which Naruto appreciated, considering the work that had yet to be done on the Uzumaki compound.

Meanwhile, Naruto was starting to wonder how the others thought of him. Books, scrolls… '_Seems like they all think that I love reading and studying. Am I such a nerd?__'_ he thought while a sweat drop was forming on the back of his head.

Of course, one had to leave it to Kakashi to go above and beyond any possible gift when it came to literature- well, except for Jiraiya himself. Ako and Kurenai practically assaulted the one-eyed jonin when Naruto unwrapped his present, which turned out to be a special edition of the first Icha-Icha series. It made Anko rather jealous of Naruto. Ako, on the other hand, just said that Naruto was too young for such adult material. Iruka effectively countered this by saying that the actual plot in the earlier Icha Icha novels was rather good.

While Ako voiced her disappointment that even Iruka liked those books, Naruto could've sworn she mumbled something like 'so that's where he found the idea for…'

The other gifts were less controversial. Lee's training weights were certainly a good gift, but Gai's idea of giving Naruto a green spandex suit along with it was… less appreciated. Although Naruto thanked him for the gift, he swore to himself to immediately lock it away once he had the opportunity- if the others didn't destroy it before he had the chance. The look in Kurenai's eyes scared him a little…

Iruka and Ako, on the other hand, had a better-designed piece of apparel for him. They had modified a chunin flak jacket, as Naruto had refused to wear one because he liked his own dark green short shirt kimono a lot better. It had made no difference to him if the flak jacket offered more protection, but the remodeled one was far more to Naruto's tastes. After all, they had made it similar to historical descriptions of Uzumaki armor. However, unlike the armor, which stretched to the legs, the flak jacket only covered his torso. And it looked remarkably good on top of his green clothing.

Mesh armor turned out to be a rather poor defense against blades, but this armor-like flak jacket at least felt more durable to Naruto. In addition, the utility belt fit so well with it that Naruto was certain the four of them had done this together. Unlike the regular Konoha flak jacket, this revamped model did not have the regular pouches attached to the chest, but rather had a thicker protective layer woven in the fabric. With the sturdy shoulder padding of the flak jacket, he would have no use for his shoulder guards either; but the best thing was that it was decorated with his clan's symbols.

Naruto realized he would have to change the color of his hand guards a bit, to better fit the flak jacket. But for now, they remained safely at their place, hiding the seal on his right hand. All in all, he really liked his new look- a lot, even. "Thanks," Naruto bowed, wearing his new outfit. "It's almost too much for me to accept."

"You deserve a lot more, for all you've done," Ako reprimanded him. She sure as hell had not forgotten how he saved her when she got involved in one of the assassination plots.

'_Good thing I should be able to repay Iruka-sensei soon enough,__'_ Naruto grinned at the thought. '_And through it, I__'__m certain I will make Ako a very happy person as well…__'_

All that was left now were three hesitant girls. And because of their hesitation, someone interfered.

Dropping a dead bird in front of Naruto, Chie bowed her head and congratulated him. She even called him by his real name, rather than Whisker-two-leg! Some thought it was another prank, and a rather tasteless prank at that, but Naruto stopped any protest.

"Two-leg is correct. I thought this 'birthday gift' ceremony you two-legs follow was about one two-leg giving the other two-leg something they both appreciate, to show your equality, right? Like how Blonde-loud-two-leg gave Naruto a book on plants. Or how Chubby-two-leg-"

"That's enough explanation, Chie," Naruto saw the Akimichi's brow twitch, and quickly intervened. "Thank you for your gift. Though I hope you understand why I'm not eating it," he chuckled.

"I do, Naruto," she smirked back. "You'll find coupons for the dango shop under your bed," she whispered after jumping on Naruto's shoulder. "But I bet that Crazy-snakes-two-leg won't be too happy when she finds out they're missing from her stash…"

Seeing him double over from laughter, Karin decided she could risk it. She had no confidence in whether or not he would like her gift, especially not after all the high-class stuff had gotten. She and the others knew that it was the first time he celebrated his birthday, so the decision to make it something special had been unanimous. However, Karin had virtually no money, and found it 'wrong' to borrow money from others when it came to buying a gift. She wanted it to be something purely from her.

"Erm, my gift isn't anything spectacular, I'm sorry nii-san," Karin hesitated. "I didn't have much money, but I wanted to give you something practical. And something about our clan. So…"

Naruto stepped forward and gave her a gentle flick on the head. "Stupid little sis'. Don't worry. Because of you I have family," he smiled at her. "I gained a sister. I have family, and that's the greatest gift I could get, right?"

Blushing, Karin handed him her gift. Unwrapping it, Naruto smiled at her. Sets of shirts, black and white, all with the Uzumaki clan symbol proudly on the chest.

"You have all the attire you need for your job as a shinobi, but I thought you would need some leisurewear as well. I mean, all you have is from the Hyuga clan, not from our clan. And you're always wearing that green gear, so, even though I know this is just cheap stuff, but I thought you might perhaps like to wear something that relates more to our clan. But if you don't like it, I could always return it," she quickly added. "I mean, this isn't-"

Naruto just cut off her blabbering by giving her a big brotherly hug. "It wonderful, thanks nee-chan," he smiled. "I remember jii-san once gave me a shirt somewhat like this black one. I literally wore that one out till it I got too big for it and ripped it because I tried to put it on anyway. It's perfect. I know I'll treasure this one even more."

"Thanks nii-san," Karin smiled, looking as if a weight was lifted from her shoulders. "And don't flick me on the head again," she softly bopped him on the head, causing them both to laugh.

Only Hinata did not completely share in the happiness, but not because of something as petty as jealousy. She knew that their relation was familial, something which made Naruto happier than anything. No, she saw, if only for an instant, the sadness in his eyes. That moment, when he ended Karin's hesitation, he was completely honest. '_I thought he was happier now. I knew he was burdened, but he seemed to be happier nonetheless. Was that all a mask? But just now, his eyes, they were so sad and behind all that… anger? Why is he angry? Is it related to why he refused to talk about his father? I knew he was lying about that.__'_

So caught up in her thoughts, Hinata did not even notice how most people were looking at her, as if they were expecting her to hand over her gift next- which was pretty reasonable, considering how Tenten had maneuvered herself behind Hinata.

However, unlike the Hyuga, Tenten was very well aware of the fact people were looking at her. The bun-haired girl simply sighed, realizing that the Hyuga was far more hesitant than she was. So, she stepped forward and showed Naruto the scroll in which her gift was sealed.

'_Kami, this is going to be so damn awkward. I hoped I could wait until I was alone with Naruto. Not while everyone is here.. Ah well, here goes nothing__…'_

Rather anxious at the thought of seeing his reaction, she looked down as she unsealed her gift. And heard the others gasp…

* * *

**Bonus: Too late!**

* * *

Chie was bored out of her mind. Still grounded after her latest prank, as Ako-sama had been fed up with the little cat's mischief, Chie could only watch how the others were all busy. Some of the two-legs were busy preparing some party, and its significance eluded Chie at first- until Temari took the time to explain it.

'_Two-legs and their weird rituals. So they pick gifts to celebrate the day they__'__ve been born? It still makes little sense. And hiding it all for Whisker-two-leg is even weirder. They__'__re lucky he is so engrossed with his studies all of the time…__'_

"Argh, I'm bored," Chie whined. "And I can't even go out to see my lovely little minions… not without incurring the wrath of Ako-sama."

As if on cue Naruto threw away his book. "Argh, this is too frustrating."

"Finally giving up, two-leg?"

"No way. But I've been at it for the entire afternoon. I might as well go out for a stroll."

'_No can do, Whisker-two-leg. Ako-sama ordered me to keep you away from the preparations,__' _Chie mused. "Why not talk with me. I'm bored, two-leg," she begged. "Why isn't that perverted-two-leg around? He always makes things livelier."

"He's on a mission, bringing Yugito-san to the border of the Land of Lighting."

Chie yawned and walked towards Naruto. "Isn't that the woman who messed you up, a little while ago?"

"Well, she stopped me, if that's what you meant. She is the jinchuriki of the Nibi after all, so she was in the best position to stop the Kyuubi's rampage…"

"N-Nibi?"

Naruto frowned, and looked down at the flabbergasted feline. "Yeah. The two-tailed Bijuu."

"Lady Nibi was here, and I didn't even know?" Chie whimpered. "Oh, I'm going straight to hell once I die. How could I be so stupid?"

"Err, Chie?"

"Stupid stupid stupid stupid!" the mortified cat started bashing her head to the ground. "She's the goddess of the bakeneko, why didn't you tell me this before, you traitorous two-leg?"

"Because I did not know?" Naruto scratched his chin, wondering what was going on with the cat. "What do you mean, the Nibi is the goddess of your kind? You know she's Bijuu, right?"

"Who cares about that," Chie's mood had passed through the denial and anger phases, and now skipped bargaining to go directly to depression.

Passing by, Anko suddenly jumped to Naruto, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "What did you do to get that cat depressed? Teach me!"

'_I__'__m surrounded by insanity, aren__'__t I?__'_

* * *

**A/N**: Anddddd CUT. Sorry, but you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out what gift Tenten had. Her gift must be darn impressive in order to elicit such a response.. What could it be? And more importantly: what could Hinata give Naruto?

Credits. If you're happy with the English in this chapter, thank my beta **Illuminated**. The link between the Caged Bird Seal and the Uzumaki clan is an idea that has to be credited to **Shadow Legion**. And the idea behind today's bonus scene comes from **LuxEterna1** (although I did not let Chie and Yugito meet, Chie at least came to know how close she had been to her idol!)

And for today's recommendation: has anyone read **Kenchi618**'s **Better Left Unsaid**? I know, it's not NaruHina, but even though I'm an avid NaruHina fan, it doesn't mean that I ignore high quality stories from other Naruto-related pairings. Well, excluding yaoi. Nothing against homosexuality, but the yaoi and yuri genres just aren't my thing. No offence to anyone who does like it though. Anyway, Kenchi618's story is the best NaruIno fic I've encountered to date, not to mention that it has the most incredible Chunin Exams arc that you'll ever read! Yes, with 899k words it's one hell of a story, but I didn't add it to my list of favorite stories for no reason!

In addition, I recently published the oneshot '**Chocolate**', which focusses on the NH family with Himawari and Boruto. Check it out! And don't forget about the **poll**, or to leave **reviews**! Every author loves reviews! And… well, this A/N is long enough now. I'm off to celebrate my own birthday now!

I found it fitting to publish the celebration of Naruto's birthday on my own birthday ^^

-Z-


	47. Afterparty

**Chunin arc**

**Afterparty**

* * *

Naruto sat by himself, browsing through his gifts. The others were cleaning up. Despite his intentions of helping them, the sand siblings, Karin, Kiba, and Hinata were adamant: this was his birthday, so he did not have to help clean up after the party- and a party it certainly had been, with the foods, the drinks, the birthday cake. In addition, when Fukasaku and Shima also arrived after Gamakichi's warning, Naruto was even offered a 'healthy bowl of worms'. He had passed on that offer though. Lee, on the other hand, had been foolish enough to show curiousity…

Shima had stuffed the poor boy with her 'delicacies', overjoyed to finally meet a human who had 'proper taste', as she called it. She had not realized that Lee was just too polite to refuse. Naruto smirked to remember how he and the others had amused themselves watching Lee's expression when Shima had pulled out more and more food. It didn't take that long before the boy had become as green as his infamous clothing…

All in all, Naruto thought everyone had gone way too far in their generosity. He had even said so, but that had only earned him a smack on the head from Ako. She even made a point out of it that he had always stopped Haruki and her from celebrating his birthday like they had wanted. He couldn't help but smile at the memory of Ako voicing her worries, and her wishes that he could live at least a decently normal life. _'As if I could ever be normal…_ _Only Sakura had misunderstood that remark, but how else could she react when no one had told her who I really am?'_

Until the Sandaime revoked his law, none could freely talk about his burden. And in truth, Naruto did not really care if Sakura knew or not. Regardless of whether he once wished it to be different, Naruto knew very well she would never be his friend again. It was not that he regretted anything, not at all. He just wanted her to be happy. The only other thing he felt was the old disappointment for being foolish enough to think that the once-bullied girl might have understood his position in the village- especially after their time in team seven, when she had actually warmed up to him a little.

She had warmed up to him a little, until she saw what he was capable of doing. '_Perhaps she is more honest in her opinion than most others. Hinata and Kiba, they saw some of the evil that I hold at bay. But they never saw me slaughter people. Sakura might think that I am a monster, but perhaps she is closer to the truth than most others. What I did, it can__'__t just be blamed to the Kyuubi; I can__'__t deny that I enjoyed killing some of the people. And it__'__s is wrong to feel like that…__'_

Then again, how did the village treat him, Naruto answered himself. Scorn, aggression- whether it was open or hidden, he had felt it all- his senses showed him how they really felt about him, and he had stood alone against thousands. For years, it had been an unchangeable fact. But now, they witnessed his strength… the people feared him- and it would only deepen their hatred.

Or would they be hypocritical enough to think that he'd buy it if they 'changed their minds' about him? Would they be foolish enough to expect him to 'just forget'?

'_That__'__s not true. Hinata and Kiba, they valued me even before I showed my true strength. Kurenai-sensei supported me, regardless of whether I was strong or weak. Karin accepted me as her family, not even caring about my burden. Not everyone is bad.__'_

Karin was lonely. She craved for acceptance. She desired to be loved, to have a family. All I gather around me are a bunch of rejects and idiots: those who dropped out of the system, the losers of society, occurred to Naruto.

'_That__'__s wrong. That__'__s not true at all,__'_ Naruto shook his head in annoyance at himself. '_Kami, why am I arguing with myself? Am I going mad? I could almost imagine that my darker thoughts could live a separate existence within me. Then again, if I didn__'__t have the guidance of Haruki, the concerns of Ako, the camaraderie of my team… If I had been alone during all these years, how much deeper would I have fallen into the darkness? What kind of methods would I have used, be it consciously or subconsciously, to retain my sanity? To cope with this empty feeling of loneliness?__'_

Wanting to get his mind to focus on other matter, he took Hinata's gift from the table. Of all the gifts, her gift had touched him most of all.

* * *

_A few hours earlier._

* * *

Tenten sighed. She realized that Hinata was far more hesitant than she was, and everyone was waiting for them. So, she stepped forward and showed Naruto the scroll in which her gift was sealed._'Kami, this is going to be so damn awkward. I hoped I could wait until I was alone with Naruto. Not do it while everyone is here… Ah well, here goes nothing__…'_Rather anxious at the thought of seeing his reaction, she looked down as she unsealed her gift. And heard the others gasp…

Naruto, his eyes wide in surprise, stood there with her gift in his hands. "Tenten… this is too much. This must be worth a small fortune!"

"It isn't that much," Tenten waved it off, though she was unable to hide her discomfort from being stared at by everyone present.

"That's no regular metal either. Those tips are made of the same metal as my knives," Asuma muttered, unable to keep the awe from his voice. "That's a special metal which conducts chakra, kiddo," he added, seeing Naruto's confused look. "And that's definitely not cheap stuff, either. Seems like pretty high-grade material."

Tenten scraped her throat. "My dad made it. Especially for you, Naruto."

"Why? I mean…"

"Because you teach me in your clan's secrets, even though there is no reason for you to do so."

"But you teach me bojutsu. It's a fair trade!"

"It's not. Any idiot could learn bojutsu, it is knowledge which is stored in the central libraries and freely available to you anyway. No, by comparison, you share secret knowledge, knowledge that made the Uzumaki clan the masters of fuinjutsu. You don't understand what that means to a clanless person like me!"

"Naruto gives lectures in fuinjutsu? Hey, why didn't I hear of that?" Ino wondered.

Anticipating this kind of wondering from his comrades, "Because Tenten has an abundance of talent in fuinjutsu," Naruto explained. "She showed me tweaks to the storage seal that I've never even encountered in the Uzumaki scrolls I own. No, her talent is definitely there, and that's why I chose to teach her some stuff, in exchange for her teaching me. So it is just a fair trade, where we teach each other-"

"It is not a fair trade, Naruto, absolutely not. In this world, talent alone is meaningless. If I'd belong to a clan, I'd be taught a clan's secret skills. But I'm just a civilian girl. My only knowledge on being a shinobi is derived from the stuff we are taught at the academy. And because I'm clanless, I always have to fight an uphill battle, because all the others of my age have access to secret knowledge which I can never access. My father knows very well how valuable your knowledge is, Naruto- that's why he forged this," she pointed at the black, metal six-foot-long bo Naruto held in his hands. "This might be worth some money, but compared to the stuff you're teaching me, it is nothing."

"…fine then," Naruto conceded with a sigh, looking at the combat staff in his grip. '_I guess I know which blacksmith I__'__ll be purchasing my goods at for the rest of my life. And with all the repairs that the Uzumaki compound needs, I bet I can pay him handsomely for his services. After all, for those without clans, a gift like this bo is quite the investment.__'_

"Thanks Tenten, but please… know that I don't need to be repaid for what I teach you. Between Karin and me, there are only two living and breathing Uzumaki left. It would be completely foolish to keep our clan's secrets completely hidden away, just for the sake of some out-dated pride."

"Sasuke-kun says clan secrets should always remain within the clan," Sakura frowned, thinking back to Kakashi's suggestion of Sasuke sharing some of the sharingan's secrets so that Kakashi could better help him develop his power.

"My point exactly," Naruto smirked and glanced to see who caught his meaning. "Thank you, Tenten, I'll treasure it. Hah, when I'm Hokage, this weapon will become a national treasure, and the entire world will hail your father's skills," he boasted.

"You'd better get that hat soon then," Tenten laughed. "Though I am not looking forward to the amount of time I'd have to help him in the shop if Dad got that famous."

There was, however, one more reason behind the gift. One which Tenten would never say out loud, ever. Her father could be so damn shameless at times… '_Just give him this and you__'__ll get his attention_,' Tenten recalled his words. '_And when you capture his attention, you just make sure you can marry into his clan.__'_

Right.

As if she'd steep that low to use his trust like that. Then again, it was common practice among the clanless to try and get into a clan that way. In Tenten's view, even if it was but a lowly clan, their men and women lived better lives than those without clans backing them. If someone without a clan got incapacitated, there was no one to support him or her. Not to mention the most dire scenario: the orphans belonging to clans would be taken in by other members of their clan, while the orphans of clanless went to the orphanage, and faced who-knew-what kind of future. Those orphans had to fight for every chance, and more often than not just ended up in prostitution, criminality, or got other kinds of lowly professions to get their hands on some money. It also bore mentioning that an unexplainable number of orphans just 'disappeared'. Whether those children were killed for someone's amusement, or drafted into some kind of shady underground organization: no one knew, and nor did anyone bother to figure it out...

On the other hand, it was not the case that Naruto was part of a particularly influential clan. No, with Karin's heritage not being common knowledge yet, Naruto's name rose in fame purely due to his actions, Tenten considered. And between what he heard from his own daughter, and from what was said about what Naruto had done during the invasion, Tenten's father thought quite highly of Naruto. He was part of the minority who came to see Naruto as a hero rather than a monster. He was one of the people who remembered the story of a kid plucked out of the orphanage due to some kind of incident, who now rose through the ranks. To people like her father, Naruto was a shining beacon of hope- hope that even the lowly clanless could overcome their obstacles, and hope that people could become more than their birth decided for them.

While Tenten disagreed with his pragmatic views on marriage, she understood why he wished her to live a good life. He had struggled for a long time to rise to his position, to work his way to the shop he owned at the main street, from the dusty shack in some back alley they owned when Tenten was just a little girl. He was a self-made man, a blacksmith with a clientele that valued his craftsmanship highly. She understood how he wanted her to be safe, to be protected from the disdain with which people looked at the clanless, and to have a better life. Nevertheless, Tenten was adamant that she would only marry out of love, not for any materialistic gains.

Still, several of those who were present at the party were born in the most powerful clans of Konoha, not to mention there were the children of the Kazekage. Tenten had no doubt that most of them would see this possible hidden meaning behind the gift. After all, the clans warned their children to always watch out for the wooings of the clanless- especially the likely future clan heads, who were _expected_ to find themselves a spouse worthy of such a position. The clanless were definitely not worthy in that line of thinking, because such an espousal would bring no political or monetary benefits to the clan.

This common prejudice was exactly the reason why Tenten had hoped to get a chance to give Naruto this gift in private. She did not want to give the others the impression that she was that petty, when the gift was a sincere one. Tenten was confident that she would make it as a shinobi and earn her position in the village through her skill, so that she could one day be compared to her great example: Senju Tsunade. She would never want to become someone purely based on for whom she spread her legs- that was not the kind of woman she wanted to become. Ever.

"Then I guess I'll have to start preparing an advanced class on fuinjutsu as well to get it even," Naruto smirked, and brought Tenten out of her inner pondering.

"Just wait till we finish that first book. I've barely got halfway through it, and I'm already lost!" Tenten retorted, happy that he brushed over any potential embarrassing subjects. Besides, if he thought she was not in his debt due to his sharing of knowledge, there would be no deeper meaning behind her rather valuable gift. And if there was no debt, there would not be a 'claim', as clanless would something call it when someone of a clan accepted their gifts.

And she wanted nothing to do with claims and debts, especially not in front of all the others.

Karin and Hinata looked at each other and decided to remain silent- not because they were worried Tenten would be after Naruto, but rather because they hadn't gotten nearly half as far into Naruto's textbook as Tenten now said she did- much to the frustration of both.

"Well, your turn Hinata," Temari smiled. "We're sorry Naruto, while we do have a gift it will take a while for it to get here. But we have the promise of Baki-sensei that he'll bring copies of Pakura-sama's notes. He promised Gaara that he'd bring it personally when he comes to Konoha."

Well, to say that this took Naruto by surprise was a massive understatement. "Really? But you said that would be-"

"Baki-sensei agreed that this was the least we could do in return for your actions," Gaara's dry voice sounded up.

"Wow… That is… awesome!"

"Well, Baki-sensei did request that if you were to manage to replicate it, that you would teach it to our shinobi as well."

"Sounds like a fair deal," Naruto smiled. "Thanks Gaara, Temari, and you too Make-up-two-leg."

"Don't you use that accursed cat's rotten nickname," Kankuro protested grumpily.

"So, eh… What's so great about a bunch of notes?" Ino wondered, as nosy as ever.

"It's a secret," Temari teased the quick-to-pout blonde. "But when Naruto figures it out, you'll see it eventually."

"You sound like you believe that I can really do it," Naruto laughed. '_Though replicating the lost Shakuton kekkei genkai will be next to impossible. Even if I have affinities for both wind and fire. Those notes offer the closest thing there is to even having a chance. And I bet that Gamazu will be eager to help me,__'_ Naruto mused. He already knew for sure that the 'professor' amongst the toads would definitely be enthralled by the possibility, no matter how remote, of achieving such a feat as resurrecting lost jutsu.

After what the Mizukage had told Naruto, he knew that it was not completely impossible to replicate the scorch release, even though Terumi Mei had access to a _lot_ more data than Naruto now had. However, Naruto was sure the silverly-skinned old toad Gamazu would think his way past those limitations. Although, Naruto first needed access to his chakra again, because with his limited reserves, summoning any toad more powerful than Gamakichi was rather demanding at this time.

"Well, you have a bad habit of doing the impossible," Temari smiled, nodding towards her little brother. "That makes one believe you can go even further."

'_Perhaps, Temari. Perhaps. But it__'__s much more likely that the Kyuubi will take control over my body before I actually reach the point where I am worthy of your trust…__'_

"Well, only one more gift to go, and then we can get something to eat," Kurenai gave Hinata the little push she knew the girl needed.

"A-ah, y-yes," Hinata blushed. She had a small pack in her hands, approximately the size of a book. But it was not the usual shape of book, being thinner and broader than a regular book. Hesitantly, she gave him the gift. When he unwrapped it, and opened it to see the first page, Naruto knew that despite the many valuable gifts he had already received, this one was by far the most touching gift anyone could have given him.

Pictures.

It was an entire book filled with photos. It might not be as useful as a flak jacket or utility belt, or as lethal as Tenten's bo staff and Anko's poisons, but this photo album… Naruto had to swallow away more than a few tears when he saw his mother, widely smiling, in a photo on the first page.

After learning how little Naruto knew about his own mother, only recently discovering her name, Hinata had thought that this would be the thing Naruto would desire most. Especially because the place her own mother took in her heart.

As such, the first few pages were all photos of Uzumaki Kushina. More than a few of these also featured a younger Hyuga Hitomi, and even a younger Hiashi, as the younger Kushina apparently was friendly with Hitomi. And much to Naruto's surprise, Hiashi actually appeared to be a human of flesh and blood, rather than the distant and cold clan head he was now. Next, there were pages with photos of Hyuga Haruki, even one photo of him with his fiancé Minako.

"Mother helped me find these pictures; some were in the Hyuga archives, but most of the photos of your mother came from mother's own albums," Hinata explained shyly why her own family also appeared so often. "And Ako-san helped me find Haruki-san's photos."

"Thanks," Naruto said hoarsely. "This… I don't know what to say… Thanks."

"Well, we're not done yet," Ako smiled widely, and showed him a camera. "Time for a group photograph!"

Seeing her step back, with her eternal selfless nature kicking in, Naruto shook his head. "No. Ako, you belong on this picture too." More than most others, even. Forming the well-known hand seals, Naruto created a kage bunshin of himself. "You know what to do. And don't mess it up," he ordered his clone. "Everyone should be on it." The bunshin shouldn't be getting weird ideas on what the picture should be focused on. They could behave oddly, at times, and Naruto didn't want to take any chances with this moment.

"Yes boss," the clone sighed, followed by something whispered which Shikamaru thought to be 'spoilsport'.

* * *

With everyone now gone, and wanting to pass the time 'til the others were done clearing away the leftover food (one of the benefits of inviting an Akimichi was that there never was much food to throw away), Naruto sat down to browse through his photo book. He did not have an opportunity for this after receiving it, but now that Anko was in bed (passed out from the excess of alcohol, much to the surprise of Temari, who wondered how a guard on duty could act like this), Ako was out at the festival with Iruka, and their guests were either gone, or in case of the sand siblings, cleaning up inside the house, Naruto finally had the privacy he needed to calmly look at each photo.

The new photos, courtesy of the instant film system of the camera, were already pasted on the last page. There was a picture of him and Karin, one with him, Chie, and Ako, and a picture from team eight with him, Kiba, Hinata, and Kurenai. The only picture he would refuse to add to the book was his team photo with team seven. He wanted this book to be filled with happy memories, not annoyances like those past experiences.

To be sure, the photos he now saw of Haruki, fondly smiling at the young Hyuga woman who had obviously been his fiancé, made him a bit sick in the stomach. His loss still hurt, but despite it, he was happy that he could see his caretaker. No, Haruki was not just his caretaker. Hyuga Haruki had been a father to Naruto, more than his biological father ever was.

Yes… even the Yondaime Hokage could be found in one of the photos. Naruto wondered if it had been an accident, or if Hitomi had deliberately given Hinata this picture. Naruto saw his mother, widely smiling, standing next to the blond man at a party in the Hyuga compound. It disturbed Naruto to realize how much he looked like Namikaze Minato, the man who had cursed him to bear the mightiest demon of all.

If his mother had not looked so happy, Naruto suspected he would've ripped that photo out of the book. He did not want to have this man, who had turned him into a living weapon, to be in this book filled with happy memories. How dare he be so content, when he would end up cursing his own son?

"Is everything all right, Naruto-kun?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Naruto smiled. '_How long has Hinata been standing next to me? I never noticed her…__'_

"You looked… conflicted."

"It is weird seeing my mom like this," Naruto told half of the truth. "I mean, I never really knew her. I only know her name for a few days, and now I see these pictures… It almost makes me feel like I can get to know her, even if it is just a little bit."

* * *

"I guess we're done," Kiba yawned. But a he intended to walk towards Naruto and Hinata, Karin stopped him.

"Let's get inside," Karin smirked. "I bet Hinata would like to talk to nii-san alone."

Kiba shrugged, not really seeing the point of it, but Akamaru yipped in agreement. "Two against one, as usual," Kiba sighed. "Seriously Akamaru, why do you always pick Karin's side?"

"Don't blame Akamaru for being smart," Karin giggled as she dragged Kiba inside, looking for what they could do to help the sand siblings with the remainder of the dirty dishes. A boring task, but Gaara had requested to do it, taking it as another challenge to refine his control over his sand. Scouring the plates was a good way to refine his control. Though Ako wouldn't be too pleased by the number of broken plates, next morning..

"But that Tenten, what was she saying about that stuff about clans and clanless? I didn't really understand all that stuff, Konoha is so different from Kusa in that contrast.." Karin continued.

"Ugh, that political crap," Kiba grumbled. "Mum makes me learn that shit, but I find it rather pointless. People should just be like a pack of dogs, it would create a much more reasonable society."

"Well, we aren't dogs…"

"Unfortunately not," he sighed, and Akamaru whined. "The people of Konohagakure are basically divided into three groups. The first and most powerful group are the people from the major clans. These clans have the most combat power, economic power, and political influence within Konoha. This is also because they have the strongest kekkei genkai or clan jutsu. The best example of it would be the Hyuga clan, which is easily the most influential clan of our village."

"Is the Inuzuka clan one of the major clans?"

"Yup," Kiba smiled proudly. "We may suck at politics and that economic mumbo jumbo, but we sure as hell boast the military prowess to deserve our position- just like the Akimichi, Yamanaka, Nara, Sarutobi, and Aburame clans. Below these major clans is a much larger group which are the 'minor clans'. You met Sakura tonight, didn't you?"

"The pink-haired girl? She looked rather unhappy with nii-san."

"Well, yes, not sure what's going on with her, but I bet it was because Naruto called Sasuke a dumbass," Kiba chuckled. "Anyway, she is part of the Haruno clan, which is a good example of a minor clan. These clans usually have little influence, and their name mostly depends on the prowess of the one or two members, usually the founders of the clan. Generally, these clans flock under the banners of the major clans, because after their founders die, they usually become rather anonymous and risk losing their status if they don't seek protection. Nevertheless, these minor clans have their people organized, unlike the 'lowest' class of people in Konoha…"

"The clanless," Karin guessed.

"Yes. These are people who aren't attached to any clan, not by blood at least. They do serve clans, but only as employees. Which kinda sucks, because shinobi have a high risk of death and injury, so without the backing of clan, people who are incapacitated, widowed, or whatever, are mostly left to their fates. Which usually means that they are impoverished."

"Isn't the civilian population ranked even lower? In Kusa, shinobi always outranked civilians," Karin frowned.

"Oh, it might not be a law or anything, but shinobi definitely have an advantage in Konoha as well. But that's regardless of whether they belong to a clan or not. I mean, a civilian member of a clan would still have a higher position then a clanless shinobi. I mean, although most people within the clans are trained as shinobi, there are always those who don't have what it takes to become genin, or are forced to quit as shinobi due to age or injury."

"I see, so the difference between shinobi and civilians only counts when being in the same caste."

"Yeah," Kiba sighed. "Which is kinda stupid. Look at Tenten, from what we saw during the exams, she'd pretty much kick both our asses," he admitted. "But because she's clanless, she always had to struggle to get the acknowledgement she deserved. The clanless always face discrimination. There is just too much emphasis on the genetic bullcrap of clans. And on top of it all, people also seem stupid enough to think women are weaker than men, even when they're of the same rank and social position."

"What? That's stupid!" Karin angrily fixed her glasses.

"Yeah, just take one look at my mum or my sis, and you'd say anyone would know better," Kiba shrugged. "But for Tenten, it means she has two prejudices to she needs to beat. That's why she's so grateful that Naruto teaches her fuinjutsu."

"Because fuinjutsu is our clan's secret technique," Karin knew. "But we don't have any special bloodline limits, do we? How about you? Are your senses.."

"Not every special technique is a kekkei genkai," Kiba explained. "Many are called 'hiden', meaning that they're part of the clan's secret tradition. They are just handed down from generation to generation, and are usually veiled in secrecy. Takes a lifetime to learn, and is virtually impossible to copy. And I bet that your fuinjutsu is the same as the hiden jutsu. Not sure though, I kinda suck at all this stuff. I prefer to pummel my opponents as a shinobi, rather than having to talk them to death like a stupid politician would do."

"Oh, and about me and nii-san, what position do we have? Major clan or minor?"

"Now there's a headache if you ever want to name one," Kiba grimaced. "Mum keeps complaining about how the council is whining about it. Before you came here, Naruto was considered to be the last of his line, so he was basically considered clanless, despite having a clan's name. Same goes for Sasuke, though his case is treated a bit different due to his sharingan… Stupid bloodlines always are always favored. Anyway, that was before you came. It was reasoned that one person can't form a clan, but with you coming to Konoha we suddenly had two descendants of the Uzumaki clan. So, they're basically still arguing what kind of status you two should have. Mum told me that the Uzumaki were originally on par with the Senju and Uchiha clans, and even had their own hidden village. But right now, with only two people, the significance of the Uzumaki name is still impossible to determine."

"So nii-san is a clan head?"

"Nope, he's still too young. He'd either have to be twenty or of jonin rank to be qualified to be a clan head. But he's the highest ranking shinobi, so you could say he's the unofficial head, I guess."

"Hmm, so if I become a jonin first…"

"…You'd be able to boss him around," Kiba joined her in laughter.

* * *

"Thanks, Hinata."

"W-why?

"Ako told me that this whole party thing was your idea," Naruto smiled. "And though it was a weird experience, it was pretty damn great. Well, until Anko got sick from all the booze…"

"She really should learn some restraint," Hinata agreed. "B-but I didn't organize it on my own. Ako-san, Karin, and all the others helped as well."

"You took the initiative, didn't you?"

"Ah, y-yes, but…"

"So, why can't I just thank you for it? It's one of the best things anyone ever did for me. Thanking you is the least I could do."

"E-everyone deserves to celebrate his birthday," Hinata got redder and redder as her blushing intensified.

"Before today, I only ever got one gift for my birthday. Well, two actually, if you count the Kyuubi," Naruto added with a darker expression. He looked to his side and saw Hinata stare at him. It was only for a second, as she turned her head so quickly that Naruto imagined she would've strained a few muscles in her neck by the action. "I think it was Ero-sennin who gave it to me. When I turned six, which wasn't too long before we first met, I found a stuffed toy, a plushie of a toad, underneath my pillow."

Hinata's eyes widened when she realized what plushie he was talking about.

"Yeah, it's one of the only things I took with me when I moved to live at the Hyuga compound," Naruto smiled. Hinata felt a bit conflicted by how sad and fragile his smile looked; then again, she did not see him smile genuinely very often these days. Most of the time, his moods were hidden behind a fake smile, but in reality overshadowed by something darker- the darkness cast by the Kyuubi, Hinata suspected.

"I remember you had that toy, it was… damaged," Hinata finally said, hoping this would steer the conversation in a direction where he would tell her what happened to the plushie, without her pushing him too much.

"Sure, they tore it up."

"They? Why? Why would anyone do that?"

"The other kids at the orphanage… they saw that I got something, so they tried to take it from me," Naruto sighed sadly. "I didn't want to. I mean, everything I had was usually torn and broken anyway. Even on good days, I got less food than the other kids, and had to eat it quickly to prevent it from being taken from me. The woman who led the last orphanage hated me quite a bit, I suppose the fox killed someone she cared for," Naruto shrugged. "The other kids knew, and exploited that. Hell, sometimes the adults even encouraged it. Anyway, they tried to take away the first gift I ever got, and to me it was… vital to keep it. So I tried to take it back. Well, I guess I sorta did in the end. They just beat me up, and ripped Gama-chan's head off right in front of me."

"T-that's horrible!" Hinata gasped.

"Well, it was the orphanage. I can't really say that it was a happy place. I was used to it back then, yet still… I held on to the plushie. Back then, I felt like I would lose everything if I would let go of it. Weird, isn't it," Naruto tried to laugh it off. "How important stuffed toys can be for little kids."

"If you never had anything, such a gift must have been amazing."

"It sure was. Hell, it still is. Not that I'm still that same kid who stashed away a toad, only having the courage to drag it out of its hiding place during the night… I guess it was a bit paranoid, but still, it was good thing that I did it, because it was the only reason why I got it back. I slipped out of the Hyuga compound on one of the first nights I stayed at the clan," Naruto smiled. "But everything got better in the end. Gama-chan got fixed, not too long after I moved here. At least, fixed much better than the improvised method I used to put my Gama-chan's head back on."

Hinata choked for a moment.

"I panicked for a bit back then," Naruto continued, not noticing Hinata's shock, as he was caught up by a weird feeling of nostalgia. "Suddenly Gama-chan was gone, but then I find it back on my doorstep the following morning, and this time Gama-chan had its head firmly attached. Way better than I ever could have done. I really sucked at sewing. Still do," he chuckled. Only then did Naruto see the deep crimson blush on Hinata's face. "Hinata?"

"A-ah y-yes. Plushie. Sewing," she squeaked.

Blinking, Naruto stared at his blue-haired friend. "You?" He suddenly realized she had done that for him, all those years ago. "You did that, H-Hinata?"

All of a sudden he remembered what Tsunade had told him a few days earlier: _"You__'__ll figure out what you feel for her one day. Or what she feels for you."_

'_What she feels for me? It can__'__t be,__'_ he felt shocked. He suddenly remembered everything: her blushing, her fainting when they were younger, all the remarks Haruki made, or Ako, and the mischievous taunts from Chie. Even Hitomi herself had made vague hints in that direction. All those little pieces fell in place. There was how Hinata responded when Karin hugged him, how she had tried to talk to him, again and again, even though he had little to no interest in the world around him. Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Haruki, Ako… so many had tried to reach out to him. There were her efforts to drag him back from his self-imposed isolation. '_When was it that everything changed? When was it that I actually started to feel accepted? When was it that I even had the courage to talk about my burdens?__'_

He already knew. It was after he joined team eight. No, not team eight. As much as he appreciated Kiba's friendship and Kurenai's guidance, he knew it wasn't them. '_It__'__s Hinata…__'_ Naruto felt confused. '_It always was her… but it can__'__t be. She__'__s from the Hyuga main house. She is far too good to like something like… It__'s impossible. I'__m really going nuts if I have such stupid ideas.__'_

Still, no matter how much he tried to deny it, he couldn't shake off that memory. The look had been in those pure white eyes: it had never been just fear, it had also been hope. He thought of those beautiful white eyes, the first time he had seen the byakugan, the first time anyone looked at him with hope and trust, the first time Naruto and Hinata had met, and the day they both got kidnapped and nearly shipped off to Kumogakure. No one had ever looked at him like that before. That look in her eyes was something he had never forgotten.

Naruto sighed.

'_It__'__s pointless. Even if it is true. The further she gets away from me, the safer she would be. After the stunt I pulled to help Gaara and stop the whole situation from spiraling out of control, and descending into war, how much time do I have left until I become unable to keep the Kyuubi at bay? How long until he takes over and kills everyone close to me?__'_

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata felt confused by his sudden silence and the mood swings he seemed to go through.

'_It__'__s pointless. No matter how I feel, no matter how she might feel, it is pointless. Besides, I have always sucked at this social stuff, I__'__m probably just wrong anyway,__'_ Naruto grimaced. '_I must be. There__'__s no way someone like her would… And if I am not wrong… I can feel the corruption grow. No, she__'__s better off if she stays away from me. I couldn__'__t bear to drag her down with me. She__'__d get hurt. It would even be possible that I would be the one hurting her, and I can__'__t let that happen. Not Hinata… everyone but Hinata,__'_ he felt estranged by his own train of thought, this confusion, he never felt anything like this before. It both gave him hope, and filled him with an equally great fear. Naruto had always kept the world at bay, keeping it easy to understand, keeping himself protected. He had prevented attachments in order to avoid disappointments and pain.

How did she pierce his mental defenses? When?

"The inverse of hatred", that was how he once described how she felt to his unique sense for malice. Wasn't it just innocence? What was the inverse of hatred? Love? '_I must be wrong. It cannot be. It shouldn__'__t be…__'_

"It seems I just can't stop thanking you tonight, Hinata," Naruto said softly. And Hinata saw his faint smile. One of his rare genuine smiles, Hinata noticed, despite the fact that there was something behind that smile that apparently hurt him terribly. "Thank you for the photos. For this party. And now even for my Gama-chan. Thank you."

It was always an impressive thing to see Hyuga Hinata blush. How her fair skin could become so red that it simply seemed to glow with a bright crimson light would always remain a mystery to Naruto. But this blush seemed to surpass all the previous ones.

"Mo-mother fi-fixed it. I-I only brought it t-to her," she finally stammered.

"Geh, you always remain so humble, despite being the most amazing person I know," Naruto laughed softly, shocking the already heavily-embarrassed Hyuga to her core.

'_Naruto-kun called me… the most a-amazing person he knows?__'_ Hinata fought to remain conscious. This moment was perfect. She wouldn't allow herself to faint and ruin it. Not now. _'But what could I say in return? Think. What is the right answer?__'_

Naruto stood up. He wanted to stay near her, to talk for much longer, but he knew that if he did not walk away now… '_The odds are always against me, no matter what I do. I__'__m fated to fall. That bastard of a father of mine made sure of that when he crammed the Kyuubi in me. I should create more distance right now. The closer I get, the harder it would be to distance myself again. The Kyuubi already tried going after her once, only to hurt me. The more time passes, the closer I come to losing control. I couldn__'__t bear hurting her. I couldn__'__t bear knowing that I put her at risk merely for my selfish-__'_

His selfish _what_? What could he call this weird, warm feeling? Was this the thing other people talked about? Love? Had he really been stupid enough to allow his emotions to spiral that far out of control? Had he been so dumb that he had forgotten about his inevitable fate, and still had some semblance of hope for a future?

'_No. I have to create distance. I can__'__t give in to these foolish emotions. It will only hurt her…__'_

"Thank you, Hinata-chan," subconsciously addressing her in a far more familiar way that he wanted to. "But I-"

"So you finally figured it out? I guess you're not as much of a moron as you look. Still, it took you long enough," a familiar voice ended Naruto's musings. Looking around, Naruto saw, much to his annoyance, that Uchiha Sasuke standing nearby.

Naruto scowled. "What are you doing here, Uchiha?"

"Taking a stroll in _my_ compound, Uzumaki."

"Well, move on then," the last thing Naruto wanted at this moment was to be bothered by Sasuke. He had enough turmoil in his heart, even without the already sensitive subject of the Uchiha. Especially because the Kyuubi demanding the boy's death, each time he was near.

"Fight me," Sasuke stared at him without any hesitation whatsoever.

"What?" Naruto truly thought he misheard.

"Fight me," the brooding rage was clear, even without Naruto's sense for hatred.

"I'm not in the mood, so get lost."

"Who says I'm giving you a choice?"

"You can't just attack a fellow shinobi in your own village, teme."

"These are my clan's grounds; you'd be surprised how much a clan is allowed to do on their own grounds. So why don't you quit hiding behind your little fainting Hyuga girlfriend and fight. Now."

Naruto growled, but Hinata stopped him. "S-Sasuke-san, why are you suddenly-"

"This has nothing to do with you, so stay out," Sasuke snapped. "I've seen and heard enough fangirls, so shut up." He did not want any interference. He needed to know. '_How strong am I? I know I__'__m faster, I know I have more skill at ninjutsu. I know I__'__m better at taijutsu. I can win. I have to win! And after the exams, he's the perfect opponent to prove my skill against!__'_

He had to win, or he'd have no choice but to accept Orochimaru's invitation- an invitation that no doubt came with a high price…

When Naruto stepped forward, Hinata quickly moved in front of him. "Don't do this Naruto-kun, your chakra is still restricted," she warned him. '_Is this why Sasuke-san attacks right now? But he can't know about that. Or could he? Why else would he challenge Naruto now? If not because of his weakened condition… It makes no sense, why would Sasuke attack a fellow Konoha shinobi? Because I know that the legal loophole of clan grounds only can be applied when it comes to the defense of clan secrets. Is it his grudge with Naruto-kun from the Land of Waves?__'_

"I don't care," Naruto visibly restrained his anger. "If that retard is going to insult us here, I don't see why I cannot answer to his challenge." Not that Naruto saw it as a challenge. No… Sasuke had dared to anger him. He had dared to insult Hinata. Closing his eyes, Naruto tried to stop himself. He tried…

'_Who am I even kidding?__'_

The floodgates were already wide open. The rage Naruto could barely restrain flooded his mind. He knew it was the Kyuubi demanding the death of the Uchiha, due to whatever grudges the creature had against the sharingan. The grudge was fueling the already uncontrollable mass of hatred that was the demon.

'_Stop messing with me, Kyuubi. I know you want to kill him, and truthfully I can__'__t say I care much whether he lives or dies, but if we kill him right now it would only turn things to shit for both of us.__'_

"If it means the end of his accursed clan, it would be well worth it," the demon's deep voice rumbled through Naruto's skull. "Kill him. He tried to kill you before, and now he violates the laws of your stupid village by assaulting you again. You have every right to retaliate. Kill him. NOW."

Seeing the Uzumaki tremble, and ignorant to existence of the Kyuubi, Sasuke started to smirk. "Are you scared, dobe? Or can't you go against her orders? Perhaps that cousin of hers was right when he said you were just her lapdog."

"Go away Sasuke," Naruto stopped trembling. With his sharingan, Sasuke saw multiple seals covering Naruto's body glow up, radiating chakra, though the intended effect eluded him. It seemed to disrupt Naruto's chakra flow, restraining him, rather than strengthening him. Smirking at the new advantage he had found, Sasuke taunted his opponent with a lazy wave of his hand, gesturing Naruto to attack first.

"Don't do it Naruto-kun," Hinata begged. "Please." Though when Naruto opened his eyes and Hinata saw his crimson eyes, she knew there was no stopping this.

"I'm sorry, Hinata, but you have to get out of my way. Now."

"Naruto-kun… Don't." But he didn't listen. Hinata knew there was only one thing left for her to do. '_I have to warn the others. I__'__m not strong enough to stop this, but Gaara-san should be able to help. And perhaps we can get Anko-san to wake up as well.__'_

"Go," was the only thing Naruto said to her, before he walked past her. "Last chance, Uchiha," he growled. "Leave."

Sasuke only smirked in response, his red sharingan looking right into Naruto's savage crimson eyes. "Why would I? I don't really have any intention of leaving."

No, Orochimaru might offer power, but it would most certainly come at a price. And Sasuke had to know whether it was a price he had to pay or not. How did he measure compared to someone as strong as Naruto? He needed to know: '_Am I strong? Is this path enough to rise to Itachi__'__s level?__'_ He needed to know whether the whispers that came from his seal were right. He needed to know if that price was something he was willing to pay.

"Then you will die…" the Uzumaki hissed.

* * *

**Bonus: Catburglar**

* * *

*Yay, the boss is finally freed!* Sakana cheered, jumping around like a hyperactive kitten.

*What is the plan?* Siro was more curious about what their leader had been dreaming up while she was held down due to the various punishments she had received for her transgressions. *Another heist?*

*Why not something bigger?* Suto mumbled. *I didn't train you morons into the ground for a little meat. Think of something more funny.*

*As long as it doesn't take too much effort,* Tora whined. *I've been chased the entire day. Stupid little genin are getting smarter by the day…*

*We're going to scam people,* Chie grinned.

* * *

"You sure that's the last crate, dad?" Tenten called out to her father who was in the front of the shop.

"Yeah, that one is garbage. Just put it out in the corner, I'll make sure to get rid of it tonight."

"'kay Dad, but after that I'm going out for training, bye!"

"Stay careful sweety!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not a little kid anymore," Tenten grumbled.

"I heard that!"

Tenten shook her head in exasperation and picked up the crate with scraps of metal, leather, and all the other material her dad used in his trade. '_Ah well, at least Neji is back. Training has at least become a little more fun again. Though, I wonder how he changed that much. He__'__s become a lot nicer,_' the bun-haired girl mused while walking through the back door.

Musings she shouldn't have been musing, as she suddenly tripped. The crate fell, Tenten tumbled after it, and with a lot of cussing the girl picked herself up and pulled her burdens together.

She stopped short when she spied an injured cat. The black-furred feline had a white-tipped tail, and meowed rather pathetically. Girlish instincts kicked in, and the young genin started fussing around, examining the cat's injured leg.

* * *

*Just as planned,* Suto frowned, somewhat surprised that a shinobi would let herself get fooled this easily. Tenten had bandaged the supposedly-injured cat. Supposedly, because all blood on Siro's leg came from a rather juicy pigeon. Anyway, it showed the group how easily they could fool people. And with Siro opening the girl's bedroom window from the inside, they could also burgle.

it was not that they found anything of real value, or were even aiming for such a thing. No, that was below the standards the 'Paw clan' set for itself. No, the goal of the Paw clan was only one thing: chaos.

The devilish smirk on their leader's face soon said enough. Suto just shook his head and tried not to imagine what Chie was planning with the one thing she took from the girl's room.

* * *

"Neji-niisan, what is that in your pack?" Hinata wondered. The white and pink piece of cloth seemed a bit out of place among the other things he kept in the pouches of his belt.

"Wha?" Neji was only half awake. Training still took a lot out of him, considering how his injuries were still healing. "Just my gear…"

Hinata took the cloth out and saw… Blushing, the heiress dropped it.

"I-I'm s-sorry," she hastily said, blushing like a madman, and quickly exiting the room.

"Now what got into her?" Neji frowned. Though he quickly started cursing at himself for doing so, frowning with a wound on the forehead wasn't exactly a nice experience. Though, all things were relative.

Finding your female teammate's underwear in your pouches was worse.

Having your overly shy cousin find that piece of underwear in your pouches was far, far worse…

"I think I'm going to like doing these kinds of things," Chie mumbled at herself, looking down at the now furiously-red Hyuga boy, who was still staring at the 'gift' she had left him.

* * *

**A/N**: Ay caramba! Sasuke crashing the party… well, let's just say that the sunshine and happiness part of this arc is over.

Credit for the idea behind today's bonus goes to **DarkMagister06**. Credit to the idea for Hinata's gift goes to **Illuminated**, who also beta'd this chapter! The recommended read for this time? Well, I already named a few lengthy and highly popular stories, so how about a shorter one that hasn't got as many followers yet? **Naruto Sensei** by my Narutoforums buddy **lancecomwar** is one of the more amusing stories where Naruto, instead of the class loser, is a sensei. Check it out, and leave lancecomwar some reviews to encourage him in his efforts. I'm sure he'd love your reviews!

After all, **reviews** are what fuel a writer's motivation!

And don't forget about the **poll** on my profile page. I can't believe how many Hanabi got so far. I suppose it caused by 'The Last'?

-Z-


	48. Defeat

**Chunin arc**

**Defeat**

* * *

He had to hurry- fast. He went so fast, the door was almost unhinged when he rushed inside.

"Ino! Where are you?"

"Dad!"

"Ino, what was that message? What was so urgent?" the still-sweating Inoichi panted. Late in the evening, his daughter had sent the distress signal unique to their clan- one which Inoichi had taught her to use in emergencies.

Rushing out from the kitchen of the Haruno household where she stayed during her fight with her parents, Ino jumped at her father. While he was relieved to see her unharmed, he was disturbed to see her panicked like this.

"He's dead," she cried. "He's dead. We found him, daddy…"

"Who?"

"Kizashi-san… Sakura went completely catatonic. She found her dad after he.. I didn't know what to do, I didn't know-"

With a second loud bang, the door crashed open, revealing a ragged-looking Yamanaka Yuriko, who by the looks of it, was on the verge of tears as well.

"Ino! Thank god, you are alright," she squeaked.

"Mom, I-" Ino didn't even get a chance to say anything before her mother embraced her in a strong, although somewhat shaky, embrace. Shaky, because the woman was crying, much to Ino's surprise. Ino could barely remember the last time she had seen her mother cry.

"I thought… I was so scared that… I didn't want our last words to be… Not that stupid fight.. I'm sorry Ino, so sorry, I shouldn't have been so stubborn," Yuriko cried. "I thought I lost you."

"Ino, where did you find Kizashi-san, and where is Sakura?" Inoichi knew that, however touching the moment was, there were other priorities at this time.

"He… The stairs…" Ino sniffed. "He smells like alcohol. We had a party tonight, before we left he was already drunk… I think he fell down the stairs."

"And Sakura?"

"Kitchen… she won't say a thing though. I didn't know what to do. I felt so alone. I was shocked. I didn't know what to do," Ino whimpered.

"Honey, you take our daughter to the kitchen and look after Sakura, okay? I will make sure the authorities are notified."

"Dad… His neck," Ino hesitated. "Could you… it is so… shocking."

"I'll grant him some dignity," Inoichi promised.

* * *

"It was done, Danzo-sama," the root operative bowed in front of his leader.

"Good," Danzo sighed. "I will pay the girl a visit soon. She would be a very valuable asset."

"If I may, Danzo-sama, what makes her so valuable?" Yamanaka Fu felt the faintest traces of curiosity. After all, he was one of the highest-ranking operatives within root, granted a greater degree of independence compared to most lower ranking operatives. "The girl does not seem to have any remarkable powers or bloodline limits, and apart from her advanced chakra control, she hardly has any redeemable qualities as a shinobi."

"My old friend would start talking about his 'will of fire' now," Danzo narrowed his one visible eye at the thought of Hiruzen's foolish philosophies. "But we are better than that. We are the roots upholding the mighty tree. Haruno Sakura might not be a remarkable shinobi, but she is close to several who _are_ remarkable."

"The Uchiha and the jinchuriki."

"Uzumaki Naruto showed his promise," Danzo agreed. "It is time to determine whether we should use him, or dispose of him. But from what we learned through Hyuga Hizashi before you removed him, the Uzumaki cannot be approached easily. Placing an operative in his vicinity would be exceedingly difficult. Sai reported that the Uzumaki was relatively close to the Haruno girl, considering how they are both former classmates and former teammates."

"She would make the perfect spy," Fu understood Danzo's plans.

"After I convince myself of her unshakable loyalty," Danzo showed a faint smile on his old face. Yes, the eye of Uchiha Shisui was a priceless asset to his plans. First it ensured him of Hizashi's loyalty, setting the plans in motion to eventually ensure root of that clan's support, and now it would give him the key to getting his hands on the most powerful asset in Konohagakure.

Regardless of the plans Hiruzen and his students might have, Danzo knew full well that the power of the Kyuubi was pivotal in the political balance. However, with so many eyes on the boy, gaining control over him would require a well worked-out plan- which in turn required getting detailed information on the child.

'_Perhaps I should manipulate him into killing that Uchiha. It would undermine the brat__'__s position, while removing the lingering threat of that clan at the same time. Removing Sasuke would eliminate Itachi from my plans as well, and leave me with access to the last sharingans,__'_ Danzo mused. '_But regardless of the sharingan I possess, every plan in the end revolves around the jinchuriki. His growth was above expectations, and his troublesome talent for__ recogniz__ing my operatives only led me to underestimating the child- but his victory over the Ichibi showed enough. It is too bad Hizashi failed to provide me with better information, or I might have allowed him to live. After all, Hiashi was still ignorant to who used his brother. Even that troublesome wife of his only seems to suspect people of her own clan.__'_

Danzo grimaced a little after he sent the Yamanaka away. First it was Hiruzen's vigilance that kept the Kyuubi from his grasp, and then it was Hyuga Hiashi who stood in his way. Now the boy was at an age where he would stand on his own two feet; his power had already grown into the threat he posed today. Danzo elected to keep biding his time until he could determine if he could direct that threat or not.

'_Hyuga Hideo better decide soon on whose side he wants to be on. His patience has already removed my chance of succeeding Hiruzen. But while that isn't a problem, I cannot afford to wait when it comes to this jinchuriki.__'_

* * *

"Last chance, Uchiha," Naruto growled. "Leave."

Sasuke only smirked in response, his red sharingan looking right into Naruto's bestial crimson eyes. "I don't have any intentions of leaving."

"Then you will die…" the Uzumaki hissed.

"Why are you so scared to face me," Sasuke taunted. "Are you afraid you would lose in a real fight? You can't expect to win every battle by preparing the right seals. Not every battle is in a controlled environment like the exams."

"Like I give a shit about that."

"Then, what are you waiting for?"

Naruto stared angrily at the Uchiha. '_Stop messing with my mind, Kyuubi!__'_ he focused on his other nuisance.

"He attacks you, so you have every right to defend yourself. And it so happens that I don't mind helping you to kill this miscreant bloodline," the Kyuubi grumbled a reply inside Naruto's head.

'_If I listen to you, this ends up in a bloodbath. I can__'__t kill Sasuke. His bloodline is important to Konoha. If we kill him, it will only worsen our position.__'_

"We? Our position? Since when do I care? I don't give a damn about your accursed village," the demon chuckled. "Just murder him. It is the right thing to do. His bloodline should have been ended long ago. And you want to kill him too. You can feel that, can't you? His darkness is growing. Eliminate him. Now."

"No," Naruto grimaced. "Shut up! If I listen to you it only ends up getting worse. Ever since the fight against Gaara and the Ichibi, you're becoming an increasingly big pain in the ass!" he said aloud.

Frowning, as he wasn't privy to the discussion with the bijuu, Sasuke wondered what Naruto was doing. '_Seems like he finally lost it,__'_ he smirked. "Katon: Hosenka no jutsu!" Sasuke created a volley of small fireballs, which now flew towards Naruto following various trajectories.

Naruto grunted. Though he did not fear fire, he dodged the attacks. He didn't want anything to happen with his new flak jacket. Well, it felt sturdy enough, but to damage it the same day he got it was, to Naruto, an insulting idea.

Dodging, Naruto gathered chakra for a counterattack. But his futon: renkudan failed spectacularly. It lacked power. It lacked control. '_Stop messing up my control, Kyuubi!__'_

And with his sharingan active, dodging the weak attack was childs play for Sasuke, who also predicted where Naruto was going. Kunai flew, forcing Naruto to dodge yet again.

'_Dammit, I forgot how fast the bastard is,__'_ Naruto grimaced. '_He has the momentum, so trying to use fuinjutsu against him will be pointless. I don__'__t have the time to prepare my seals. Not while the Kyuubi messes my chakra up like this. And to top it off I can__'__t even create shadow clones that are capable of fighting an opponent like Sasuke, not with those restricting seals in place. Deploying clones now would only be a waste of what little chakra I have. Dammit. If only Ero-sennin and Baa-chan hadn__'__t limited my chakra usage… but they had to, in order to keep the demon at bay.__'_

Naruto grimaced. '_And even without this limitation, Sasuke is no pushover. He was always better at taijutsu, his skills with kunai and shuriken are far beyond what I will ever achieve, and his ninjutsu… With my botched control right now, he is probably stronger than me. And if he gets an opening for that lightning attack which he used against Haku during the exams, I__'__d be screwed as well. Dammit, at this rate I have no choice but to accept the demon__'__s help. Again. And what will be the price this time?__'_

Hearing the fox's laughter in his ears only enraged Naruto further.

"Sasuke, stop this now," Naruto urged. "Stop it. If this goes on, it'll end up badly."

But Sasuke did not listen. "Shut up and fight me! Stop joking around!"

"Well then, now that I am thinking about it.." Naruto mused, thinking back at what had transpired in the Land of Waves. "We still have a score to settle, don't we?"

"Don't get too full of yourself," Sasuke snarled, not wanting to be reminded of that. "I have changed since that day."

"I can see that... When did become so weak that you started tapping into that cursed seal of yours, Sasuke?" Naruto just stood still, staring at Sasuke. "Didn't Jii-san or that sloth Kakashi warn you how dangerous that thing is?"

"What do you know about me? Nothing! I need to kill someone, and I will do it, no matter what price I need to pay."

"I know it was your brother who wiped out your clan. But what good will _this_ do?" Naruto gestured to himself and their surroundings.

"Katon: Hosen-"

With a hard smack, Naruto crashed into Sasuke. His fist plunged into Sasuke's stomach, knocking the air, and almost his food along with it, out of him.

Naruto had tried. Tried so hard. But the rage which had been boiling over now came to the surface- everything that had happened lately, his father, Haruki's demise. All the misery that had accumulated in him now reached new heights. Naruto didn't care any longer.

Exactly as the Kyuubi's whispers suggested…

A faint shroud of chakra, almost like an orange haze, started to bubble around him, and the restraining seals began to crumble. For the first time today, Sasuke started to wonder if his decision to confront Naruto had been the right one. What he saw wasn't human. '_What is his secret? If I could copy this__…'_

* * *

"Kiba! Karin!" Hinata rushed in, even forgetting the proper usage of suffixes for a moment. Not caring for what they were doing either. Or at least, what Karin tried to do.

"Hinata?" Kiba frowned. He was secretly glad that Hinata barged in like this, as Karin had shuffled closer and closer towards him, although she didn't seem to know how to close that final foot between them. And Kiba, despite being the self-appointed alpha-male, didn't really know how to act either. In spite of his big mouth, this was still a bit too scary for him..

This awkwardness was what slowed down his thinking. But Karin was a bit quicker on the uptake. Hinata didn't act like this without a very serious reason. Seeing the distraught expression on the Hyuga's face, Karin immediately extended her senses. "Nii-san is under attack!" the sensor gasped.

"Sasuke-san… He challenged Naruto-kun," Hinata panted, "and Naruto seems to struggle."

"What?" Kiba frowned. "How the hell can he have troubles with Sasuke? I mean, he's good, but Naruto should be a lot stronger. He has the Kyuubi crammed within him!"

"His chakra was mostly sealed after what happened with the assassination attempt," Hinata reminded the Inuzuka of the seals Jiraiya and Tsunade left in order to suppress the Kyuubi's influence. "Naruto-kun is weakened, but that was not what I meant. He is struggling to keep control. I'm scared that he… t-that Naruto-kun might lose control again. The Kyuubi's chakra has permeated everywhere in Naruto's body!"

"What should we do?" Karin panicked.

"Karin, you go and drag Anko down here," Kiba realized that someone had to take charge of the situation, and the panicked Hyuga wasn't capable of it, nor was Karin. "Hinata, you get Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro, and hurry up."

"Yes," Hinata nodded.

"I'll go and see what I can do to prevent this shit from escalating ever further."

* * *

'_I must try to hold back,__'_ Naruto thought feverishly while he dodged another one of Sasuke's rigged shuriken. '_Neji changed. Not matter how much I think he deserved death, Hinata was right… Neji really seems honest in how he changed. He__'__s still a prick, but at least he__'__s not intending to hurt Hinata.__'_

"Who are you kidding, brat?" the Kyuubi grumbled within him.

'_Well, this whole thing would be easier if you stopped messing up my chakra control…__'_

"That is not what I meant. Do you think this Uchiha would change? What do you know about the sharingan?"

'…_not much.__'_

"I can promise you that if they have a grudge against someone, one as serious as this brat has against his brother, then you won't just simply change him for the better. Only his sharingan will change- evolve into something worse, and that brat's darkness will grow with it," the Kyuubi sounded unusually serious. "Eliminate him now, before you allow another Madara to rise."

'_Madara?__'_

"The human I hated above all others. But it doesn't matter anymore, he is dead. I know you don't want my help, but in this situation… This brat could become just like him, so let me propose you a deal…"

* * *

Sasuke snarled as Naruto evaded him again. Even with his sharingan predicting Naruto's movements, the Uzumaki proved himself to be extremely slippery. Training taijutsu with Gai and Lee, or the Hyuga had certainly helped Naruto a lot in this respect.

'_It seems as if his cursed seal is only further fuelling his hatred,__'_ Naruto realized. '_And the worst thing is that I can understand the hatred he feels. How I wish to get my hands on the piece of trash that killed Haruki… But Hinata showed me that it takes strength to overcome that hatred. Ironic, how the one shunned as a failure is actually stronger than the one who is always praised to be the genius. Should I follow her, or accept the demon__'__s offer?__'_

The demon's whispers had grown so strong… but all Naruto saw right now were Hinata's eyes, shining with her faith in him, no matter how misplaced it might have been.

"What?" Sasuke snapped, seeing Naruto's smile.

"You are weak, you know that?" Naruto chuckled. "Hinata-sama showed me what true strength is. I realized my own ignorance and weakness then, but it seems you are even weaker…"

"You think that stuttering idiot is stronger than both of us?" Sasuke was actually baffled for a moment, his surprise overtaking his anger, if only for an instant.

"Don't you dare call her an idiot," Naruto gritted his teeth. Sure, he still tried to suppress his rage as best he could, but his patience was extremely limited.

"Or else what? You're finally going to stop evading me?" Sasuke scoffed.

His sharingan widened when he saw the seals that were littered over Naruto's body crack even further. If the previous time boosted his strength and speed significantly, then this was even worse. Far worse. '_What is it? His eyes are like that of a beast. And his power… His chakra keeps increasing. Not even Orochimaru had chakra like this!__'_

"I told you to leave," Naruto growled. "I gave you your chance, several chances even- no one can blame me now."

"What are you?"

'_I can__'__t avoid this. Right now, he is stronger than I am on my own. Have it your way, Kyuubi, but don__'__t you dare to break your word,__'_ Naruto resigned himself to what was going to happen. "Did you ever wonder what drove Gaara to madness?"

"What does Gaara have to do with this?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he looked suspiciously at the Uzumaki.

"He is my brother," Naruto chuckled. However, this voice wasn't really human any longer. It was deeper, savage. _Demonic_. "My pathetically weak and insane little brother, the one you humans call the Ichibi, drove that kid mad."

Crimson chakra erupted from Naruto, and for an instant, Sasuke saw it. He took a step back out of pure shock. He saw it. In a fraction of a second, he saw an enormous silhouette. It was a huge kitsune, a vague form made out of chakra. It was a giant demon with nine tails waving behind it; with menacing crimson eyes that seemed to freeze Sasuke's blood. It was the Kyuubi, and those eyes, they were identical to Naruto's. "You? The Kyuubi?"

"You shouldn't have pissed my vessel off like this, you pathetic little worm… Heh, you may not be that accursed Madara himself, but killing you should be satisfying nonetheless," the demon-possessed Naruto smiled, baring his fangs at the startled Uchiha.

'_I need the power of the seal if I want to deal with this,__'_ Sasuke realized. However, the flash of realization came too late. An orange chakra-clad claw lashed out at him, and despite his sharingan, Sasuke barely had the time to dodge. The minor cuts that it dealt hurt as if the chakra which had torn the skin open was poisonous, corroding his wounds even further.

Tapping into the cursed seal which Orochimaru had left him, Sasuke felt his power increase. But… '_Why can__'__t I control it?__'_ Sasuke gritted his teeth, the pain spreading from the seal almost distracting him too much to evade another fierce lash from the chakra-covered Uzumaki.

Stumbling back, Sasuke saw Naruto charge at him. His sharingan pierced into the demon's eyes, but the Kyuubi only laughed.

"There is no way you can control me while I am inside this pathetic brat's body, Uchiha!"

That moment of distraction was the moment in which the Inuzuka finally saw his chance. Jumping in, he pushed the Uchiha out of the jinchuriki's path.

"Naruto! Stop this," Kiba shouted. "Get yourself together!"

"Naruto?" the jinchuriki's face twisted in a cruel smile. "Naruto isn't home right now. Sorry, you should try to call him later, or leave a message after I have wrecked this sorry excuse of an Uchiha for him."

"We cannot allow that," a new voice said. The gravelly voice of Sunagakure's jinchuriki was like music to Kiba's ears.

"You bet we can't," Temari agreed, unfolding her war fan. Kankuro nodded in agreement, though his skewed war paint gave proof of his nervous sweating.

"Ah, the brat's little group of friends tries to stop me now?" the fox felt amused.

"You are better than this, Naruto-kun," Hinata urged.

"Better?" the Kyuubi laughed. "Do you fools really think the kit is good?" he couldn't help but laugh at the hilarious notion. "The kid offered the Uchiha to me," he smiled. "He gave up on hoping that this pathetic mongrel would redeem himself as that nest-mate of yours did, child of Hamura. The idiotic Uchiha tapped into the accursed chakra that the snake-brat left him with. He will only cause pain. Why else do you think the kit accepted my offer to remove the threat this easily?"

"Naruto-kun wouldn't-"

"_Naruto-kun wouldn__'__t_ what girl?" the Kyuubi mocked her, badly imitating her voice. "Do you even know the brat? You barely know how deep he can fall."

Hinata's expression settled into what for her was an unusually determined look- and an angered one. Subconsciously activating her byakugan, she didn't even bother to notice Kiba taking a step back from her. "Naruto-kun is not evil," she hissed. "He is stronger than that, stronger than you. Even if you refuse to see that, demon."

The demon was actually taken aback by this, if only for a moment; then it started laughing again. "I understand it now… his loyalty to you, little princess," the bijuu twisted Naruto's expression in a smirk. "It would have been fun to exterminate all you vermin, but sadly I gave my word to only take…"

A claw of chakra erupted from Naruto's hand. The bubbling chakra extended, suddenly aiming for Sasuke.

"…the Uchiha to his grave," the fox continued, as if nothing happened. "I suppose I will deal with you next time, girl."

Before Gaara's sand could block him, before Temari could blast it away, the claw reached Sasuke. But Sasuke had predicted its movement with his sharingan, and evaded it- or so he thought. Midway, the appendage of chakra suddenly spouted a second claw. This second claw reached out for Sasuke, who was now caught off guard.

'_That girl__'__s little stunt made it far more difficult to influence the kit,__'_ the Kyuubi mused, barely paying attention to the Uchiha and instead taking one last look at the young Hyuga. '_I was sure he would have fallen to my control this time. The willpower that kept his seal functioning properly was fading ever since I helped him take down Shukaku. For him to __still be __capable of__ resist__ing me is disappointing.__'_

The Kyuubi felt frustrated that he yet again had to wait. Patience was a virtue which the demonic fox not really appreciated, but it was an unavoidable thing- especially now that he was so close. _'Just like Kushina back then, those pesky humans seem to strengthen their hearts whenever they start to care about others. It__'__s a good thing that he still cannot accept it. That he even sees it as a reason to distance himself from her makes it even better for me. He cares for her enough to go against his own instincts. Foolish humans. I might have made a promise this time, but he is right in that I would take her out first if I had the chance. She__'__s my greatest threat… but not worth breaking my word over. I__'__d rather die than lower myself to the standards of those treasonous humans. At least death is only a temporary nuisance.__'_

The Kyuubi huffed once, and then released his control, letting Naruto collapse like a puppet whose strings got cut off.

'_Annoying deals. But breaking a deal would be to lower myself to their level. At least it is another step in the right direction,_' the demon smirked to itself. '_Every time he uses my chakra is another crack in the seal that holds me back.__'_

The crimson chakra flowed away, and Hinata saw Naruto's eyes turn back to their normal blue color. His eyes weren't as bright as they were supposed to be, though. Lustreless was the best word she could find to describe it.

Uzumaki Naruto looked up at the group. He saw the bleeding Uchiha sprawled at the ground. He couldn't care less about that. Sasuke brought that upon himself by challenging him. No, what hurt him was the look in the eyes of the others: the worries, concerns, _f__ear_.

'_I lost. The Kyuubi used my anger against Sasuke and I lost control. Again… I__'__m becoming the liability everyone fears me to be,__'_ Naruto swallowed away the lump in his throat.

Hinata stepped forward, reaching out towards him with a worried expression on her pale face. But Naruto moved backwards, and turned his face away. He felt ashamed. "I am sorry," he gasped. "I failed."

* * *

"Enter," Hiruzen sighed wearily. Looking up from his desk, he saw Shizune's frown as she opened the door. "I will take a break after this," Hiruzen assured her.

"Please, do not force yourself to do too much, Sandaime-sama," while formal and respectful, the old man could hear the young woman's worry in her voice. Then again, this visitor was someone who provoked most shinobi to keep their guard up.

"Gaara-san, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Hiruzen took out his pipe, and leaned back in his chair.

He could see how much the young jinchuriki had changed ever since Naruto altered the boy's seal. His eyes, especially, had changed. No longer did he radiate that murderous insanity. No, this boy was calm and controlled. Perhaps a bit too calm and controlled, to Hiruzen's liking, at least. This smelled more like the 'people are tools' philosophy which many shinobi followed, and Hiruzen was never a fan of the excessive control of emotions. It always led to problems whenever a shinobi reached the point where their emotions grew too strong and any attempt to control them became futile. No, it was far better to deal with your emotions properly.

Then again, jinchuriki weren't exactly normal shinobi. And with a past like Gaara's…

"I am here for Uzumaki Naruto," the boy's gravelly voice sounded.

Frowning, Hiruzen took a better look. He could see the boy was worried. "Is there a problem with Naruto-kun?" he decided ask. Sure, Sarutobi HIruzen could give a long list of problems, but he'd rather hear from Gaara himself which issue rattled him this much.

"Yes. For his seal. Uzumaki-san helped me regain my sanity by strengthening my seal. But today's events..." Gaara hesitated as he sought for the right words. And Hiruzen's grimace did not help him at that.

"Today's events were rather unfortunate," Hiruzen worded it as diplomatic as he could. And after hours of being annoyed by a wide range of people, it was a small wonder he remained so calm under it.

"It was not a matter of fortune," Gaara slowly shook his head in denial. "Uzumaki-san made a deal with the Kyuubi when he saved me. That deal weakened his seal. In fact, each time he uses the bijuu's chakra, his seal weakens further. The assassination attempt and today's assault are even more detrimental to it."

"I assigned extra protection, so that-"

"That will not be sufficient, Hokage-sama."

"Drop the formalities, Gaara-san, and speak your mind," Hiruzen sighed.

"Uzumaki-san's seal is crumbling. Protection will not aid him. The only way is to strengthen his seal, like he strengthened mine. But he does not know how to do it. And what is worse: he seems to insist on doing everything on his own. But he needs help. Someone needs to strengthen the seal that imprisons the Kyuubi. If that does not happen, the next time Naruto loses control might be his last," Gaara concluded his plea.

Hiruzen took the pipe from his mouth and remained silent for a moment.

"The alteration or restoration of a seal is an extremely difficult and dangerous subject, even in theory," Hiruzen grimaced. "The particular seal applied by the Yondaime Hokage is a particularly difficult subject."

Yes, a contract with the shinigami itself was not a subject to be taken lightly, due to the terribly high price attached to it. The Shiki no Fujin was one of the most forbidden jutsu in history due that very fact. Hiruzen knew full well that applying another other source of power would be risking the destabilization of Naruto's seal.

"Yet Uzumaki-san managed to create a seal on top of my seal. Is such a method not possible with-"

"Gaara-san, you underestimate Naruto's prowess. The seal he created is of a very high level, and its strength is even greater due to the influence of the Kyuubi's chakra, which overpowers the Ichibi's. There aren't many shinobi in our world that could create a seal of equal strength," Hiruzen admitted. "And creating a seal on top of a seal usually creates limitations in terms of chakra control. The seal which Naruto created for you does not stop the crumbling of the original seal you have."

Gaara nodded. Naruto had explained it in a similar way when he talked about the difficulties in altering Gaara's seal. In essence, the new seal would become Shukaku's new prison, as the old seal would decay over time. Yes, the new seal would slow the process, but it would not stop it.

"In Naruto's case," Hiruzen continued. "It would be disastrous if the original seal that holds the Kyuubi at bay crumbles. The strain it would create on Naruto would most likely kill him, as any seal placed on top of the original would not be able to handle the collapse of the original seal. That is why jinchuriki who lose control over their bijuu usually have their bijuu extracted. Dual-layer seals are never fully stable. And with a bijuu…"

"The risks outweigh the gains," Gaara felt a little chilled by this logic. So this is how his predecessors had met their fates. "For the village, at least."

"With Naruto's seal, the only possibility is reinforcing the seal itself," Hiruzen admitted. "But a seal weakens when different types of chakra are used."

"So it is impossible to reinforce his seal?"

Hiruzen turned and looked out of the window. "Impossible? I didn't say that…" he smiled with a bittersweet expression on his old face.

* * *

Looking out over the village, Naruto sat on top of the mountain ridge above the Uzumaki compound. He knew the others were looking for him. But he wanted to be alone, so he had activated his stealth seal and hid his tracks for now.

'_I am failing,__'_ he sighed to himself. '_I have become a danger to everyone.__'_

But now, they were trying to help him. Couldn't they see that nothing could be done? He needed to do this on his own. No one could help him. He was alone. He had always been alone… and now he was lost. How long until the demon broke free? How much longer until he had to take the Kyuubi down with him? Naruto knew the demon would reform a few years after its death, but at least that would give Konoha some time to prepare.

Had Naruto been less troubled, he would have listened to Gaara's arguments. He would have listened to Karin's worries, to Hinata's attempt to encourage him, to her statement of how much faith his friends had in him. He would have heard how she saw him as her inspiration, because he never gave up, because he always endured, no matter the odds. But what did they know? Then again, apart from Gaara, none would fully comprehend that his actions were not his own.

Had Naruto been less troubled, he would have recognized that most of his darker thoughts were the result of the Kyuubi's whispers. Its whispers cut down each bud of hope before it ever had a chance to bloom. No, there was no hope for Uzumaki Naruto. But there was for the monstrous fox, who sat behind the thick iron bars within Naruto's mindscape, smiling contently.

The fox considered that everything was going according to his plans now. The girl might have given his host the will to continue a bit longer, but it was already too late. No one could stop him now. '_Soon,__'_ the demon chuckled. '_I can almost smell my freedom. With each passing day, his hopes will fall apart, and my will influence grow. After these accursed thirteen years, I can finally stretch my claws again. Hah, if that accursed Madara had not disrupted the blond bastard back then, who knows how much longer it would have taken to tear down this damnable prison?__'_

His nine massive tails swept through the prison, as the Kyuubi could not contain his excitement. Still… part of him felt badly for Naruto. '_Though he wasn__'__t as a bad a prison as Kushina or Mito, he is still a prison. So why should I waste any emotions on him? After all, the brat is only human. He should have been stronger if he had wanted to be worthy of my trust.__'_

* * *

Flanked by Tsunade, Sarutobi Hiruzen had gone to the roof. The high building which housed his office had a good view over the village, something which he needed to see right now. He longed to see his village, even though he couldn't take a stroll through it like he used to do. But with the quandary that occupied his mind… sometimes he just felt as if seeing the village reinvigorated his beliefs.

"You should be more careful, old man," Tsunade's worried frown was at contrast with her calm words.

"For what, Tsunade?" Hiruzen smiled gently. "My demise is merely a matter of time. Why can't I do something which I enjoy?"

"You're in an awfully fatalistic mood today."

"I must admit that I find it somewhat ironic hearing you, of all people, say that."

"People change," Tsunade huffed.

"Naruto-kun certainly has that effect on people, doesn't he?" Hiruzen chuckled.

"What does the Gaki have to do with this?"

"Nothing," Hiruzen looked up, staring his former student in her eyes. "Yet everything. The promise which the new generations hold is always a wonderful sight for old people like me. And with Naruto-kun even more so than any other."

"If you're going to stay this cryptic I would suspect that I should lower the dose of your medications."

"I am the past, Tsunade. I only need to see to it that I fulfill my tasks to the very end," Hiruzen smiled. "It is a debt I need to repay to all those who came before me, and my duty to all those who follow after me. The next generation is the only true legacy we old people leave behind after our deaths."

"Seriously, sometimes I wonder if you don't take the teachings of my uncle and grandfather too far…"

"Would that be a bad thing?" Hiruzen asked, slightly surprised. Tsunade didn't voice her opinion on the way of the shinobi often, not since her brother died, at least- and especially not since Dan died. Her faith had been broken by those sorrowful incidents. But Hiruzen saw that the little sparkle she once had, was returning to her brown eyes. Sabaku no Gaara wasn't the only person who had changed due to Naruto's determination.

Tsunade grimaced for a moment, but her features softened a little when she saw the old man's fatigued expression. "No, knowing them, you couldn't have made them any prouder," she saw the content smile on the wrinkled man's face and slowly saw his demeanor change. Tsunade wondered what kind of burden had just fallen from his tired old shoulders, but knew that asking him would be pointless.

"That is the highest praise I could get from you while you are sober," Hiruzen tried to lighten the mood. Yes, he had made his choice. It wasn't the one he had hoped for, but it was the one he had to make. He just had to accept the price that came with it, but knew that it was well worth it.

"Don't talk like I don't do anything but dri-"

"There is a sake bottle in you left pocket, Tsunade-chan," Hiruzen looked at her with a deadpan expression.

* * *

**Bonus: Rivalry**

* * *

"Tsk, like a lazy bum like you could ever teach him shogi properly," Temari scoffed after Shikamaru challenged Naruto. The party was well under way, and the Nara had been talking to Naruto when Temari had walked by.

"Don't act so damn troublesome all of the time," Shikamaru grimaced. "Unless you want to say you can beat me."

"As if I'd lose to someone like you."

Choji stood by, and took a bag of chips from his pockets. '_Shika seems fired up, this is going to be good…__'_

* * *

"You know that after seven games in a row, this is pointless, right?" Ino smirked as saw her teammate beat Temari yet again. She had to admit that Temari did make things difficult for Shikamaru, though. She had done far more than she, Choji, or Asuma could, but it wasn't enough.

The overly competitive kunoichi losing her cool due to the confident smile that lingered on Shikamaru's lips didn't help her much either. Shikamaru estimated that she would have had a large opportunity to win, if it hadn't been for that impetuous move she made. Anger was a bad advisor during shogi.

"Shut it, blondie," Temari growled. "I'll beat him next time."

"Again?" Shikamaru grumbled. "I admit you're more of a challenge then I anticipated, but this is getting a bit troublesome. I have won seven times in a row, just admit defeat."

Temari narrowed her eyes and stared at him.

"…or we could play an eighth game," Shikamaru sighed. The broad smile Temari showed conflicted with the fierce look in her eyes, and unsettled the lazy Nara. '_S-ranked troublesome indeed. Hell, she could give mom a run for her money…__'_

* * *

Ako frowned as she suddenly saw a kunai fly by. Seeing Choji run around the corner, she wondered what was going on. "Don't go there," the Akimichi warned her. "Shikamaru made a terrible mistake!"

"What? What is going on?"

"She wanted coffee."

"Coffee?"

"Temari, after she lost her ninth match, demanded a rematch after she had some coffee."

Ako heard the angered kunoichi shout something. "I don't get it, how could that have resulted in this situation?"

"Shikamaru hates coffee more than anything else," Choji looked nervously. "And Temari… Well, she was already furious for losing in shogi, and it turned out that she shares Gaara's obsessive addition to coffee. She took Shikamaru's words regarding coffee as a personal insult, and blew up."

"You're kidding, right?" Ako raised her brows. She sighed when Choji didn't respond. "So it is chaos and mass destruction yet again. This is why shogi should be forbidden. This is the third time I have seen this happen… although Naruto is innocent this time."

"He may have laughed after Shikamaru began to run from Temari. She kinda lost what little patience she had at that point, and took out her fan," Choji mumbled, uncomfortable under the gaze of the Hyuga. "And… well, he wasn't the only reason why Temari got so frustrated from losing nine games."

"Let me guess, our sweet little kitten ran her mouth again," Ako deadpanned. "I swear I'm going to make Naruto ban that rotten game the very moment he becomes Hokage!"

Choji gulped when he saw the Hyuga stride away. '_How can she be so dangerous? And here I hoped that more Hyuga would be like Hinata..__'_

* * *

**A/N**: I guess this is one of the shortest chapters I've written in a long time.. And I'm writing a rather long author's note this time, in response to the feedback from last chapters. Because I agree with you: I made Naruto dark, even too dark, perhaps. But I have my reasons for why Uzumaki Naruto isn't the undying optimist he is in the canon at this point, aside from what Kurama hinted just now, that is.

I suppose one could draw comparisons to Gaara's state of mind in the manga. He too had a rather different personality due to the bijuu's corrupting influence. At least, I don't believe the actions of psycho-Gaara were done out of his own free will, just look at how he was after Naruto beat him. And while the vast majority of the fics I've read up till now ignore Kurama's influence, either depicting him as an evil without influence, or a (secretly) benevolent and misunderstood demon, I chose for a different route. One which I think is more realistic for a child who had the most powerful of all bijuu sealed within him, back when he was but a baby. I mean, look at the manga: while other jinchuriki were trained from their earliest childhood and failed, Naruto never got proper training before Jiraiya arrived and still succeeded. Is that realistic? Or is it that the phenomenon known as 'plot shield'?

Then again, Kurama's escape plan isn't as watertight as he might believe…

Anyway: I thank everyone who takes a moment of their time to review my works. I know my writing isn't perfect and that there is a lot I have yet to learn, but with your feedback I can keep improving myself. While the stuff I write is already improved by my beta **Illuminated**, it never hurts to hear more opinions. Like **dreckman**, whose input led to the ideas that formed a large part of today's chapter. So, please speak your mind and leave **reviews**!

As for recommendations today, I'd like to suggest two stories to you. By chance, as I checked out the profile of one of my reviewers, I found a very interesting story focusing on Tayuya. Mind you, I'm a fan of the slower and more detailed stories. I love the stories which approach fanfiction like an actual novel, rather than a rollercoaster ride full of action scenes and step-by-step descriptions of which jutsus are cast at whom. No, **The Eternal Torment of Tayuya Uzumaki** by **Ensou** is one of those stories that are both good and original enough to surprise me, which is something which doesn't happen as often anymore, considering the number of fics I've read over the years. And still, for some reason it doesn't have the popularity I think it deserves. Perhaps it is because the earlier parts don't have Naruto in it, while Tayuya and Fu aren't the most popular characters around? I couldn't think of another reason, because it is written excellently. Ensou's new story **The World Turns Without You**, on the other hand, focuses on Naruto and Hinata. And combined with the way it starts out, I think this story will become big.

Anyway, I have rambled enough about my thoughts now. Don't forget to check out the **poll** on my profile page, leave reviews, and I hope you'll enjoy Ensou's stories as much as I did. Meanwhile, I'll start writing on the next chapter. There is a Godaime Hokage to elect, after all… Danzo?

-Z-


	49. Godaime Hokage

_Wow.. I just read the last chapter of the Naruto Gaiden, and I must say that I'm thoroughly disappointed in Kishimoto._ (Don't read on if you haven't read the latest chapter!)_  
_

_The entire drama around Sarada just feels so pointless now.. I mean, if Sarada was Sakura's daughter anyway, why did Sarada have to spend years of wondering who her father was? Sasuke's mission may be a secret, but did that prevent Sakura from telling Sarada whether he wore glasses or not? As funny as it was to see the fandom react to the pairing-chaos which the Gaiden created, the plot was just bad. Almost as bad as the villain. And the introduction of a Kaguya-level threat... right. Let's just ignore that cheap advertising for the next movie.._

_I think this entire drama could've been prevented if Sakura had just told her daughter the truth when she asked questions. It's not like there were any big secrets, aside from the mission itself, that prevented Sakura from telling, right? Sakura's behaviour would have made more sense to me if Karin had actually been the biological mother of Sarada. Frankly, I hope Kishimoto stops writing now. His writing has gone downhill ever since the Pein arc ended, but now... the manga has become a parody of its former self. The further he gets, the worse he treats his characters and the pairings. Ah well, if I had been satisfied with how the manga developed I wouldn't have started writing fanfiction, would I? _

_Anyway, enough of my ranting, we've got a Hokage to elect here, so let's move on to the chapter!  
_

* * *

**Chunin arc**

**Godaime Hokage**

* * *

"Stop thrashing around like that," a female voice, harsh and without any sort of compassion, roared through his head.

Well, 'roared'.. Uchiha Sasuke had just woken up with one hell of a headache. One so bad that even a falling needle sounded like an avalanche of boulders crashing through his room. "Hn, where am I?" he muttered, trying and failing to open his eyes. What was going on? Where was he?

"Konoha hospital," the woman remained as curt as ever.

'_The Kyuubi… The dobe hit me and then…__' _Sasuke realized what put him here. "How bad?"

"You've sustained a bad case of chakra poisoning," a different but very familiar voice sounded. "You're not allowed to use your chakra, including your eyes- that is why you are blindfolded." Yes, that voice sounded as bored as ever, but unlike most times, this time there was very strong undercurrent of disapproval in it. Annoyance, even.

"How long?"

"You've been out for two days, and your wounds to the chest are mostly healed. You should count yourself lucky for even surviving that fight," Kakashi sighed. "What were you thinking, Sasuke? Were you even thinking when you decided to assault Naruto?"

Silence.

It wasn't like Kakashi was expecting an answer, but still… "Fine. As of right now, you are restricted to D-rank missions only. And until I decide otherwise, you are excluded from any form of promotion. Your behavior is unbefitting of your clan, and even your genin rank. You should count yourself lucky that you weren't stripped of your rank. But Hokage-sama deemed it better to keep Naruto's slip of control from the public. And demoting you would only draw attention to that."

Sasuke heard a chair shove, and footsteps heading away from him. "Use this time to think about what you have done, Sasuke. And make a choice. Because if you want to continue like this, you should stop pretending to be a shinobi. Just remember: you are not the only one who ever lost someone. Take a good look at how Sakura is dealing with it, for instance." A door closed, and Sasuke was left alone again.

Alone with his thoughts… the memories that haunted through the young Uchiha's head. _"You are weak, you know that?" Naruto chuckled. "Hinata-sama showed me what true strength is. I realized my own ignorance and weakness then, but it seems you are even weaker…"_

"You were right. I am weak," Sasuke whispered, completely missing the point that Naruto followed a different definition of 'strength', and far too angry to even bother remaining silent. "But not for much longer. When they return, I will get all the power I require…"

* * *

"Damn, that shithead really is a pathetic piece of crap," Tayuya grumbled, for the… well, no one had been able to keep track of how many times she said it. Once she started ranting, she usually didn't stop until the object of annoyance was eliminated. And considering their orders, that was something that could not be done this time.

Three of the Sound Four were sitting in their hideout, an old and undiscovered lab belonging to Orochimaru. "For someone without control of the seal, he didn't perform that badly," Kidomaru sighed. "But that blond piece of trash…"

"You were the one who saw it, it was your shift watching the Uchiha princess," Tayuya retorted. "How bad could that blond faggot have been?"

"Orochimaru-sama told us to keep away from him," Sakon shrugged. "So he's probably some kind of freak of nature."

"What I felt was far worse…"

"Don't tell me you're going chicken on us too," Tayuya exclaimed. "That fat moron is watching the hospital right now, him being the only coward of the four of us is enough."

"That blond kid wasn't normal, I told you," Kidomaru snapped. "That chakra of his… I'm not even a sensor, but I knew it was _wrong_. I never felt anything like it."

"Well, I love the blond kid for making the princess look like a piece of trash," Tayuya chuckled. "I'd say we take HIM to Orochimaru-sama instead, and just kill that fucking emo!"

* * *

"Whew, I finally made it," Jiraiya sighed aloud as he walked through the gates of Konohagakure. It had taken him nearly two days to travel from Kumo's border back to the village. It would've gone faster, if he hadn't spent a few hours at a local brothel, but Jiraiya wouldn't be Jiraiya if he hadn't done that…

"Jiraiya-sama," Kamizuki Izumo, one of the two gate guards, said with a reverent tone. "Sandaime-sama asked us to send you to his office the moment you returned."

"The old man missed me that much, did he?" Jiraiya smirked.

"Kotetsu already sent word to the Hokage's office."

"Don't worry, I'll go right away!" Jiraiya waved goodbye. "And don't forget to buy my latest release," he joked.

"You know, about that, we don't…"

"That's exactly why," Jiraiya smiled. "You two would be the most objective readers I could get!"

Izumo smiled and waved back. He smiled, because Jiraiya never treated him and Kotetsu differently, despite their 'irregular preferences', as the council had labeled it. He treated them with friendliness, even supported them whenever he could. Although he did make a point out of trying to sell his Icha-Icha series to them, which they would keep refusing- at least, until he produced a version that was more suited to their tastes.

But Jiraiya loved women far too much to consider such a thing.

'_And back to guard duty,__'_ Izumo sighed. '_At times I wonder if Kotetsu and I made the right decision to be so open about our relationship. Then again, I rather be honest about it and be banished to this boring gate job by those homophobic old goats, then be forced to live my life in secrecy…__'_

* * *

"I see you didn't listen to my advice," Jiraiya said on a serious tone. "Nor Tsunade's." He sat on his usual spot in the window opening. His gaze went over the pale and wrinkly face of the Sandaime Hokage. The poisoned man insisted on doing his duty to the bitter end, like a true shinobi, although Jiraiya would have rather had it that the man could enjoy his last days a bit more.

Jiraiya thought he would rather die in a more spectacular way himself, but he always had more attention for the theatrics. Sarutobi Hiruzen was a shinobi to the core of his being, and he would rather pick the most agonizing death if it meant that he could serve his village best.

"There was a lot to take care of," Hiruzen sighed wearily. "Naruto…"

"What?"

"Uchiha Sasuke attacked Naruto-kun," Hiruzen sighed. "The fool has yet to leave the hospital after what Naruto did to him. Though I suspect Tsunade had something to do with it as well. She was rather angry when part of the council demanded that Naruto's chakra would be sealed off completely, and after that, she refused to treat Sasuke, and forbade Shizune too."

"They wanted to do what?" Jiraiya growled. "Those damn idiots!"

Hiruzen put up his hands, ending the rant Jiraiya wanted to start. "Tsunade nearly wrecked the meeting hall when Koharu put that motion to a vote. Needless to say that I would have vetoed it, even if it had passed, but luckily the majority was smart enough to understand that sealing Naruto's chakra would have permanently removed his chances of gaining control over the Kyuubi's chakra."

"It would be condemning him to death," Jiraiya snarled. "It would be no different from what Naruto unknowingly did to Gaara, the only difference being that whatever seals those morons would put on Naruto would inevitably be a lot weaker, while the Kyuubi is far stronger then the Ichibi…"

"I know, I know," Hiruzen interrupted, trying to calm his former student down. "It was already dealt with," he sighed.

"How is Naruto?"

"The Kyuubi is troubling him more and more. We will need to discuss that matter privately, and soon," Hiruzen exhaled audibly.

"If that's all, why did I have to come up here with such urgency?"

"If you wait a minute, the others should be here in a few moments."

"Others?" Jiraiya frowned. But he didn't get the chance to ask as the door was forced open by a rather loud Tsunade.

"Why was I called away this time?" the blonde demanded aggressively. "What are those idiots trying to do this time to… Oh, Jiraiya, you're finally back?" she blinked in surprise.

Jiraiya sniffed and started to smile when he realized what smelled so familiar. "Interrupted during an important check-up, I take it? Was the sake good?"

"Errr, yeah, until one of sensei's lackeys dragged me out," Tsunade admitted somewhat sheepishly. "Is the brat not here yet?"

"He'll be here soon enough. I sent word for Raido to get him here as soon as possible."

"Raido?" Jiraiya wondered. "Why is that kid called here?"

"After the whole incident with Sasuke, I assigned Raido to guard Naruto. Anko's failure to act was rather spectacular," Hiruzen said darkly. "As a consequence, she's helping Raido. Though, I think those two don't really like each other."

"A loose cannon like Anko and a control freak like Raido? That's not really the team I'd put together…"

"There were some difficulties, but Kurenai intervened. That woman certainly has skill in keeping everyone on one line. That Hyuga girl certainly taught her a thing or two in that, it seems. And the group moved to the Uzumaki compound," Tsunade said. "We thought it would be better to move Naruto and Gaara out of the Uchiha district. Kurenai uses the area on top of the mountain to get her new genin up to speed, so she's close enough to keep an eye on the situation. So, it has gone pretty well so far."

"And the cleaning and repairing of the buildings and ground formed a few nice D-rank missions," Hiruzen chuckled.

"But why Raido?" Jiraiya wanted to know.

"You know who he swore his loyalties to," Hiruzen looked at his former pupil. "And considering how attached Anko became to the make-shift family, I hoped that the two of them would have enough common ground to cooperate properly."

"And why are they at Kushina's old place?"

"The old man told Naruto about Minato and Kushina," Tsunade grimaced.

"I know he would," Jiraiya grimaced. "How did he take it?"

"Well, he didn't kill anyone," Tsunade sighed. "But it took me a while to calm him down. At least, as far as I know. That kid keeps a lot bottled up inside him."

"Jiraiya… I know Naruto hated Minato from the moment he knew who sealed the Kyuubi within him. It was my duty to tell Naruto, and if he would hate anyone for telling him the truth, it might as well be me. I'm dying anyway, so it doesn't matter to Konoha if he hates me for keeping this secret from him."

"You said that before, but still, Naruto was already struggling. I'm worried that we put too many burdens on his shoulders."

"What do you want me to do, Jiriaya? Wait until he found out by himself? Wait until the Kyuubi used that particular piece of information in order to push Naruto over the edge?" Hiruzen sighed. "I would rather tell Naruto in a controlled way. He deserves to know the truth. Besides, Tsunade already had a good talk with him afterwards. And if he hates me… well, I'd rather have him hate me, then my successor."

"Sensei, you shouldn't-"

"Ah, they're here. Enter," Hiruzen interrupted. Raido opened the door, and Naruto entered the office, looking somewhat uncomfortable. Though, Jiraiya was mostly alarmed by the tired look on the boy's face. '_The kid looks like he__'__s haunted… Hell, with the Kyuubi trying to possess him that__'__s probably pretty close what is actually happening too, isn__'__t it?_' the toad sage considered.

"I'll guard the door," Raido bowed and closed the door again, standing outside so that none would interfere.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said friendly, although Jiraiya saw the sad look in his sensei's eyes.

Naruto looked up at Tsunade, who gave the slightest of nods, and then he stared at the old Sandaime. "I'm sorry, Jii-san-" he began. "-For my outburst when you told me about my mother and that bastard. I shouldn't have blamed you for what he did to me. I… I understand why it was kept a secret. I don't like it, but I can understand it."

Jiraiya saw Hiruzen change a little, as if a weight was lifted from the old man's shoulders. He still looked exhausted, but at least his air wasn't as depressed as before. '_I guess his hatred against Minato won__'__t go away as easily. But while we don__'__t know what exactly happened that night, how are we supposed to take that away?__'_ Jiraiya thought, sad that his student, the man who had felt like a son to him, was now despised by his own son.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen spoke softly, for a moment he appeared more fragile than ever. "You don't know how much that means to me," he smiled gently.

"Errr, no problem," Naruto scratched the back of his head, embarrassed by the old man's raw gratitude. "But why was I called here?"

"I wanted to discuss the matter of my succession."

"Heh, you want me to be Hokage?" Naruto joked brightly, with an almost convincingly real smile. "I thought you'd never ask," he ended with a low voice.

"Not you," Hiruzen chuckled. "Not yet, perhaps if I had a few years more," he smiled, but then he turned serious. "Naruto-kun, who do you think is the best person to succeed me?"

"Eh? I'm not really into that political stuff."

"But if you had to name someone?"

Naruto looked at Jiraiya and Tsunade, knowing that these two were by far the best options for the old man to succeed him. He had heard more than enough about the other contender, Danzo, by now to know that he would be a bad choice. "I guess you want me to convince Ero-sennin to take the hat?" he dropped his smiling façade and looked soberly at the Hokage and his former students.

"I sure hope you can do what I could not," Hiruzen smirked.

"No way. I told you before, sensei, that I have no interest in that position," Jiraiya huffed.

"Because you want to train me?" Naruto guessed.

"I made my promises," Jiraiya nodded. "I owe that to you. And whether you like it or not, I owe it to Minato and Kushina too. Hell, I even owe it to Konoha itself! Your training is probably the most important thing for Konoha-"

"You can train me right here," Naruto interjected. "Considering how well the Uzumaki compound is shielded. And otherwise, I could move to Myobokuzan and train with the toads. You could be reverse summoned up and down from here, right? At least, Gamakichi said that was possible."

"…you three planned this all out, didn't you?" Jiraiya accused.

"Perhaps," Tsunade smiled knowingly. "But considering how I refuse to take the position and Danzo is the worst possible option, you are by far the best choice."

"Hell, there are more people capable of doing it!" Jiraiya started to feel a little cornered. "Kakashi, Gai, Asuma, there are enough strong enough to-"

"None of them have the reputation and experience you have, Jiraiya. Nor are they even close to your strength," Hiruzen stopped Jiraiya's reasoning. "Nor do any of them get the amount of respect in the other nations that you do."

"Tsunade is far better at this political bullshit than I am."

"Frankly, Tsunade-baachan is strong enough too," Naruto said. "But while you worked for Konoha from the shadows, Baa-chan fled away from the village. How is someone who apparently can't control her emotions, who gambles and drinks most of the time while she's awake, going to command the authority to govern Konohagakure?"

Tsunade frowned a little at Naruto's words, but she couldn't refute them. Not completely, at least. Though, had it not been Naruto who uttered the words, she would have likely punched him through the wall. Because these words hurt her more than she wanted to admit.

"Sorry Baa-chan. But after Haruki's death, I realized that the worst thing anyone can do is flee from their own pasts. To try and forget about the ones you've lost, as if you deny that they ever existed, I find it the worst insult to anyone's memory," Naruto hurt her even further. "I like you, you are my family, and I love you as such. But I can't ignore what you did in the past, not when I have to consider someone as my leader…"

"You… I… I guess you are right," Tsunade sighed. Agitated, but she could see Naruto's point of view. In fact, ever since she had returned to Konoha, she had doubted what she had done these past years. '_Shizune is so much happier ever since we came back. And I feel different as well. It still hurts to see the places which remind me of Dan and Nawaki, but… perhaps Naruto is right. Perhaps I really could better honor them, rather than keep running away. Neither of them would like it if I drink and gamble my entire life away. And Shizune… if she__'__s happier here, I could perhaps stick around this place for a while longer. See how it works out. I know it would be better for her. I owe her that much…__'_

"Sensei, I'll take charge of the hospital," she blurted out before she fully realized what she just said.

"What?"

"I… The way Shizune acts. What the Gaki said. I guess I'll have to stick around for a while longer. And I might as well earn my pay while doing so," Tsunade sighed. "Besides, someone has to keep an eye on that pervert, or the women of Konoha would be unprotected against him. As an elder in the council, I'd be able to restrain his more perverted actions."

"Hey! I didn't even agree with anything in all this!" Jiraiya protested.

"Sensei," Naruto kept speaking with the same unnaturally serious tone of voice. One which no thirteen year-old should have, but which his life had made inevitable. "You talked about the cycle of hatred, didn't you?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"How else do you think you can change anything, if not by giving the good example for your own village?" Naruto suggested.

"Who said that I am a good example?"

"Ah… So are you still blaming yourself for what happened to Orochimaru?" Hiruzen realized. "If anyone is to be blamed for that, it would be me, Jiraiya. I failed him as his sensei."

"Yet I was the one who was unable to bring him back," Jiraiya admitted. "I failed him. I failed Minato. I failed Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan. I am not a good example. I am a failure."

"You seem to be a pretty good one, if you ask me," Tsunade disagreed. "Just look at how famous Minato became. All the nations trembled at his skill. You can hardly say that you weren't responsible for that. Kushina sure had her influence, but he was your student first. And look at how you helped Naruto grow. Without your guidance, his skill at fuinjutsu would never have grown this much."

"And so what if you made mistakes? You can show others how to prevent making them, right?" Naruto spoke before Jiraiya could open his mouth. "The Yondaime might be the world's biggest asshole in my books, but his prowess is undeniable. If you can train such a shinobi, who knows what happens if you lead an entire village? Though I hope that you teach everyone not to seal demons into babies, this time," he added cynically. "You taught me to never walk away from my responsibilities, sensei. If you ever felt like life sucks, then make sure no one else will ever feel pain like that. That's why I want the hat," Naruto added darkly.

Jiraiya pinched the bridge of his nose. "You three really rehearsed this, didn't you?"

"Not really, though I did ask the Gaki to find a way to convince you," Tsunade smirked. "And he made a pretty damn convincing case, if I may add."

"Thank you, Obaa-chan."

"Kid… Don't push it."

"What did you mumble, Obaa-chan?" Naruto teased. "I wonder why old people never speak clearly…"

"I told you before, Jiraiya, you are the best option I have as my successor," Hiruzen quickly continued, before Tsunade would smack Naruto out of the room for calling her old. "In fact, if you hadn't refused it back when Minato died, I would never have taken back the position which actually had to be yours. But I am dying, so I can't keep this seat occupied for much longer."

"Someone has to keep the bounties from Naruto's head," Jiraiya tried to counter, but he already knew his defense was weakening.

"Other jonin can do that," Hiruzen said. "We would need a replacement for your information network too, but you can't keep that up while you are training Naruto either."

"Argh, fine then," Jiraiya succumbed. "I don't like this, but if you all push me this much. And I agree that Danzo would be a disaster. But don't come complaining if I make a mess of it, I warned you that I am not fit to take this position!"

"You should stop underestimating your own competency," Hiruzen smiled.

"Sensei, might I suggest something?" Naruto was a little hesitant all of a sudden. Jiraiya nodded. "If you want help, you need a good assistant, right? And you have the right to pick your own, if I understood it correctly."

"You read the laws about this?" Jiraiya blinked.

"Well, the way I see it you need someone strict enough to keep you from your perverted occupations, while being tolerant enough at the same time. Someone who is serious, trustworthy, and capable enough to take the job. And most of all: someone whose heart isn't corrupted."

"And?"

"I think Iruka-sensei would be the perfect person to take that job."

"Your old academy teacher?" Jiraiya frowned. "Well, if you trust him that much, I could always have a talk with him. At least, if he wants the position."

"Oh, I'll convince him of that," Naruto smirked. "You can count on that."

"Fine, then I'll announce it at the council during tomorrow's meeting," Hiruzen decided. "And I'll put that also with the public announcement of Naruto's burden after the council has made its decision. But I already know that a majority supports your claim."

"My claim? Hey, I never even wanted it," Jiraiya grumbled. "I suppose you made it in my name, didn't you? You guys must really hate me… Ugh, I'm going to get something to drink. I've been tricked into enough shit for today. And what is that about telling everyone about Naruto's burden?"

"I asked the old man to revoke the law that prevented people from talking about the Kyuubi. I think it doesn't really matter any longer, after what I did during the exams and the invasion," Naruto shrugged. "I guess this way, people can at least talk about this stuff, and avoid misconceptions about who I am. And if they hate me, then it won't change anything either, but at least they'll know the truth. Most people already dislike me anyway," he chuckled darkly. "At least those who matter to me know about it."

"If that's what you want," Jiraiya sighed. "Hime, care to join me for some sake?"

"Is this another one of your attempts to ask me for a date?" Tsunade frowned.

"Not really, but if you want it to be like that.." Jiraiya smirked, though not very convincingly.

"Shut it, let's get a few bottles, and you're paying." The two sannin vanished from the room.

Turning towards the now soon to be ex-Hokage, Naruto bowed. "Seems it worked out better then you expected, Jii-san. Ero-sennin actually bought it, and quicker than expected."

"That it did… though I'm not looking forward to the paperwork that follows after this decision," the old man sighed. "Ah well, just another few days, and then I can spend the rest of my days with my family."

"…did you tell Konohamaru?"

"Not yet."

"He knows something is wrong," Naruto admitted. "I met him yesterday. He's worried, jii-san, because he can see you're not well."

"I bet he does. Despite his rebellious nature, he is a smart young lad. He's so much like his father, that is sometimes just hurts," Hiruzen smiled sadly. "But telling him I'm dying due to this poison… it is not an easy thing to tell a boy of his age."

"Just… don't keep secrets from him too long. That sometimes hurts more than the secret itself," Naruto sighed, before he turned and left the room.

"You certainly have grown, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen mumbled. "I suppose I can now focus on the final few tasks left to me." Sarutobi Hiruzen did not feel too sad about that. In fact, he did not fear dying at all. His poisoned body had run out of time. At least this way, he could die as a shinobi should, not as a crippled old man. And what better way to die, then to give life to the person he'd set his hopes on for the future of this world?

* * *

"Why are we going to the academy? Classes haven't finished yet," Raido frowned.

"Hokage-business," Naruto smirked. "Got to get a hold of Iruka right away."

"But interrupting his lecture…"

"The kids will be happy for any interruption, believe me," Naruto looked at his overly serious guard. "This is about the time Iruka has his history lectures. Even a guy as stern as you would get bored by that."

The weal-like scar on Raido's face contorted for a moment as he grimaced. "A good shinobi should have discipline."

"What good is discipline if your life is devoid of fun," Naruto wondered. "I guess that's why you and Anko can't stand each other. You're polar opposites. You're all serious, while she's making a joke out of everything," Naruto chuckled, thinking back at the discussion the two had in the morning. Anko's complete lack of discipline did not go too well with Raido's methodical attitude. In this case, she had made fun of his annoyance, leading to him ordering her to stay home and guard Gaara- despite a guard at the Uzumaki compound being completely redundant due to the barriers surrounding the place.

Still, after the upheaval the recent incidents with Naruto had caused, Hiruzen had deemed it wise to increase security around him. With Raido's insistence on following the oath he had made to Minato, Raido had been appointed as Naruto's chief guard, rather than Yamato. As punishment for being drunk while Naruto was under attack from Sasuke, Anko had been appointed as Raido's subordinate for the duration of the mission.

This was beside the fact that she was once again Ako's subordinate as well. The Uzumaki compound required a lot of work to undo the long years of neglect. As happy as Anko had been to finally be done with cleaning their temporary quarters at the Uchiha compound, she was back at square one again.

So, to say that Anko was in a foul mood was an understatement, and being the target of a village-wide ban on alcohol on orders of the Hokage himself only worsened things. With the punishments Hiruzen had promised, no shopkeeper was willing to break that ban; not even Tsunade had been willing to help. Then again, sharing sake was never one of the Senju's strongest points. She usually consumed it all herself…

'_And then appeared Raido, saying that she brought it on herself by getting drunk while being on active duty. That certainly was the last straw,_' Naruto smiled faintly.

"Why Iruka-san?" Raido decided to change the subject, though Naruto could see a small vein throbbing, giving away that Raido still had not calmed down.

'_Then again, getting a bunch of snakes chasing you while you__'__re trying to eat breakfast isn__'__t really a good start for the day,__'_ Naruto considered. "Because Iruka-sensei is one of the few people who I trust."

"And Jiraiya-sama agrees?"

"Don't know," Naruto shrugged. "I'm here to convince Iruka-sensei to take the job, whether Ero-sennin accepts him or not is not for me to decide. That's something for the pervert himself. Though I think Iruka would be able to reign in some of Ero-sennin's bad traits…"

"Jiraiya-sama is a legendary shinobi," Raido countered.

"Almost as legendary as his perverted mind is. Did you ever read his books?"

Raido coughed, and was saved by the Academy popping up in front of them. Jumping over the rooftops, it hadn't taken the two of them very long to reach their destination. Naruto still smirked as he entered the building. He now had a nice little secret on Raido, which he could probably use to bribe him. '_I bet that after this morning, he would never want Anko to know that he has some bad habits too…__'_

* * *

Konohamaru woke from his slumber when suddenly a familiar green-clad shinobi entered the room. Though Konohamaru didn't recognize the strange flak jacket at first, the blond head on top of it was unmistakable: "BOSS!"

Iruka blinked when Konohamaru suddenly shouted. "Konohamaru-kun, sit down and behave yourself for once!" Iruka snapped at the hyperactive Sarutobi.

"Why don't you give them an hour off?" a familiar voice took Iruka off guard.

"Naruto-kun?" Iruka wondered. "Why are you here?"

"Hokage-business," Naruto smirked, though Raido pinched the bridge of his nose when Naruto turned to the children and shouted: "Hear that kids! I'm kidnapping Iruka-sensei, so get out of here before a replacement can get here! Flee! Flee while you still can!"

Hanabi stared at the Uzumaki incredulously. '_Is he seriously a chunin?__'_ the young Hyuga wondered. However, there was something else about Naruto's demeanor that was bugging her. Something was off about the Uzumaki, yet Hanabi could not pinpoint what.

Before Iruka could protest, the vast majority of the kids had 'fled'. Naruto gestured to the Konohamaru squad to leave as well, though they were disappointed that Naruto couldn't 'play ninja' with them. "Business first," Naruto had replied.

"Explain yourself," the teacher demanded when the trio left. Hanabi lingered near the doorway as well, before Raido closed it. "Why are you interrupting my lecture?"

"How serious are you about Ako-chan?" Naruto countered his question with a question of his own.

"W-what?" Iruka started to blush a little. "That's none of your-"

"Ako-chan was my caretaker, and as such she stayed with me at the Uchiha district, and will for the time being also stayat my new home," Naruto remained patient. "But what will you two do when she gets reassigned? Because that will be inevitable."

"I… We… we hadn't thought that far ahead," Iruka admitted. Raido felt a bit out of place near this discussion, and stood stiffly at the door. "And why are you interrupting class for such a-"

"Ako-chan is a part of the branch house, and while it isn't that common, they are allowed to marry commoners. But, and I mean no offense, you're not exactly part of any major clan, nor are you particularly important yourself," Naruto continued. "Still, her brother is one of the more powerful shinobi in the branch house. Due to that, Ako-chan has good social standing in the branch as well. That is why I ask you: how serious are you two? Because if you choose to remain a teacher, Iruka-sensei, it would be better if you two quit dating."

"Now listen…" Iruka started to get annoyed.

"The Hyuga would never allow you two to get closer," Naruto cut him off. "Those cold and calculating bastards wouldn't allow one of their finer branch members to marry someone without power or prestige. But I do have a way out of that, a job offer, so that is why I want an answer. Because I am technically spilling secrets if I continue now," Naruto admitted sheepishly.

"An offer?" Iruka frowned. "But…" Naruto gave his old teacher a pointed look. "Yes, Ako-chan and I… We really like each other," Iruka admitted. "We know our position is a difficult one, but how could we change that?"

"I could get you a conversation with our next Hokage, and see if you could become his assistant," Naruto smirked. "That would give you the prestige in the village you'd need to openly date Ako-chan, wouldn't it?"

"A-assistant?" Iruka felt his jaw drop. "Me?"

"Promise me you keep this a secret," Naruto warned his former teacher. "But Jiraiya-sensei has agreed to take the hat, and I considering how you are one of the few I trust, I asked him if he wanted to take you as his assistant. I mean, he needs someone strict enough to keep him focused on his job, and after my years here, I thought that you would be the perfect candidate for it. And I thought that it would be a great way to help you and Ako-chan out as well."

"That… that is…"

"Don't thank me yet. Ero-sennin has to agree first, it's his decision. But I felt like it was rather pointless to continue this if you wouldn't want to take the position."

Iruka felt torn for a moment. "I love my job as a teacher," he admitted. "But you are right. I do have to make a choice between my job, and Ako... No, actually, I shouldn't even say that it is a matter of choosing. When can I speak Jiraiya-sama?" Iruka asked after a moment of silence.

"His appointment isn't official yet. He and Jii-san have to go to the council first, tomorrow, so that's why this is a secret. But the old pervert already has a majority of the votes in favor of him becoming the Godaime Hokage."

"How do you know all this?" Iruka wondered, almost wondering if this was some kind of elaborate prank.

"We just left the office of Hokage-sama," Raido answered for Naruto. "Since we are spilling secrets anyway, I might as well explain that due to the responsibilities Jiraiya-sama has towards Naruto, Naruto was brought in to convince him to take Sandaime-sama's position."

"Yeah, being the village's jinchuriki has its merits too, ya know? Not many, but still," Naruto turned and started walking towards the door. "I'll let Ero-sennin know that you want the spot, but I'll leave it to you to tell Ako-chan, okay? I mean, it's not official yet. It's probably for the best to wait with telling her until it is official. No point in giving her false hope…"

"Thank you, Naruto-kun… Thank you for the opportunity," Iruka whispered, still not having processed half of the conversation.

"Just buy me some ramen if it goes well," Naruto waved goodbye. '_Though, it would be enough of a reward to know that Ako is out of the Hyuga__'__s reach when I die because of that rotten fox. I should at least make sure that this shitty world is a little better before I go.__'_

* * *

"Well now, what is this ruckus?" Asuma grunted, barging into his father's office, one day later. The harsh voices could be heard from the other side, and Asuma's appointment was scheduled for ten minutes ago. Considering that he was supposed to go out with Kurenai tonight – not that he'd make this public knowledge – he didn't have the patience of waiting any longer.

Inside, a weary Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at his son. The old man looked far happier than the three other elders in the room. "Our meeting has not ended yet," Homura gestured that Asuma should leave.

"I don't think so," Asuma grumbled. "Dad, you said you would take it easy, what on earth are you doing?"

"This is not your business-" Danzo interjected.

"I just made it my business," Asuma cut him off. "Why don't you old goats bother the Godaime and leave my dad some peace."

Danzo's visible eye narrowed, agitated by the audacity of the jonin. "I suppose with that man elected, we should expect the discipline of our shinobi at this standard."

"He got the majority of the council backing him, doesn't he?" Asuma scoffed. "So there's no point in complaining here. The decision was made, the word is already out, so there's no stopping it. So go bother someone who isn't as tired as my dad."

Hiruzen sighed as he watched his old teammates leave his office. Well, the office wasn't his anymore. He had been busy gathering his possessions, so that Jiraiya could take his seat tomorrow morning. Hiruzen knew like no other how busy the first days after being elected Hokage were. After all, he had experienced it twice.

"Danzo is still annoyed that he didn't get more support," Hiruzen smirked. "After Hiashi declared that the Hyuga supported Jiraiya, right at the start of the meeting, the doubters all followed. Apparently, Hiashi saw Danzo's absence during the invasion as a sign of weakness- though I suspect his wife had something to do with it as well. She never liked Danzo very much…"

"Well, what kind of idiot would trust that bastard?" Asuma grimaced. "Considering all his shady dealings, I bet the only ones who supported his claim were those he had sufficient material on for blackmailing."

"Don't be too cynical. Danzo might be the embodiment of Konoha's darkness, but he has done a lot of good things as well. Things that had to be done, even if no one really wanted to do them."

"I know you think like that, and it is true that he cleaned up more than one mess, but still… His ethics aren't really my thing. Never will be, either. But why did you call for me?"

"We… I needed to talk with you," Hiruzen sighed. "There are some things I need to give you," he started rummaging in one of the drawers of his desk. "And some apologies I have to make."

"Why would you-"

"I am dying, Asuma. The poison Orochimaru used against me wasn't something that could be cured. Not even by Tsunade."

Asuma slumped down in one of the vacant chairs and stared down at the ground. "How… How long?" he asked, after a few moments of silence.

"At best, a week or two," Hiruzen saw his son flinch from the brutally honest answer. "But truth be told, I will die sooner than that. But that isn't really a problem. When you've lived as long as I did, you have long since accepted death. At least, not after the life I've led. The idea of me dying isn't half as bad as having seen so many others die before me. For me it is just… duty."

"Dad, you can't just say it is your duty to die," Asuma protested. "And why would you-"

"Your brother and his wife, and Biwako… Losing them hurt me far more than a little poison ever could. It still hurts, every waking moment, even though I have accepted their deaths by now."

"What happened to nii-san wasn't your-"

"They killed him in order to hurt me. And they would have targeted Konohamaru too, had he been there that night," Hiruzen's voice got some steel in it. "The worst thing that could happen to anyone is losing their children. That is why… why I made my mistakes with you. I know it is too late for me to be the father I was supposed to be, and for that I am sorry Asuma.. But after your brother was assassinated, I feared for your safety. That fear clouded my judgement, and was the reason why I didn't want you to join the Guardian Ninja. I couldn't bear the thought of losing another son. But I know now that I should have considered your feelings, rather than my own. I made a mistake, and for that I am sorry. All I can hope is that you would not make the same mistake as I did, when you and Kurenai get children," he smiled gently, though the regret in the old man's eyes was obvious to Asuma.

"I suppose those are my greatest regrets now," Hiruzen continued. "That I cannot see you and Kurenai marry. That I cannot see you raise a family. That I cannot see Konohamaru become the fine man I am convinced he will be."

"Dad… I know why you tried to stop me back then. I understand it," Asuma hesitated. "It took me a while, but eventually I realized… I was selfish too. After brother, I just wanted get away from here. I was a coward, a fool, I tried to run away but.. I left you when you needed me most."

"You do not need to be so harsh for yourself, Asuma. It is me who should apologize for not listening to you. If I had been a good father, like I should have been, I would have helped you deal with your pain. But I couldn't deal with my own. And in my foolishness I put all my energy into leading the village, even though I should have been there for you. And though I know it is too late, I never apologized for it. I thought that it was something I needed to say before I leave this world. For both our sakes, so that we both have some closure, because I saw you were blaming yourself, even though there was no reason to do so. Originally, I had planned to talk about this when you were settled down, because I feared that if I made a mistake again… But it is pointless to talk about 'what if' under the current circumstances. I know I am running out of time. That is also why I have to give you this," he handed Asuma a very old looking scroll.

Opening it, Asuma felt his heart beat somewhere midway his throat. "Dad! Is this..?"

"For all these year, I kept this for you," Hiruzen nodded, smiling gently upon seeing his son's shocked expression. "I must admit I did not have the opportunity to discuss it with him, as I no longer have the strength to summon him, but I am sure Enma will agree with my judgement."

"But the summoning contract…"

"Promise me one thing: pass the contract on to Konohamaru when he is old enough."

"…I will. But this means that I-"

"-that you are the head of the Sarutobi clan now, yes. That is our clan's tradition. Ever since you returned after you served the Daimyo, I saw how you have changed, and how you continued to change. I saw how you slowly rebuilt your relationship with Kurenai-chan, how you became an excellent sensei… I should have given you this sooner, but I didn't want to burden you too much, I wanted you to enjoy your life with some semblance of freedom, rather than being burdened with responsibilities."

"Heh, you're not still trying to bind me to the village, are you?" Asuma chuckled.

"I don't need to; Kurenai will do that for me. And if she doesn't, your students would. You chose this, Asuma, which is why I felt I could pass this on to you without feeling like I was burdening you. Though, I presume that attending the council meetings will be a less pleasurable way to spend your time. But at least I know you would help Jiraiya where you can."

"As long as our Hokage isn't going to try and change regulations around bathhouses, I think our Godaime will manage, with or without me," Asuma snorted. "As soon as he drops his act of playing the perverted fool.. You know, I encountered him several times during my time with the Daimyo, and I know full well how wise that man really is."

"Wise enough to not want to lead," Hiruzen chuckled. "He is definitely the best choice to lead the village right now. At least, until Naruto-kun is ready."

"You still hold that much faith in the boy?"

"Did you ever hear Konohamaru talk about him?"

"It is hard to ignore. But for you to say he could become the next Hokage," Asume frowned. "He is strong, I'll give him that, but he seems to struggle to keep the Kyuubi under control. He's dangerous."

"Those problems will be solved. But unlike that, the way the village treats him isn't something I can change. That is why I would ask you to help him whenever you can. But knowing you, you would already do such a thing. You were never someone who could bear injustice," Hiruzen gave him a wry smile. "Even if it came from your old man."

"You have always been, and will always remain, the most insufferable stubborn man I know," Asuma sighed. "And the worst thing is that Kurenai keeps saying I'm exactly like you…"

Hiruzen laughed. "No, you have more of your mother's patience in you, something which Kurenai should be thankful for." Asuma smiled, but Hiruzen could see that his son was sad. "Don't be too concerned about me. Tsunade made an antidote which keeps me from feeling too much pain. I know it is easy for me to say, but don't be too sad about it."

"Will you at least stay at home now, and quit all this ridiculous Hokage-stuff? Jiraiya will take over now, so you should rest a little. Spend time with Konohamaru. With us… We would… You should at least make your final days enjoyable."

"I have one last thing that I need to do, but until that day comes: yes, I will remain at home. I do not expect Konohamaru to understand, but he at least deserves to know the truth from me. Someone told me that secrets, even if they are kept in order to protect those you care about, still can cause a lot of pain. And I don't want to cause you, Konohamaru, or Kurenai any more pain than I have already done due to my stubborn refusal to abandon my post."

"You did what you thought was best, dad. That's one thing I always admired in you, no matter how I opposed it at times. I'd almost forget.." Asuma stood up from his chair. "I eh.. Kurenai and I made a bet, before the exams," Hiruzen frowned a little when he saw his son's bashful attitude. "And her students did better than mine, so I kinda lost that bet."

"What did you get yourself into?"

"Well, the loser had to make the first move," Asuma grinned. "So, erm… I asked her to marry me."

Hiruzen had been expecting a lot, but this… The Hokage who had experienced so much throughout the years, was left speechless for a full minute. He knew his son well enough to realize that such a move was not like Asuma at all. Way out of his son's comfort zone.

"I thought you'd like to know. That's why I wanted this appointment," Asuma scratched the back of his head, embarrassed by the way his father was staring at him. "Though, I suppose we have to reschedule things a bit now, because you have to be there with us, dad."

"Congratulations," Hiruzen rasped, wiping away the tears that flowed over his cheeks. "I'd be honored to attend. It seems I have even more to thank Naruto-kun for now."

"Well, Shikamaru made it a close one," Asuma grinned. "But I've never been so glad to lose, trust me. Now, let me help you gather your stuff, and then I'll take you home. Kurenai and I will make you the best takowasa dinner you've ever had!"

"I'd love to.. Though please be moderate with the spices," Hiruzen smiled. "My stomach is rather sensitive. But I would prefer to let my final days be joyous, rather than sad. I know it must be hard for you to accept it, but I am at peace with my fate."

"Yeah dad, I know you'd say that. Just don't expect me to listen," the serious look in Asuma's eyes was completely at odds with the smile below, but Hiruzen knew that it would be pointless to continue arguing about this. After all, if Asuma had been indifferent about this, Hiruzen knew he would have been hurt a lot more.

At least Asuma worked hard to give his father a few peaceful days, regardless how he felt about it himself. '_I suppose I should convince them to hold a proper celebration of their marriage later on. I don't want their day to be overshadowed by my fate. I suppose I could talk Jiraiya and Tsunade into arranging some more appropriate. Besides, with the schedule I created with Jiraiya, there are only a handful of days left. It would be impossible for Asuma and Kurenai to hold a proper ceremony in that short timeframe.'_

Asuma saw the concerned frown on his father's weary face. "Come on dad, I'm a grown man now. Stop worrying about me, will you? We will worry about you, not the other way around."

"A father will never stop worrying about his children."

"You wouldn't be you if wouldn't counter everything I have to say," Asuma sighed. "Let's clear that desk of yours, and head home."

* * *

**Bonus: A Senju****'****s money**

* * *

On their way home from their daily portion of chaos, Chie and her merry band of mischievous cats passed by a human drinking establishment- where something dangerous growled.

*Let's not go in,* Siro knew that look in Chie's eyes all too well by now. Then again, her curiosity was _really_ dangerous at times…

*I'm only taking a peek at what might cause that unholy sound,* Chie smirked.

* * *

The bartender didn't know what to do. Here they were, two of the most famous shinobi Konohagakure ever produced, and they were both drunk as a lord. Then again, after the conversation that led to Jiraiya accepting the position of Hokage, the toad sage had been eager to just drink everything away. And Tsunade had no problem with joining him in that. Passed out, the two sannin had ended their drinking contest in a draw. Not surprisingly either, considering how Tsunade had spent most of her day here anyway…

His helpers looked at him for guidance, but the middle-aged man honestly did not know what to do. Tsunade was well known for her excessive behavior when really drunk, so disturbing her seemed rather risky. And Jiraiya seemed to be a particularly foul mood too, so the man didn't know… so he just shrugged at his helpers.

"Let them sleep for now, mop around them, hopefully one of them wakes up before we have to close," he sighed.

At least, that was the plan…

A black and white cat hopped through the window, and before the bartender could chase the creature away, it jumped at the Senju.

And ran off with her wallet.

* * *

"Sandaime-sama, you called for us?" Kurenai bowed to the old Hokage.

"Yes.. I have mission for the four of you. A rather delicate mission," the old and tired man sighed. The jonin and her three genin looked a bit surprised. "Tsunade is on a rampage, after a cat stole her wallet. I want you to calm her down and retrieve the wallet."

"Cat… Oh, no," Kiba grimaced. "It's that crazy bakeneko again, isn't it?" Akamaru whined, already knowing that Kiba had guessed right.

The Sandaime nodded slowly, and looked at Karin. "Can you get Naruto-kun to stop that mischievous cat?"

Barely restraining her laughter, Karin had a much better idea. "I'll tell Ako-san and Anko-san," she smirked deviously. "They'll know what to do.."

"Chie never learns," Hinata sighed.

"Be careful when you approach Tsunade though, she has had a few bottles of sake too many," the wrinkled Hokage grimaced.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jiraiya woke up, dragged by his ankle by Tsunade who apparently had the furious intention to use him as a baseball bat. It was not that Tsunade could hit the nimble cat in her intoxicated condition, but the misses would hurt too.

"This must be the worst hangover in the history of mankind," Jiraiya whimpered.

* * *

**A/N**: What did you think: will Jiraiya and Iruka make a good team as the Godaime Hokage and his assistant? I've never encountered fics before with Jiraiya taking the position as Godaime. And, I wanted to do something different than the default Tsunade-route! I must say that I was tempted to make 'right hand jokes' with Iruka… But with the world's biggest pervert as his boss, think that would be above M-rated?

Credits: as always I need to thank **Illuminated** for beta-ing my chapters! The idea behind the bonus scene this time comes from **JAGA03**. And thank you to all of you who take the time to leave reviews. Can I challenge you to leave reviews like **Zincat** did?

Recommendations: this time I'd like to recommend you to read **What He Wants To Protect** by **Bleis29**. How much can a little sneeze change the story? It's a really promising NaruHina story, one which I'm sure you guys will like. Personally, I love how Naruto returned to Konoha in this story most of all. Though I like it even more how Bleis managed to introduce an idea you will recognize from 'Road to Ninja'. So, check it out, and leave reviews to support the author!

Authors love some encouragement while writing! That said: less than I year ago I started publishing my little scribbles.. When it turned out it wasn't as idiotic as I feared, I decided to just go all out: I wanted to reach 1.000 followers, favorites, and reviews in one year. We've already gone past the 1k followers a while ago, and right now I am looking with much anticipation as we're so darn close to the 1.000 favs… I'm hoping that this chapter will make the story reach that magic number. Know what? I won't publish the next chapter until it reaches that number! Blackmail! *_insert evil laughter here_* That does mean I gotta do something special with the next chapter in return.. Something which no one would expect. I wonder if Hinata will meet _her_ expectations!

Don't forget to review, and visit the poll on my profile page if you haven't done so already.

Till next time!

-Z-


	50. Secrets

_Hooray! The Honoured Guest now has 1.000 favs!__ It's an anniversary of sorts for me anyway, considering how this is the **50th** chapter! And with over 800 reviews, and nearly 400 thousand views for this story alone, I feel like I've done pretty well. At least, considering that I'm only publishing for one year and to learn a lot about writing, I can't say that I complain about how my weird little scribbling were received! Thank you all for your support. But enough rambling from me: I've been planning this chapter for a long time, so I hope you all enjoy it!_

* * *

**Chunin arc**

**Secrets**

* * *

"Dammit kid, how many of those scrolls did you unlock?" Jiraiya gasped. Standing in Naruto's 'study room', he literally saw no table at all. Everything was buried underneath a pile of books and scrolls.

"Kage bunshin used to speed things up quite a bit," Naruto shrugged. "Though I'm going to have to move my stuff to a bigger place soon, it's getting quite cramped here.. And Ako wanted to clean out this spare bedroom, so I guess I should take all this stuff to the mask storage temple," the blond mused.

"But how are you progressing with the new design for Gaara's seal?"

"I got three variants. They should be ready by this afternoon. I'll bring them over, so you can check them for any flaws."

"You already showed them to Gamazu?"

"The old toad is thrilled to create new seals. Old as he may be, he acted as jolly as a tadpole," Naruto smirked. "But I must ask: why do I suddenly have to rush like this?"

"We can't keep Gaara here forever, can we?" Jiraiya evaded giving the real answer, something which wasn't noticed by Naruto. He was too engrossed by his mountain of scrolls. Jiraiya did frown upon seeing one particular, partly opened, scroll, though. '_Is he actually planning to-'_

"Right," Naruto sounded a bit disappointed, ignoring the suddenly pale sannin.

Jiraiya coughed, and regained his composure. "You really came to like the kid, didn't you?"

"He's like me. In more than one way," Naruto shrugged. "I'd say he is family. My brother. He understands who I am, and I understand who he is. "

"I suppose it would be useful if Suna's jinchuriki would be friendly towards Konoha," Jiraiya mused.

"You're actually beginning to sound like a proper Hokage now. Perhaps I should drop the Erokage title?" Naruto chuckled. "Though, I heard from Baa-chan about the reforms you wanted at the bookstores.."

"Hey, I just wanted the people to enjoy more quality literature!"

"You just wanted to boost your latest perverted book's sales, Erokage!" Naruto scoffed. "Did you talk with Iruka-sensei by the way?"

"He seemed capable enough, though I must admit I never really noticed him before," Jiraiya knew protesting against his new nickname was pointless. Though he would never admit that he actually thought that 'perverted shadow' was the best nickname he had received in decades. Though, he wouldn't allow anyone but Naruto to call him like that. Well, except for Tsunade, perhaps. If she was in his bedroom. Without clothes. With a bottle of sake between her large… '_Focus, Jiraiya, focus!'_ the newly elected Hokage wiped away some blood from underneath his nose. "Iruka seems trustworthy, tern, although a little naïve perhaps. But if he passed your sense for malice without any issues, he couldn't be a bad guy."

"I bet he was pretty tense," Naruto sighed. "It isn't just a job to him, Erokage. If he gets the job, he could have a chance at dating the girl he loves. Being the right hand of the Hokage gets him higher on the social ladder than just being a teacher, so for him that little talk was pretty important.."

"Ah, girl problems," Jiraiya smirked. "And he seemed such a dullard. Who is the lucky girl?"

"You met Ako-chan, didn't you?"

"Anko!?" Jiraiya exclaimed.

"Ako. Not Anko, thank heavens for that," Naruto laughed. "Anko would destroy him."

"Ako can be worse," Jiraiya mumbled. "Far worse.."

"Your attempt at peaking on Hyuga women was a rather stupid thing to do. You brought that on yourself, pervert.."

"Guess I have to take Iruka in now," Jiraiya chuckled, deliberately ignoring Naruto's reprimand. "Perhaps she'd finally let go of that grudge if I did that… Perhaps she'll finally stop glaring at me like that.."

"Doubtful."

"Pessimist."

"Pervert."

"Super pervert," Jiraiya huffed.

* * *

In front of the Uzumaki compound's living quarters, Namiashi Raido stared at clouded skies. While the Hokage was talking to the boy Raido had sworn to protect, he could do little more than guard the front of the building. A rather pointless occupation, considering the barriers that surrounded the compound but still… he had no idea what else to do.

Much to his irritation, however, he was approached without him even noticing a thing. "You look bored, Scarface-two-leg."

Chie blinked when she saw him draw his black blade, Kokuto.

"Correction, not bored, but jumpy," the cat chuckled. "Did Crazy-snakes-two-leg finally push you over the edge?"

"Don't startle people like that, cat," Raido grumbled.

"You know, Crazy-snakes-two-leg is actually rather funny when properly pranked."

The tokubetsu jonin's scarred face twisted into a grimace. "You aren't trying to involve me in one of your crazy pranks, are you? Ako-san was rather expressive about that."

"What?" Chie feigned innocence. "I'm only offering a temporary alliance. You don't have to do anything naughty. I would never ever suggest such a thing. You are far too uptight for such things. Though perhaps she wouldn't mind it if you got… _naughty_?"

"Shut your mouth."

"Then why do you react like that when Crazy-snakes-two-leg shows off her body to tease you?"

"T-that's none of your business!"

Chie smirked when she saw the faint blush on the man's face. "I suppose you're not as boring as I initially feared, Scarface-two-leg."

"I'm doing my duty," Raido huffed. "Unlike certain people.."

"Should I take that as permission to pester Crazy-snakes-two-leg?"

"…"

"Hah! I saw it! You can smile," Chie exclaimed. Only for a fraction of a second, the corner of his mouth had twitched. But Chie's keen eyes had seen it. "Good, then I'll make the preparations!"

Before Raido could say a thing, the long-tailed black-and-white cat jumped away.

* * *

"Pay attention, pup!"

Kiba barely got the time to dodge his mother's fist that followed after those words. "Mum! Cut me some slack, will you?"

"You haven't gotten any faster lately, Kiba," she huffed, yet still she allowed her son to catch his breath.

"…how could you know," Kiba deadpanned. "Every time you drag me out here for training, I'm already exhausted."

He and his mother stood at a training ground within their clan's grounds. This training ground was a private one, a place where they could pass their techniques down to the next generation. Every clan which relied on their clan's secret techniques, 'hiden', rather than bloodline limits, 'kekkei genkai', required such facilities. After all, if anyone outside the Inuzuka clan saw how their techniques worked, these techniques could be stolen. Sure, it still would require a vast amount of data before anyone would manage to replicate the techniques which the Inuzuka had perfected for generations, but it was still possible. Unlike most kekkei genkai, which were practically impossible to replicate for anyone who did not have that specific blood in their veins.

"I bet you're just showing off in front of that red-haired girl, aren't you?" Tsume smirked.

"Mum.." Kiba whined. Though he was glad he had enough sand and dirt on his face to hide his embarrassment.

"Not a bad catch though, the girl certainly seems to have some backbone. And Akamaru seems to like her as well."

"She bribed Akamaru," Kiba groaned.

Tsume whistled, clearly impressed. "She managed to get between you and Akamaru? I'm growing to like this girl more and more."

"…why doesn't that surprise me? She can be damn scary at times.."

"Even better! Any woman should be able to make her man piss his pant," Tsume barked in laughter.

'_No mum, men shouldn't be terrified of their wives. Just look at how dad ran off.._' Kiba grimaced.

"Though I´ll have to teach her how to limit her pheromones a little. If she wants to live at your side we can't have her being such an open book to anyone with our clan's nose. I mean, last time she was here, half the clan agreed that you two should-"

"Stop deciding things for me dammit! I'm only freaking thirteen years old and you're trying to wed your own son off already?"

"We're shinobi," Tsume grinned, enjoying teasing her flustered son far too much to stop already. "We live fast and die young. So, I'd rather see you get some pups of your own while I'm still around. Though you better not have the gall to call me a Baa-san, you hear."

"P-p-pups?! MUM! Stop this madness," Kiba's face was now bright red, no matter how much dirt had had gotten on it when Tsume smacked him around the training ground. In fact, the markings on his cheeks weren't even half a red as his face was right now.

"As you wish," Tsume shrugged. "But that means you should get on your feet, because we are continuing our training!"

Kiba groaned when he picked himself up from the ground. Every muscle in his body screamed, but he knew that asking his mother to stop would only make her train him harsher. Besides, he had gotten a deep respect for the determination Naruto had shown.

Sure, Kiba had not particularly liked the Uzumaki during their time at the academy, and the way he had replace Shino had not fallen well with Kiba either… but somewhere along the line that dislike had changed into respect. Fear had been replaced by understanding – though Kiba was still man enough to admit that the Kyuubi terrified him. Kiba knew that he too had to show such an determination if he wanted to get strong like that.

And Kiba knew that he needed to get stronger. '_If the exams have shown me one thing, it would be that I am still too weak. Without Naruto, we might as well have failed the second stage of the exam. My loss against Sasuke, even though I finally was able to match him at taijutsu, showed me that I am still nothing special as a genin, considering he is far better at ninjutsu. And if I had faced a freak like that Rock Lee, or even Neji or Hinata.. Never mind that, I would've been too weak for the third stage anyway. Even though Kurenai-sensei said that both Hinata and I could've been promoted if there weren't so many crazy people participating at the exam, I still feel far too weak. I know I can't compare myself to a jinchuriki, but still… I will train myself to a state of near death if need be, but I will get stronger!'_

The feral grin on his mother's face nearly made his determination falter though. "Kurenai-sensei is putting Karin through hell, mum is torturing me, I sure hope you have better luck then we do, Hinata.." he mumbled.

* * *

"You have gotten faster," Kurenai smiled, as Karin picked herself up from the ground and patted the dust from her clothes.

"Perhaps I'm a bit less sluggish," Karin grumbled. "I'm still far too slow."

"Now now, don't be such a pessimist," the jonin chided her new student. "You shouldn't compare yourself with Hinata and Kiba too much. They are both the taijutsu-type of shinobi, unlike you."

"Perhaps, but what type am I, sensei?"

"Well, you're a better sensor than any other genin I've ever met. I think that with a little training, you could even be a better sensor than the vast majority of Konoha's jonin. And the rate at which you recover your stamina, as well as your healing abilities in general, seem far above usual too. Perhaps this is something related to the Uzumaki clan, I do not know for sure, I can't say I am an expert on such matters," Kurenai contemplated. "With your sensory ability I would say you would function better as a mid or long range fighter, rather than at close range."

"Ranged?" Karin frowned. "But the team-"

"Kiba is a brawler, and Hinata is a Hyuga and thus also completely focuses on close range combat. If you could cover the area's at which they are weak, it would improve the overall teamwork, right?"

"I suppose.."

"Be a little more confident, Karin. After we improve your stamina and chakra reserves to decent levels, I was thinking of seeing how you would do with genjutsu," the genjutsu mistress smiled. "I certainly hope that at least one of my students would have some affinity for my specialization."

"I will try, sensei!"

"Illusions? Red-hair-two-leg should try something that complements her ability as a sensor better. Perhaps she should try those stick-throwers which those non-shinobi-combat-two-legs seem to like?" Karin and Kurenai saw Chie jumping down the tree next to the living quarters, after which the black and white cat calmly treaded towards the small open field which they were using for their taijutsu spar.

"Kyujutsu?" Kurenai mused. "Unconventional, but not even such a crazy idea.."

"Kyuwhat? You mean bow techniques? That's for common foot soldiers, not for a shinobi!" Karin exclaimed.

"Arrows could carry sealing tags, sealing tags could become your specialism, Whisker-sister-two-leg."

"…and with her sensory ability improving her precision, combined with her weakness at close range combat," Kurenai followed the feline's train of thought. "Yes, that could be a good idea. Though, you would have to train a lot to get your precision to a level that you could fight properly beyond mid-range. Then again, with Hinata in the same team, you could actually be a great sniper, as she would be the perfect spotter."

Karin did not seem to be very convinced. "What about the genjutsu idea, sensei?"

"The more skills a shinobi masters, the more versatile you will be," Kurenai smirked. "Didn't you notice that with Naruto? He uses ninjutsu and taijutsu to cover the weaknesses of his fuinjutsu. And unlike Kiba and Hinata, you two aren't completely rusted in clan traditions, so it is my responsibility to teach you as many things as I possibly can. After all, a person can never have enough knowledge!"

"I shouldn't compare myself to Kiba-kun and Hinata, but now you compare me to nii-san?" Karin asked incredulously. "Sensei, none of us are even close to his level.."

"Whisker-two-leg is more fragile than you humans think," Chie was completely serious for a change. "You are a sensor, Red-two-leg. Tell me, how do you see his chakra?"

"Nii-san's chakra?" Karin blinked. "Well it is.. When he is calm, it just makes me dazzle, it is just so comfortable and relaxed, simply because of the warmth it radiates. But he keeps that side of him hidden, as if tries to shield himself from everyone. But at times I can see how bright his chakra actually is… Though that other chakra, the Kyuubi's, is completely different."

"It is evil, vast and terrifying," Chie agreed. Kurenai sighed, grimacing as she blamed herself for being powerless to help Naruto in his struggle against the Bijuu. She tried, but it was like talking to a stone wall. Only Hinata and Gaara seemed to be able to reach him, only they seemed to be allowed to go past his mental barriers. And Gaara had enough issues of his own already. "Dusty-two-leg seems worried about him as well. Whisker-two-legs own chakra is increasingly muddled with the demon's chakra."

"He can be scary at times," Karin admitted. "When I first met him, I thought he was going to kill me," she recalled how he had looked at her, in the forest of death during the chunin exams. "Even Kiba-kun admitted that nii-san scares him. But I know Hinata is right. Naruto-niisan is troubled, but underneath it all he is a great person."

"…for a two-leg," Chie chuckled.

"He is the only family I have," Karin glared at the cat. "So don't you dare to mock my brother, you hear?"

"Isn't the Huge-breasted-drunk-two-leg your family too?"

"Tsunade-sama is the granddaughter of an Uzumaki, yes. But I still cannot believe that I am related to one of the greatest kunoichi who ever lived," Karin admitted somewhat shyly.

"You should see it as proof that you could reach greatness too," Kurenai patted her student on the head, actually putting the unruly red hair a bit back in model. "If you are related to her, you could perhaps one day be just as strong!" The sceptical look on Karin's face did nothing to hamper the jonin's enthusiasm. "Although I hope you will stay away from alcohol, unlike Tsunade-sama.."

* * *

"You look tired, Hinata-chan," Hitomi carefully observed her daughter as she took her seat.

"Kurenai-sensei had a few exercises for us," Hinata admitted. "Since Karin-san replaced Naruto-kun after his promotion, we need to rebalance the team, or so Kurenai-sensei said."

"I understand. Naruto-kun did offer a lot of firepower to your team. How is Karin-san adjusting?"

"Her sensory ability is very good, but her combat ability is…" Hinata didn't really want to criticise her new teammate. Though she kept quiet about what really troubled her: Naruto's strangely distant behaviour. She didn't understand why, but after the conversation they had, and his 'episode' with the Kyuubi, he had become more distant to everyone. What did the Kyuubi mean by saying she didn't understand Naruto? Hinata didn't know why he kept himself away from others, why he was so silent. She knew he was hiding something. But he never answered any of her questions.

And his secretive attitude worried her even more. As much faith as she had in him, she wished she could do something to help him. Anything. And Gaara's persistent worried frown did not help much either.

"I guess Kurenai-san will have her work cut out for her then," Hitomi smiled gently. "Hinata, do you recall how the caged bird seal was created?" Hitomi switched to her 'lecturing voice' as she started today's training with her eldest daughter.

"The ancestor of the main house altered the seal that protected the byakugan from being stolen, and altered into a means to control the majority of the clan. That way, he could take control of the clan and let it join Konoha shortly after it was founded," Hinata had read the 'true history' of her clan very well.

"Indeed. Haruki went to great lengths to collect that information, and I completed most of the details of it myself. But do you know why the seal was named that way?"

"No mother."

"Do you know why my way of thinking is so deviant within our clan?"

Hinata shook her head.

"And why my insight is so much better?"

"Empathy," Hinata replied, replicating what her mother taught her. "True insight requires empathy, or one will never understand the other's emotions. That is why our clan's logic fails. True insight, the true ability of our byakugan, requires emotional intelligence, and not logic. As such, we must master our own emotions."

"Do you think that anyone can truly control their emotions?" Hitomi frowned. "Control is merely an illusion. And illusions hamper our sight. Just as the lust for power. Speaking about that: do you know how the Hyuga clan elected their clan head prior joining Konoha?"

"It was different from now?" Hinata guessed, knowing that her mother would not ask such a thing if it had been the same as it was now.

"Indeed it was," Hitomi agreed. She lay down a scroll on the table between them. Both Hyuga women sat on the comfortable chairs Hitomi liked so much. This was her personal study, after all. "This is the eldest of our clan's treasures."

Hinata frowned. Sure, the scroll looked old, but it didn't seem to qualify as 'treasure'. Even with her byakugan activated for an instant, Hinata saw nothing particularly special about it. Although… she vaguely remembered some of the stories her mother had told her when she was younger.

"It is the summoning our clan is bound to," Hitomi explained. "To return to the subject of the election of the clan's leader: this is how our leader was chosen. Only the ones deemed worthy to lead our clan could sign the summoning contract."

"A bird?" Hinata deduced, as her mother her explicitly talked about the caged bird seal earlier.

"And not any bird. The scroll has been kept by the main house ever since the coup. And since that day no one could summon the Suzaku. It refused our call. As such, the scroll was stored away. Until I found it."

"Suzaku?"

"Yes, that is the name of the creature, the vermillion bird. It hails from the time when the sage of the six paths taught humanity how to use chakra. Though, I advise you never to call her old. She is a bit touchy on that subject."

"But, if you know this, mother, does that mean…"

"I lack the power to summon the Suzaku completely," Hitomi admitted. "But yes, I can summon a fragment of her power. That is why I know more about our true history than most others, even though the time after the coup has long been a mystery to me, at least until Haruki found the answers we sought. But she is also the reason why I was able to master the true insight of the byakugan. It was taught to me by Suzaku-sama. Though she only agreed to do so if I kept it a secret. That is, until I found a suitable heir for my position as our clan's summoner."

Hinata's eyes spurred open.

"Yes, Hinata. I wish to test if you can summon Suzaku-sama," Hitomi smiled gently. "I think you are ready. And you possess more chakra then I do, so perhaps you can succeed where I failed. After all, I was never much of a shinobi. Apart from my insight, that is. But Suzaku-sama doesn't assess people based on their strength, only on their character. After all, she would teach those who she allowed to summon her, and these secrets were what made her summoner so powerful. Powerful, to the extent that he or she would be the ruler of our clan."

"But I.. Chakra, it is not.. I am not-"

"Suzaku-sama values peace and prosperity above all. It seeks out those who are loyal, honest, and just. She seeks those who value knowledge over brute force, understanding rather than conflict. That is why I am confident that she will approve of you, Hinata. That is why I train you, rather than Hanabi, who chose to follow your father's views of strength."

"I-I will try my best!"

"But there is one more thing. It is why our cursed seal was named the 'caged bird seal'. Ever since the coup, Suzaku-sama refused to be summoned, stating that the Hyuga violated the contract the moment the coup took place wherein part of the clan was subdued with the cursed seal. She is disgusted by what our ancestors have done. To what the branch house is formed into. When I was a young girl, I accidentally stumbled upon this scroll. My father kept it, but as it was more or less considered worthless, it wasn't stashed away as securely as it should have been. I was young and naïve, not much older then you are now, and perhaps that is why Suzaku-sama chose to heed my call after so many years of refusing to see our clan. She seemed to know that I would change. She educated me in secret, showed me the wrongs of our clan, improved my skill.."

"Mother, without Suzaku-sama, would you have been like everyone else in the main house?" Hinata was confused, as she could not imagine her mother to be as the others from the main house. Hitomi was so different from the regular cold and logical Hyuga archetype, that Hinata could not imagine her mother to have turned out like that too.

"It seems likely. I was young and naïve, but my head was filled with the ideas that my parents taught me from when I was but a little girl," Hitomi admitted. "Suzaku-sama corrected my way of thinking. My conflicting ideas about our clan's path originate from her teachings. The quest to liberate the branch is a direct consequence of the information she gave me."

"And you raised me in such a way that fitted with her teachings?"

"No," Hitomi laughed for a moment. "No, you were always gentle and kind, Hinata. A deviation in the cold and strict main house, so to say. I only had to protect and nurture that natural kindness of yours. To encourage you when you needed encouragement. To keep your heart open, to prevent that you would cast away your emotions for the sake of logic. Though I must admit that Naruto-kun also did a lot of that work for me," Hitomi teased her daughter.

"Mo-Mother?"

"Don't worry about it," Hitomi smiled knowingly. "Considering how he carries his burdens, I would say that Naruto-kun is indeed a person worthy of admiration. Though, I agree with my late cousin in that he needs help. Your idea of his birthday party was a good one in showing him that he is not alone."

"Yet the incident with Sasuke-san.."

"That was not your fault, nor was it the fault of Naruto-kun. The Uchiha boy should not have attacked. As far as I'm concerned, Naruto-kun did his duty at guarding the children from Sunagakure. Although I must admit that the injuries he inflicted were a bit severe, even though Uchiha-san brought that on himself. But he will recover soon enough, so let's return to the topic of today's lesson, shall we?"

"Yes, mother," Hinata nodded, looking at the scroll which held the summoning contract.

"The Kuchiyose no Jutsu requires the following hand seals," Hitomi lectured. "Boar, dog, bird, monkey, and ram. You have that?"

"Boar, dog, bird, monkey, and ram," Hinata repeated.

"I shall demonstrate: Kuchiyose no Jutsu," Hitomi calmly said, though she focussed most of her chakra into the jutsu. In a small puff of white smoke, a small bird appeared. The bird was about as large as a kite. Reaching about thirty centimetres in length, the birds was covered in a plumage of various hues of vermillion. Despite its relatively small size, Hinata found the creature remarkably elegant and noble. And the aura it radiated was impressive as well, to the extent that Hinata held her breath as its bright and intelligent eyes turned towards her.

"Hitomi-chan," the bird's voice was like a woman whispering in the wind. The bird's beak remained shut, yet it somehow spoke. Though the whispering voice was a bit scary in Hinata's opinion, ghostlike almost, Suzaku sounded actually quite peaceful and friendly. "You summoned me in front of another?"

"Yes, Suzaku-sama," Hitomi nodded ever so slightly. "This is Hinata, my daughter."

"Ahhh, yes, you spoke of her before, your eldest. Is she already prepared?"

"I explained her how you taught me, Suzaku-sama."

"Taught? I merely offered my views. You altered your views out of your own accordance. I did not teach."

"Yet you showed me the errors of our clan. The errors of my own ways."

"Because I knew you would be receptive for it, you always had better eyes than the others of this foolish main house," the bird's voice sounded a little annoyed by the notion of the houses. "But I assume you want to know if I allow your daughter to summon me?"

"Yes, Suzaku-sama. Hinata is my eldest daughter, and heir to our clan."

"Ah yes, this foolish heritage thing the clan now has," Suzaku sighed. "As if it matter who your parents are… it should be ability and personality, which determine whether someone is fit to rule or not, not birth. Tell me, child, what do you think of your clan?"

Hitomi nodded, encouraging her daughter to speak her mind. Hitomi knew full well that Hinata had to speak from her own heart, because Suzaku would not agree with any dishonesty. "I-I do not like my clan," Hinata hesitated.

"Why not? Speak, I cannot see who you are if you keep hiding yourself."

"The Hyuga clan… My father and the main clan, they focus too much on logic. On strength. It led to the suppression of the branch house, and the injustice that gives the main house its power."

"That is what your mother taught you, but what do _you_ believe?"

"I… I think the Hyuga clan is a cold and harsh place."

"And what would you do about that?"

Hinata blinked. "I-I am most likely not the clan's heir for much longer."

"That is not what I asked."

"I would remove the caged bird seal. Free Neji-niisan, and all the other from the branch," Hinata admitted. "Though, I would hope to find a way in which the branch and main houses don't attack each other. I fear that freeing the branch right now would only cause more chaos…"

"Your desire towards peace and justice is truthful." It was not a question. It was a conclusion Suzaku drew based on what she had seen. And she always saw everything. Even Hitomi's considerable skill paled in comparison to the centuries of experience Suzaku had. The bird hopped forward, and pecked Hinata on her finger with its sharp beak. "Sign the contract with your blood."

Hitomi felt like she could breathe again. '_She qualified.. Thank Kami she did!'_ shot through her mind. Yes, she believed in her daughter, but at the same time she knew that Suzaku was a rather elusive creature. Elusive to her understanding, at least. In all the years, the bird never seized to surprise Hitomi. As such, Hitomi had no idea what to expect from today. '_But she approved! Suzaku-sama accepted Hinata with far more ease than she did me.'_

"I a-am allowed to sign?" Hinata gasped. "Thank you, Suzaku-sama," she quickly bowed to the vermillion bird.

"You hold promise. Your power is likely to surpass Himoti-chan's, and if what she said is true, your insight will be superior as well," Suzaku startled Hinata. "While I would have preferred you to be a little less hesitant, you hold all the qualities I seek in a leader of the Hyuga clan. Even in the days before Konoha, you would have been a good person that would qualify for my training. It seems like this is one of the rare cases where the mother does not give her child too much praise," she added with a hint of amusement in her gentle voice.

"Thank you, Suzaku-sama," Hinata blushed due to the compliment.

"But know this: signing the contract also means that you swear a blood oath to keep all my teachings a secret, unless I allow you to spread them, and in that case only to those who I agree that they deserve such knowledge. Any knowledge about me is kept a secret. Any knowledge about the true history of the Hyuga clan is kept a secret. The only exceptions are if you are preparing your heir, like your mother did with you, or if I approve of the person you wish to tell this secret. But this secret is best kept if as few people as possible are aware of it. If it leaked out that you signed the summoning contract, the consequences would be disastrous," Suzaku was completely serious. She knew that this was extremely important to the young heiress, as the significance of her teachings was great enough to draw unwanted attention too. Suzaku had seen it happen before, that the heir she had chosen for the clan was murdered before he or she could complete the training Suzaku gave.

"I promise."

"Good. Then for the coming years, you must prepare yourself for harsh training. Unlike Hitomi-chan, I think you might be able to master my techniques. But it will be long road to travel. I will not spare you in any way. So your first task will be to find the resolve needed for such an undertaking. Strengthen your heart, young and gentle daughter of Hamura," the bird spread her wings, and vanished in a bright flash of flames.

Hitomi dropped her composure, and rushed forward to hug her daughter. Uncharacteristically as it may be, Hitomi was too proud to keep herself restrained. This show of emotion actually one made Hinata more aware of how crucial this moment had been. "You did great today, Hinata," her mother smiled widely at her. "Now, what do you say, shall we go out to buy some new clothes? It's been far too long since we did that with just the two of us. Know what, I'll even buy you something with a more narrow fit. I'm sure that will attract Naruto-kun's attention.."

"Mother!" Hinata squeaked.

Hitomi winked, showing her deeply embarrassed daughter that she had merely been joking. '_Well, for now, at least…'_

* * *

She frowned. She never saw her sister and her mother act like this. First they spent half of the day cooped up in a room where even her byakugan could somehow not look, and then the two of them were actually laughing while carrying multiple bags with what appeared to be newly bought clothes. Why would her mother of all people be so cheerful when doing work that was better suited for _servants_?

Hanabi's seven year old mind could not process that fact. Her mother, the person within her clan who carried the most significance after her father, performed tasks like a common servant! '_Is this why father said that mother is sometimes a bit strange? I wonder why he said that was normal for a mother though..'_

Knowing full well that it would be pointless to stalk her mother – even father reluctantly admitted that her mother's sight with the byakugan was beyond his own. But her failure of a sister was a different matter. Even someone as low as a branch family member could beat her. So following her without being detected would not be a big problem.

Hinata wasn't like that cat… Hanabi hated to admit it, but even when she teamed up with Konohamaru (with the utmost reluctance of both of them) they had been unable to trap the talking creature. In fact, the only time they came close she, the monkey, and his two minions, were attacked by a horde of cats. Hanabi still counted herself lucky that the peeing one had attacked Konohamaru, and not her. He had reeked for _days_! In fact, she still refused to come too close to his blue scarf, knowing where the majority of the liquid had gone.

And with how the long-tailed talking cat had laughed, the entire situation had certainly not been a coincidence. '_Ugh, I can't let myself get distracted by those atrocious cats. I have to figure out why mother prefers spending time with Hinata-neesan.'_

Unfortunately for Hyuga Hanabi, her stealth skills were not nearly as good as she thought they were. Well, or Hinata was just a whole lot better than her rather arrogant younger sister believed her to be.

Fact was that she saw her sister following her from the very moment she had entered the compound. To some, this kind of behaviour might have been enough to respond with at least mild annoyance, but Hyuga Hinata had always been patient with her sister. Too patient, perhaps. But perhaps… she knew she still had to get used to all these things her mother taught her, and now Suzaku would throw even more knowledge at her. But Hinata felt like, even though she could not do so directly, perhaps she could guide her sister back to the old ways of their clan. Away from the obsession with power Hanabi shared with their father, and towards the way the Hyuga were supposed to be.

"I know you are there, imouto-chan," Hinata sighed after she had entered her own bedroom. She put the bag with her brand new cream-coloured hooded-jacket on her bed. While Hitomi had spent some time teasing her daughter by suggesting more 'revealing' clothing, they had eventually settled for this jacket, along with navy blue pant. They were not nearly as baggy as her old clothing, but Hitomi had joked that Naruto would certainly be cheered up if he saw Hinata in this.

Sadly, the shop attendant had thought Hinata had been sick, unaware that the brightly glowing blush was a normal occurrence for Hinata..

With a scowl, Hanabi popped her head around the door. "You knew?"

"Of course," Hinata remained patient. "It is not really nice to follow someone like that, Hanabi-chan. And I am sure father explained the laws about improper usage of the byakugan too.." she revealed that she knew that Hinabi had used her byakugan to keep an eye on her.

"I-I- Then you used it too!"

"I did not."

"Then how can you know I did?" Hanabi huffed.

"Karin-san says that there are many ways to sense when another person uses chakra," Hinata smiled. It grated Hanabi even more that her older sister calmly smiled like that. '_Exactly like mother!'_

But, even though it was only formally at this point, Hinata was still the heir of their clan. So Hanabi had no choice but to bow and offer her apologies. And whatever punishment that her sister deemed necessary.. Not that Hinata ever punished anyone. That's one of the reasons why Hanabi knew she could get away with stalking her sister, even if she got caught. It was her weakness.

"There is no need for apologies," Hinata kept smiling, although she did begin to frown. Hanabi noticed that this frown occurred at the exact moment when she was thinking about how weak her older sister was. '_Can she… Read my mind? Like mother?'_

"I take it you were curious why mother and I went shopping?"

Hanabi suddenly felt naked under her sister's guise. How could Hinata pinpoint the exact feeling she had? "How do you know?"

"A older sister is supposed to know such things," Hinata laughed when her younger sister pouted. "Sorry, but mother has been teasing me so much, I guess I rubbed off on me."

"Why does she spend so much time with you?"

"Why does father spend so much time with you?"

"She is training you?"

"Father deemed it wiser," Hinata admitted. "As he felt like I had little talent for our clan's taijutsu-style." Hinata wondered why she suddenly had issues with calling it 'gentle fist' like she always did before. '_Suzaku-sama's words really affected me.. But she is right. It is very ironic how father, and the rest of the clan with him, focuses on power, while the style is supposed to be _gentle_. And Hanabi bought my answer. She still thinks I am weak… Why have we never been able to act like normal siblings?'_ Hinata thought, saddened by the insight she had.

Her mother's teaching improved her insight, but at what cost? '_Naruto-kun was right. It sometimes is more convenient to live in a world of lies. This world of truth is a harsh one..'_

"Why did you not beat me?" Hanabi said, after a little while of silence. "That duel in front of father and the elders. You could have beaten me. Why didn't you?"

"Did you want me to hurt you?"

"I.. That should not have mattered!" Hanabi suddenly exclaimed. That patient and understanding voice got to her. "It was a match. We are shinobi. Father is right, you _are _weak!"

Hinata sighed as she saw her younger sister march away. "Is it weakness to have emotions?" she mumbled to herself. "Is it strength to cower away from those emotions? To hide them? To supress them?" Hinata made a mental note. She would have to ask her mother and Suzaku about this. What would they see as strength?

Meanwhile, Hanabi did not understand her older sister at all. She never did. Was she strong? Was she weak? Why did her father call her one, while her mother said the contrary? Frustrated, Hanabi had decided to walk away. It wasn't proper, she knew that. But she knew she could get away with it.

Hanabi knew that if it was Hinata, she would be forgiven.

Even for her jealousy.

* * *

**Bonus: Temptations**

* * *

She hated cleaning. The only thing worse than having to clean a house, is to clean two houses. Especially when both buildings had been abandoned for at least a decade or so. Was there a superlative degree? Sure there was… She had to do it all while being sober. Hell on earth.

'_And mister stick-up-his-arse doesn't cut me any slack either. And the Hyuga slave master has even less mercy,_' Anko grumbled. Inwardly, of course. She didn't want to risk getting more orders from said slave master. Ako would not tolerate such talk, after all. '_Whatever that Iruka-guy didn't tell her, he'd better say it soon. He freaking knows that she is aware he is hiding something. The sooner he tells her, the sooner she gets rid of that nasty temper of hers.'_

Anko jawned. "Fuck it all. I'm going to the kitchen.. I'll do this freaking room tomorrow."

Stepping into the corridor which connected all seven bedrooms in the Uzumaki building, Anko rubbed her eyes in disbelief. "You can't be here," she whispered. But he was. He stood there, and she saw everything. Her eyes wandered down, and frozen when she saw it..

She couldn't believe her eyes. It was perfect. Absolutely perfect..

A bit of drool was seen on Anko's chin as she walked forward, mesmerized by the sight in front of her. "Come to mama," she whispered huskily.

And he was gone.

"Wait!"

* * *

Jiraiya woke up, dragged by his ankle by Tsunade who apparently had the furious intention to use him as a baseball bat. It was not that Tsunade could hit the nimble cat in her intoxicated condition, but the misses would hurt too.

"This must be the worst hangover in the history of mankind," Jiraiya whimpered. Tsunade didn't register that her fellow sannin had woken up though. No, she already started to swing him forward. But again, the cat evaded her.

*Switch,* Sakana panted, the moment he was out of the drunk sannin's sight. *Please switch Suto.. I can't keep this up!*

*Tsk. Fine then, but you'll be working on your endurance for the coming weeks. And a diet,* Suto disliked the lack of discipline with the food-crazed cat. And true ninneko should be in top condition, not indulge himself in loads of sweets..

Outrunning a drunk should be no issue at all for a real ninneko.

* * *

"Don't think you can get away from me," Anko growled. But she couldn't get closer. Every time he vanished. Making her, one of Konoha's top hunter-nins, search for him. Still, Anko enjoyed the challenge. She had seen that it was worth the effort, after all...

There he was again.. Anko charged after it this time. Somehow, a certain jutsu was blocking her vision… but how?

* * *

"She really going nuts, isn't she?" Kiba sighed. He, Hinata, and Kurenai kept a little distance. Reasoning with the drunk and angered Tsunade was rather unsuccessful so far.

"Karin will get Ako and Anko to help us," Kurenai sighed. "We can't capture Tsunade-sama and Chie at the same time."

"Ano, can't you use genjutsu, Kurenai-sensei?"

"On a sannin?" Kurenai shook her head. "No, I would rather not get her after me. Not while she still has this much energy. Senju's and their stamina.."

"Why are we heading in the direction of the Uzumaki compound?" Kiba wondered.

"I wonder what that cat is planning this time," Kurenai had a foreboding feeling that this was going to be a very messy day. "But as long as she's going to a thinly populated area, I'm not going to interfere."

* * *

Frowning, Raido looked down. He stood always the stairways that went down the mountain. Taking a walk was good to clear his head. '_Freaking exhibitionist,'_ he grumbled. Anko really needed a lesson in proper etiquette. '_I wonder why she's running around like that though..'_

His frown got even deeper when he saw Senju Tsunade (still dragging Jiraiya by the ankle) run into the compound. Quickly followed by team eight.

However, this was not what give him a chill down his spine.. Hyuga Ako, flanked by a subdued looking Karin, stood outside. The menacing aura around her made even Anko stop in her mad quest. Well, only for a second. She couldn't let him get away.

Not when she finally cornered him.

"Ah crap, she can't see him!" Anko muttered. "Dammit, I have to catch him before she.. If she got her hands on that bottle, she wouldn't even know how insanely good that particular brand of sake is! She'd throw it away, the heretic," she already felt tears in her eyes from the very idea of seeing such a bottle of sake being smashed in front of her.

The man on the label of the bottle had been a mark of one of the best brands of sake Anko knew. And in her alcohol-deprivation she had never wondered who had been dragging her around with this particular bait. Right until a certain black-and-white cat crashed into her.

"Tag, you're it!" Chie cheered.

"W-wha?" was all Anko could say before Tsunade appeared. Rushing through the forestry, she never saw Anko's beloved bottle… The smell of sake, coming from the bottle she just trampled into a thousand pieces, however did get noticed.

* * *

Raido decided to go back up the mountain, when he saw the battle unfold. In her drunken stupor, Tsunade could barely fend of the enraged Anko, while Ako just grabbed a certain cat by the tail. "I could see that cat trying to put all the blame on me," Raido sighed. "I'd better clear out for now. Ako-san never is very reasonable when it comes to Chie's pranks.. Even Gaara-san admitted being scared. And I don't want to think what Anko might do if she thinks I was behind that joke with the sake bottle. I never should have told that cat to prank her with alcohol. Then again, after the stunts Anko pulled… Perhaps I should buy a bottle for myself, and drink it in front of her?" he mused.

Nobody ever paid attention to the barely conscious Jiraiya though. Serving as a living baseball bat did not go too well with the hangover he already had. And Team eight was just too flabbergasted to remember that he was left behind in the bushes, being dropped the moment Tsunade had to dodge Anko's barrage of senbon.

"I wonder how Sandaime-sama is going to judge the success of this mission," Kurenai pinched the bridge of her nose.

* * *

**A/N**: I mentioned the Hyuga summoning contract a long time ago, and honestly.. I've doubted whether I should be doing this for a long time. I guess I shall explain my choices for a bit: the Hyuga clan was originally (pre-timeskip manga) a clan supposed to be as old and powerful as the Uchiha and Senju. After all, the Hyuga descend from Hamura himself. Sadly, the manga ignored everyone aside from the Senju and Uchiha after the timeskip. And considering how I am not willing to repeat that mistake, I changed things for the Hyuga. I knew right from the start I would have to do something to get them on par with those other two clans. So, I created an alternate history for the Hyuga clan, based on what little we got in the manga. Most notable of my own input is the addition of the summoning contract. Mind you, I designed all this before the whole tenseigan was even a thing, and I was not impressed enough to change my plans. So no 'chakra mode', rinnegan-esque powers, or whatever. I don't feel like those things suit the Hyuga at all. Hinata least of all. No, I'll gradually unfold my plans with regard to the abilities which Suzaku will teach Hinata, so I'm not going to spoil that now… sorry!

I'm offering a second apology to those of you who expected me to introduce Kushina in this chapter. Sorry, but it wasn't the right time for that. Not yet, at least.

The bonus is partly written for **animelove22** this time, (s)he wanted the previous bonus part to be continued, and I saw a nice way of increasing the chaos created by Chie's sake-prank on Anko.

My recommendation for today: I'd like to recommend the author **Alabaster Ink**. He or she wrote several extremely cute NaruHina family oneshots, as well as a few shorter stories. Especially **Whiskers** caught my attention. Talking about oneshots: I recently published my second oneshot! You can find '**The Great Duel**' on my profile page. I hope you like the extra NaruHina family chaos!

In case you saw some grammar errors today: my trusty beta **Illuminated **is enjoying his vacation right now. I'll pester him with the next chapter after he's back! I am going on a break of a couple of weeks myself too. Not sure if I'm able to write much while away, but have no fear: after reaching the one thousand favourites mark there is no way I'm going to quit! I guess I'm aiming for 1k reviews now?

I wonder who would win though: drunk Tsunade or sober Anko?

-Z-


	51. Demise pt1

**Chunin arc**

**Demise pt1**

* * *

Aburame Shino was not the type of person to easily display his emotions. For as long as he could remember, he was calm and collected. He was someone whose actions were based on proper logic rather than chaotic emotions. He acted exactly as a good Aburame was expected to, but still… today, Shino wasn't as calm a he wanted to be. In fact, he had to make a conscious effort to suppress the frown that constantly tried to emerge on his face.

Then again, loyalty to his team was something of key importance to him. While his insects were far easier to interact with, his teammates were, odd as they may be to him, a connection to humanity that he valued very much. But under the current circumstances, he began to question the functionality of his team- almost to the extent that he started to regret not being on his original team any more. Because, while Kiba had been an anomaly to Shino, since he was a being who was driven by emotion to the same extent as Shino was by logic, Hinata and Kurenai had been far easier to interact with.

Instead, Shino felt helpless as he saw a distant Kakashi, who seemed unable to comprehend his teammates' feelings, a very angry Uchiha, and the emotional chaos which was named Haruno Sakura. Admittedly, Shino could not blame Sakura for her fluctuating behavior. The young kunoichi had first lost her mother, and now her father had died due to an accident. While Shino could logically comprehend the sorrow which Sakura felt, her moments of rage surprised him. It eluded him why someone would blame an intoxicated person for having an accident, or why she would be enraged at someone who had already left their world. What point was there for her to blame her father?

Shino knew that alcohol was a tool used by many shinobi in order to find a temporary escape from the emotions that cropped up within them. And while the Aburame did not require such a crude method to control themselves, they understood the function it served well enough- even though the method was obviously flawed. The number of accidents caused by intoxicated people, such as the latest rampage of Senju Tsunade through the main street of Konoha, was evidence of that.

By definition, people who were under the influence of alcohol were not in control of their actions. It was a cardinal sin in the eyes of every Aburame, but… well, the Aburame simply had better teachers. Their insects showed them the way- a far less confusing way.

In that contrast, the behavior of his last teammate was the most difficult to understand for Shino. Insects did not bear grudges. Insects did not strive for pointless violence, especially not against those who are considered allies- but Uchiha Sasuke had ended up in hospital for those exact reasons. Shino noted that while he and his team visited him there, none of the others really seemed to be there. Sakura was distracted by her own grief, and didn't fawn over Sasuke like she usually did– Shino had to admit to himself that this was the only positive that came out of all these horrible events. Kakashi, their sensei, seemed to be at a loss for words. Shino suspected that he was mostly disappointed in Sasuke, although he wondered why Kakashi didn't intervene earlier. All the signs that Sasuke had been having issues with his temper were there. Issues which clearly were not solved.

Uncharacteristically, Shino had been the person who had talked most of the four- even while not speaking more than usual…

On his way back to his clan's compound, Shino couldn't help but release the sigh which had been building up for the last hour. '_I am beginning to think that Naruto-san was not the one at fault, unlike how Sakura-san insisted. While his behavior is highly illogical too, Sasuke__'__s unprovoked attack would suggest that the reason for his conflict with Naruto could also originate from him; therefore, I might have judged Naruto unjustly.__'_

Yes, interacting with other humans was a confusing activity. Highly illogical.

* * *

Raido looked to his side, and realized that for once Anko was feeling completely the same way as he felt. They were out of place here. "Hokage-sama, are you sure Mitarashi-san and I should-"

"I am no longer your Hokage, Raido-kun," Hiruzen chided him gently. "But you two should remain here, yes. You two should stay near, in case Jiraiya or Tsunade need help."

"You're seriously going to let that kid go through with this? Now, of all times?" Anko gritted her teeth, trying to suppress her frustration. "You know how much he's already struggling!"

"I do, Anko-chan, and that's why I asked him to do it now," Hiruzen smiled, much to the confusion of the two tokubetsu jonin. "It is why we are doing this up here, on the top of the mountain ridge where there is little left to destroy, yet still within the barrier of the Uzumaki compound. Besides, Jiraiya and Tsunade are here as well."

"Please don't say 'what could go wrong', because if you say that shit will definitely hit the fan," Anko grumbled. Raido, having far too much respect for Hiruzen to actually voice any disagreements, silently agreed.

"He really grew on you, didn't he?"

"W-what?" Anko blinked.

"The way you are worried, both of you, about what might happen to Naruto-kun," Hiruzen clarified. "It has been a while, since I last saw you worrying about someone else."

"He… I don't usually give a damn about people, considering how everyone treats me anyway. But that kid is different," Anko admitted. "It could be frustrating at times, but the mission sure was fun. He's like some kind of insane little brother, who actually knows what it is to… well, you know," she moved her shoulder a little, making it obvious to Hiruzen that she was pointing at the cursed seal Orochimaru left her with.

"You of all people calling someone else insane, that's a new one," Raido mumbled.

"Wow, even mister stick-up-his-ass is making jokes now?"

"You should've heard Raido and Genma, when they had enough sake, at the campfires at night," Hiruzen chuckled, thinking back at the times they were his guards. "Ah, it's nostalgic to think back to those times. It's so sad that Genma died," he sighed, sad that the man had lost his life at the hands of the Akatsuki shinobi who had attempted to capture Gaara and Naruto.

"He's ready, sensei," Tsunade stomped forward. "I'm still thinking you've lost it, though."

"He isn't completely stupid," Jiraiya joined them. Raido noted the sad look on the face of the Godaime Hokage.

"You heard what he said, he has to use the Kyuubi's chakra again," Tsunade snarled. "You know the effect that demon has on him, and you still want to proceed with it? Baki himself said that Gaara could stay here as long as it would take, and cautioned that we should avoid unnecessary risks."

"Sure, he did," Jiraiya sighed. "Sunagakure knows that it depends on us, or more specifically on Naruto, when it comes to the fate of their jinchuriki. And they know full well that Gaara is one of their strongest assets _if _he is sane. Why else do you think Baki gave those scrolls to Naruto? They want to ensure he's doing his absolute best, even though they realize he relates more to Gaara than any non-jinchuriki could possibly understand."

"Handing him copies of Pakura's scrolls on her shakuton abilities was certainly unexpected," Hiruzen chimed in. "But it seems like Naruto is ready."

Jiraiya nodded. The business with Sunagakure wasn't exactly unimportant, but with the new treaties signed in the past week since Jiraiya had taken the position of Godaime, relations between Suna and Konoha had at least been restored to a decent level. After all, breaking recently-signed treaties was a thing that was highly frowned upon in their world. And Sunagakure already had suffered a lot of damage to its reputation, after the way it had launched an attack on Konoha during the Chunin Exams. But with the election of Jiraiya, Suna's council had been willing to accept that they had to make concessions after those events. Jiraiya also knew that the recent improvements between Kirigakure and Konoha also aided this: Sunagakure was afraid to be left out, as it knew that Konoha didn't need an alliance any longer to maintain the balance against the threats of Kumogakure and Iwagakure.

Frankly, Jiraiya felt like the gesture of returning Kankuro with the corpse of the late Kazekage had been a genius move as well, because it had only further increased the goodwill from Suna's side. And Jiraiya valued the alliance between Suna and Konoha far more than the possibility of uncovering teh secrets behind the late Kazekage's kekkei genkai. Many within the council had argued against this, saying that Konoha should value power above anything else, but Jiraiya disagreed. In his view, power only brought more war, yet it would take kindness and tolerance to establish a peace. This was what the Sandaime had taught his students, and this was also in line with Jiraiya's personal views on what he called the 'cycle of hatred'.

"Still, to rush things like this," Tsunade hesitated. "It only seems to invite troubles, and for what reason?"

Naruto sat in front of Gaara, focusing to gather his and the Kyuubi's chakra. He had already drawn the changes that he would insert in Gaara's seal, under Jiraiya's watchful gaze. But between him and Gamazu, the professor amongst the toads, he had found no logical reason to assume that the design which Naruto had created these past weeks wouldn't work. Quite honestly, Jiraiya was a bit surprised at how much Naruto had grown in the art of fuinjutsu, despite knowing that his kage bunshin method made him learn far faster than normal people ever could.

Looking up, Naruto nodded towards Jiraiya. "Good luck, kiddo," the latter sighed. "Sensei, are you still prepared to go through with this?"

Tsunade frowned, caught off guard by his words.

"I am, Jiraiya. We already discussed this, it is unavoidable," Hiruzen's voice had a determination in it which made Tsunade shiver.

"What are you two planning?" she asked suspiciously. "What is going on?"

"Go, Naruto!" Jiraiya ignored her question and signaled his godson to start the sealing.

* * *

"No double agendas this time, right?" Naruto stood in front of the Kyuubi within his mindscape, looking at him with more than a dollop of suspicion.

"We made a deal, and I gave my word I would help you in changing Shukaku's wretched seal, didn't I?"

"Last time you gave your word, you still screwed me over," Naruto growled. "Give me your word that you're not going to mess with my seal this time."

The demonic kitsune sighed. "Fine, I will try my best to minimize the strain my chakra will create on that stupid seal. And it is not like I broke my word last time, because I stopped Shukaku exactly as I promised. You were just dumb enough not to realize the additional damage it would cause," the bijuu chuckled darkly.

"Yeah, I underestimated how much of prick you are," Naruto frowned. "All those words about honor, about how you detested humans who always lied and deceived, and you still ended up doing something that underhanded…"

"Don't push me too far, human," the fox narrowed its eyes.

"Well, for a freaking demon, you did something pretty damn similar to what humans do, when you screwed me over back then," Naruto huffed. "Now, give me the chakra I need so that we can get this over with. I owe it to Gaara to make sure his seal is fixed before you destroy mine. Even if I'm doomed, I could at least make sure he lives a happy life."

"Tsk. Fine, it's yours. Just don't waste it; the less you use of it, the less the amount of damage will be to your seal," the annoyed demon felt obliged to add his warning.

"After what you pulled, you bet your furry ass I'm going to use as little of it as I possibly can. As inevitable as it may be, I'd rather stay sane for a little while longer," Naruto looked up once more, the disgust and distrust clear in his gaze, before he turned around and left the sewer-like room.

'_Comparing me to a lowly human… The kit has guts, I have to hand him that. But what irks me most is that it was indeed deceptive,__'_ the somewhat guilt-ridden Kyuubi mused. Despite his annoyance, he couldn't escape the fact that the promise of 'help' he had given to Naruto when he fought the jinchuriki of the Ichibi was mostly aimed at helping himself. Not lies, if one chose to nit-pick on the wording, but… that very action was something he deemed more human than Kurama wanted to admit.

* * *

Lying as still as he possibly could, Sabaku no Gaara watched as the eyes of his brother-in-burden changed in color. Normally, the crimson chakra would have already intimidated Gaara, mostly due to the Ichibi's frenzy that followed as a response, but today it was worse. It was not just Shukaku's fear rising in him, but also his own. Then again, the success Naruto had with this seal would determine his fate. Live or die, it depended on whether or not the 'keyhole' in the new seal that held the Ichibi at bay could be inserted successfully.

His life was on the line, as any mistake would destabilize his seal and unleash the Ichibi. If the new element was not inserted successfully, the Ichibi could continue to gather chakra until it reached a level where the seal would collapse under the pressure- which would mean death. If the new element did not fit or not function properly for some reason, the seal would be weak and Gaara would once again fall under the demon's control. In Gaara's opinion, death would be a better fate.

Still, if it could be a success…Gaara would be able to control the Ichibi's chakra to some degree, releasing the surplus of its chakra in a controlled fashion. It would make Gaara one of the strongest shinobi of Sunagakure, if not _the_ strongest, and an invaluable asset when it came to the defense of his village. After all, what lunatic would opt to assault a village in the centre of a desert, when there was someone who could control that desert? It would be a mass suicide, because any who would try would end up being crushed by Gaara.

But if Gaara died… Baki had made it pretty clear that his death, so soon after the Kazekage died, would most likely lead to other nations trying to launch an assault on Sunagakure, sooner rather than later, as there was only a limited window of opportunity before the Ichibi would respawn.

"Remember: don't move, and don't try to mold any chakra," Naruto repeated his earlier words. "I don't want to tell Temari that I accidentally ended up killing you because you sneezed, all right?"

"I am ready."

"Good. Now, this will hurt for a moment," Naruto added a warning which Gaara would've liked to have known earlier- not that such knowledge would've helped him in any way.

Chakra flooded his body. Warm, scorching hot chakra. It ran through him like liquid fire, and Gaara clenched his teeth in an attempt to suppress the scream that he felt down his throat. Pain- for years Gaara hadn't known what it was, not physical pain at least, but this… this excruciating pain…

Oddly, his defenses never reacted. Or perhaps Naruto had somehow temporarily sealed that? Gaara did not know. Nor did he care too much either, at this moment.

"Don't move," Naruto hissed, mercilessly ignoring the pain Gaara would suffer. This pain was the smallest price which Gaara would have to pay, so he would just have to bear it. Naruto knew that some of the influx of chakra could have been regulated in ways that would cause less pain, but for some odd reason, Hiruzen and Jiraiya had insisted that Naruto would do the sealing as soon as possible.

Naruto watched carefully as the extensive patterns of ink that he had drawn earlier now started to glow. Like tiny crimson snakes, the symbols started to move, swirling down the paths Naruto had ordered them to go, straight into the seal he had put on Gaara during the final round of the Chunin Exams.

'_Good, seems like everything is going according to plan,__'_ part of Naruto's mind indicated, while most of his attention remained on the seal. Any small loss of concentration could be fatal now. Everything had to be right. The most difficult aspect of all was maintaining the exact same balance between his own and the Kyuubi's chakra as he had during the first sealing.

That balancing was not made any easier by the seemingly endless flow of chakra that the sealing demanded now. How could such a small element require such an amount of chakra?

Sweat drops started to appear on his forehead, and Naruto saw the squirming Gaara pant with an equal amount of exhaustion as he himself felt – seriously, feeling as if you are burned from the inside out did not feel very comfortable. But it was done…

His shoulders slumped, and Naruto would have fallen over if Jiraiya hadn't appeared next to him.

"Did it work?"

Naruto smiled weakly, though confidently, at the worried Godaime. "Of course it did, Erokage-sama," he boasted. "How could a genius like me fai-ughh," Naruto doubled over.

"Kid! Are you okay?"

His eyes shut, Naruto tried to bite away the excruciating pain in his stomach.

"Oi, answer me dammit," was it Anko or Tsunade speaking now, or both? Naruto couldn't tell. He was too tired. And his stomach… it was as if everything was on fire. As if his body was falling apart.

"F-fine," Naruto gasped. "I'm fine. G-give me my scroll."

"Yeah right, like I'm going to let you kill yourself," Jiraiya scoffed, making the two women gasp. "Or did you really think that I wouldn't check this 'back up' of yours?"

"I'm not in the mood to be reprimanded, old man," Naruto growled. "Give me the damn scroll, take Gaara, and scram. Now."

"Like hell we are," Anko snapped. "Don't think we're going to-"

"Sensei…" Tsunade's near-whispering voice drew Naruto's attention.

"Raido, Anko, you two take Gaara to the living quarters down the mountain," Hiruzen ordered.

"But-" Anko's protest was cut off when Raido put a hand on the snake-mistress' shoulder and shook his head.

"It was an honor, Sandaime-sama," the scarred tokubetsu jonin said while he bowed deeply to show his respect.

"The honor was mine, Raido," Hiruzen smiled softly, ignoring Anko's confused looks. "And if you would listen to the last advice of this selfish old man: please do not make the mistake I made. Live, Raido. Not just for the sake of the village, not for the sake of duty, but also for yourself and your own happiness."

Raido blinked, and looked up at the old man. "I… I shall try to do as you wish," the stoic man replied honestly. Honestly, because he knew that such a thing would be difficult for him. If not impossible, as it went straight against every custom imprinted in his behavioral patterns- to the point where Genma had often joked that he was the only bug-free Aburame in the village.

"Perhaps Anko can teach you a thing or two," Hiruzen chuckled.

Lifting up the completely exhausted Gaara, who was still struggling to endure the pain, Raido looked one last time at the Hokage whom he had served so long. He then jumped away, following orders, always following orders. Anko looked at Hiruzen, still confused about the exchange of words; then she shrugged and followed Raido.

"What are you playing at," Tsunade's voice had an edge that worried Naruto.

"Shiki fujin," Jiraiya whispered. He put the nearly paralyzed Naruto down, and removed the dark green kimono that covered the boy's stomach. Tsunade saw the seal on Naruto, glowing like a feverish wound, and felt her innards freeze when she realized what was going on.

"You can't!" she gasped.

"I can, I will, I must," Hiruzen declared, though as kindly as possible, which decisively ended any possible discussion.

"Don't, Hime," Jiraiya grabbed Tsunade by the arm. "Nothing you say will stop this. And I tried everything I can possibly think of, which is a lot more than even you would be able to, to be frank, considering that this concerns fuinjutsu."

"You can't be serious! Jiraiya, you can't let him go through with this!"

"Old man, what are you going to do?" Naruto frowned. "You know I can't hold the fox back for that much longer. I did what I had to do, so why can't you just let me end my life the way I want? I would rather take that bastard down with me, than allow him to control me and then hurt everyone precious to me!"

"That is not necessary, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen smiled fondly. "You will live, and you will remain in control of your own body, at least for as much time as I can possibly buy you."

"Buy time? What are you talking about?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, I offer you my final words. The jutsu which I am about to do is one that will claim my life, but in return, it will strengthen your seal."

Naruto cringed as the Kyuubi suddenly started to push as much chakra into Naruto's body as it possibly could. And Naruto barely had the ability to restrain himself. He… he wanted to kill, to maim, to tear everything into tiny pieces- to burn down the atrocious village that never-

Jiraiya spied Naruto's wild and deep red eyes, and slapped a paper tag on top of Naruto's head. Instantly, Naruto felt relieved, as he regained control over his chakra and his body. "What are you saying? And why is the Kyuubi going into a panicked frenzy because of it?" he muttered weakly, when he finally caught his breath again.

"Because it has probably realized what I am about to do," Hiruzen couldn't help but feel a rather large amount of satisfaction for scaring the mightiest of the Bijuu in his final moments. "The Shiki Fujin was the seal which Minato used to seal the Kyuubi in you. While the Hakke Fuin is the design of its prison, the Shiki Fujin was what empowered it. And as the name, dead demon consuming seal, states, it is backed by the might of the shinigami itself. But… there is a price that needs to be paid for its help."

"You're going to sacrifice your life," Naruto realized. He didn't even need to see the tears that were dripping from Tsunade chin to know that it was true.

"Don't feel bad about it," Hiruzen assured the boy. "I am dying anyway, Orochimaru made sure of that, remember? I made my share of mistakes, and can be blamed for many of the bad things that happened to you. Giving up the last few days I have is but a small price I could pay in order to repent for that."

"Jii-san, you don't need to… I don't want you to… not for me, not like this… No…"

"I am only an old man at the end of his days, Naruto. But you, you are the future of Konoha. You endured things that would make most others fall in an instant. You endured years of hatred, shunned by a village that could not, and would not, understand the price you paid on their behalf. Even with a seal that was slowly decaying, you endured the hatred of the demon inside you, reaching out to all those around you. I know, Naruto, that you will become a far better Hokage than I have ever been. Just do not make the same mistake as I did. This goes for all three of you," Hiruzen looked up at his former students as well. "Do not focus merely on the village. Do not mistake the means for the end. Konoha is but a part of the world, and not the world itself. Shodaime-sama created our village to end wars, not to continue waging wars on a larger scale. Remember that."

The wide-eyed blond watched as Sarutobi Hiruzen, the professor, the god of shinobi, performed his last set of hand seals. Naruto was too stunned to even pay attention to which seals they were, and Jiraiya squeezed his shoulder. Looking up, Naruto saw the sad grimace on his godfather's face, one so uncharacteristically for the usually so goofy man.

"Shiki Fujin," Hiruzen exclaimed, grimacing due to the strain it put on his fragile body. Casting it cost more chakra than he anticipated. Or had his reserves dwindled more than he had realized?

A large and horrid, translucent, gaunt spectre with a demonic visage appeared behind the old Hokage, but Naruto noted that neither Tsunade nor Jiraiya reacted when it appeared. Naruto could see though, when Hiruzen had his hand on Naruto's seal. But the Shinigami wasn't all that Naruto saw.

A silhouette of Hiruzen himself floated in front of it.

"Be strong, Naruto," Hiruzen whispered. "Continue to endure. Change the world, and leave it a better place. That is the highest goal a shinobi could pursue. Do not delude yourself by thinking that strength or skill will make any difference. No, a truly great shinobi changes the world so that the next generation will get a better life. We too are but a means, never the end. We only serve as a transition for those born after us in the endless cycle called life."

"I will, old man, I promise I will. I swear on my life…"

"Good. And never sacrifice your life as easily as you were about to do just now. I give you what little is left of mine, so you are no longer just responsible for just your own life… Make me proud. I know you can do it!"

An indecipherable pattern of symbols spread over the Shinigami's arm, and then it plunged its hand into the soul of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

A sob escaped Tsunade's throat as she saw the blood run from her teacher's mouth.

Naruto gasped when he felt the cold hand of death literally touching him. The most surreal feeling chakra Naruto had ever encountered spread. This chakra was just so alien, almost even more inhuman than that of the Kyuubi itself. Naruto realized that this was why Hiruzen executed this specific jutsu. Just like Naruto had to do for Gaara, his own seal could also only be safely reinforced or altered by using the exact same chakra as the Yondaime had used to empower the original design. In other words: only someone knowing the Shiki Fujin would be able to help him repair the seal. This was why Hiruzen had said that he was the only one capable of helping him; only he knew the jutsu he and Minato had declared forbidden.

The determined grimace on Hiruzen's face slowly changed into a peaceful smile. The old man knew he had offered all of his chakra, down to the very last drop, to the Shinigami. And according to the contract, Naruto's seal was restored, stronger than it had been for many years. To his shock, Hiruzen realized that he had just _completed_ the seal. Several elements had never been drawn out completely. They were details that no one would see, unless they would be connected to the Shinigami itself, the source of the seal's energy.

'_Minato never got to complete the jutsu? But how… Minato knew the Shiki Fujin better than anyone, and the Hakke Fuin… He should not have made such mistakes,__'_ Hiruzen panted. From the corner of his eye, he saw that the Shinigami had moved its tanto down, and was about to drag him into its belly- the place where Hiruzen knew he would have to reside for the rest of eternity, the price he paid to buy Konoha a better future. _'He should not have made such mistakes, unless-__'_

"The seal… It wasn't complete… That day… someone… interrupted Minato… while sealing the Kyuu-" Hiruzen gasped before the Shinigami claimed his soul.

Lifeless, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the god of shinobi, fell forward into Jiraiya's arms. Tears flowed on the sennin's face as he lay down the body of his sensei, his example. The man had been like a father to him, back when he had been nothing but a poor, but talented, orphan.

"Rest in peace, old man," he whispered. He knew that there would be time enough to mull over the lasts words the man had uttered. What could he have meant when he said Minato was interrupted during the sealing ceremony? "Asuma, Kurenai, I know you're there, just come forth."

A shaky and subdued Asuma, supported by Kurenai, walked forward. Even though Hiruzen had asked them to stay home after telling them what he was going to do, they hadn't listened. How could they? With Kurenai's prowess in genjutsu, hiding hadn't been that difficult either. "You stubborn old man," Asuma wept. "Why did you have to be so damn honorable to the very end? Goodbye dad…"

Kurenai embraced Asuma, letting her own tears escape as well. Their hands intertwined, now adorned with the rings they had exchanged in a small private ceremony just two days ago.

Naruto didn't notice them though. He stared up into the skies, oblivious to the four grieving adults around him. Unlike them, he couldn't cry. He could not let his emotions flow out. He wanted to, he really did, but somehow he couldn't. Something blocked him. Something stopped the tears. It angered him; he felt like his heart was ripped apart by a thousand needles, yet he couldn't even force a damn tear out of his eyes.

'_Goodbye old man. Thank you. For everything. For being there for me. And I never blamed you for anything that happened to me, I told you that. How could I? Apart from Ero-sennin, you were the only person looking after me. Until Hinata-chan found me, before I met Haruki and Ako, you two were the only ones who would acknowledge my existence. How could I not love you like you were family? Why did you think I called you my jii-san?__'_ finally, the first tear escaped. '_How could I not admire who you were? I made my promise, but right now I can__'__t imagine how I ever could become a better Hokage than you were..__'_

The first tear was soon followed by many more.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, had left this world. And he had given Naruto a peace and quiet which he would only later realized. No longer would the Kyuubi's hatred affect his every waking thought and emotion. Naruto was freed. He was himself again. The influence that had seeped into him was sealed once more, as the demon's prison was reinforced. In his death, Sarutobi Hiruzen had given Naruto a chance to live: a chance to grow strong, a chance to become powerful enough to resist the corrupting influences of the Kyuubi no Yoko. Sarutobi Hiruzen had also given Naruto time: time for the boy to grow strong, independent from the fox.

It was a sacrifice Naruto would never forget, and he swore to repay it, no matter the price. '_I will make the world a better place, jii-san. No matter the cost, the next generation will get a world of peace. It is the promise of a lifetime. No, two lifetimes!__'_

* * *

**A/N**: Credits to those who deserve it: **Illuminated** for beta-ing the chapter; **trafalgarlaw10** for giving me so many reviews (thanks!); and **Dreckman** for setting me on the path that led me to the idea of Hiruzen using the Shiki Fujin to restore Naruto's seal. Without him, I would never have questioned my original ideas on this element of the story. But I like this scenario much more than the original ideas I had regarding Hiruzen's demise.

No bonus part today. Sorry about that, I actually wrote one, but it just felt completely out of place after how this chapter ended. If you want something fun though, you could always check out my newest oneshot "**The Great Duel**", which I posted shortly before my break.

As for recommendations: have you ever read **Naruto: Wind Monk Banishment** by **Born of Prayers**? Not the most cheerful story, but it sure as hell kept me on edge. Though, it is definitely not pro-Konoha. But I found it a nice deviation of the usual cliché that Konoha is, for some unknown reason, 'good' while all the other villages are evil. And why? What makes Konoha any better than the others? Even the manga failed to explain that properly to me. As if Danzo was the only bad guy in town..

Oh, and I guess I could spoil you all by saying that the title is not a mistake. Please look forward to Demise pt2!

-Z-


	52. Demise pt2

**Sasuke retrieval arc**

**Demise pt2**

* * *

Walking on the, by now, familiar path through the forest line, Tenten frowned a little at the sight in front of her. As she passed the torii that marked the entrance to the Uzumaki compound, Tenten saw countless Narutos on the large pond. But on top of the wooden platform in the center, where the bridges crossing the pond were connected, stood Mitarashi Anko, a very happy Mitarashi Anko.

"Target practice," one of the copies yelled as he jumped on the bridge. His black shirt, sporting the Uzumaki clan symbol, was soaked. By the smell of it, although they stood a few meters apart, Tenten strongly suspected it was from sweat and not from the pond below.

"You're exaggerating everything again?" she hollered, and then pinched the bridge of her nose while muttering something about 'boys' and 'ridiculous training methods'.

"Errr, only a little," Naruto shrugged. "But after the thing with Sasuke, I realized I had to up my speed. I mean, that bastard wasn't even the quickest guy at the Chunin Exams, and he still had me on the ropes while I couldn't use kage bunshin. Luckily, Anko is… well, I wonder if I should call it _friendly_," the blond frowned. "Ah well, let's just say that she's friendly enough to help me out. Aside from testing my new limits on how much chakra I have, it is giving me more experience in how to dodge and evade attacks. Even though I can't train my physical speed this way."

"She's just happy that she has an endless supply of clones which she can kill, isn't she," Tenten deadpanned, seeing the maniacal grin on the older kunoichi's face.

"Kinda. Though, I would rather have her blow off steam here, than let her continue with her crazy attempts at making Raido a more social man," a sweatdrop ran down the back of the blond's head. Then again, Anko's methods, which usually involved pain or snakes, or both, didn't really seem to be related to what she said she wanted to do. '_She__'__s just annoyed she hasn__'__t tortured or interrogated anyone, and now she tries to take it out on us. Well, on Raido, at least. Kurenai-sensei won__'__t allow her to touch any of us, and Ako-chan is… well, even Anko knows when to back off.__'_

"Boss is at the temple, just knock at the front door before you enter, in case he's doing something crazy again," the clone continued aloud. "Though I bet that crazy snake lady is going pop at least one of my brothers before you arrive, so Boss will know you're coming.."

"You're all alone with Anko?"

"Nope. Raido and Gaara are up the mountain with Yamato, as Gaara is doing chakra control exercises. Temari has a few of my brethren with her, to teach us how to improve our futon jutsus. _My_ futon jutsus… Errr, whatever. We are all me, so who cares. And Karin… well, she's having some fun with Kurenai-sensei and the others, going through a lot of training," the clone chuckled.

* * *

"S-sensei, do we… really need to… do this?" Karin panted.

"Of course," Kurenai frowned. "Kiba and Hinata aren't having much trouble, so I think you should really keep working on improving your stamina."

"At least you recover quicker that we do," Kiba smirked. "Though, this was only the warming up exercise!" Akamaru yipped in affirmation and hopped over to the now depressed Uzumaki.

"I'm sure you'll improve quickly, Karin-san," Hinata encouraged her. If anyone could relate to Karin's lack of confidence, it would be Hinata. "When we first became genin, we had to adjust to the training regime too."

"Yeah.. Konoha certainly trains its genin harder than Kusa ever did," Karin sighed. "Ah well, let's continue. I'm not going to hold you back this time!"

Kurenai couldn't help but smile at the determination of her genin. In her years, she had seen more than her fair share of shinobi who lost motivation after dropping out of the exams. Not everyone had the willpower to continue pursuing their goals after having such a setback, not to mention that many lost their innocent ideas on what it means to be a shinobi. Too many genin still entered the exams with some kind of romanticized idea of their careers, and were unguarded against the brutal onslaught that usually followed during the first rounds which weeded out the weakest and most naïve of them.

'_Sometimes is it just so easy to forget that they are still just children…__'_

* * *

Just before Tenten went to knock on the old and weathered door which closed off the Uzumaki mask storage temple, a voice resounded, telling her to come in. "You've really lived among the Hyuga too long, didn't you?" Tenten muttered, walking towards the main hall.

"Nope, but I did put up a lot of barriers around this place, so I knew someone was right in front of the door," Naruto answered, surprising the girl with how sharp his hearing was. The main hall was now filled with two large tables, whose tops couldn't be seen due to the vast amount of books and scrolls littered on top of them.

"Whoa, what bomb did explode in this place? Or was it a tornado that created this chaos?"

"I, eh… Guess I have to clean up, don't I?" Naruto laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I had to do a lot of research for Gaara's sealing, and considering how Ako and the others don't come in this place… I mean, usually I just clean my room because Ako gets mad if I don't. She can be surprisingly strict for someone who appears to be so calm…"

"They don't enter this room? Why not?" Tenten frowned.

"They're afraid. See those masks?" Naruto pointed at the podium, of sorts, where several oni-masks hung beneath three connected symbols of the Uzumaki clan. "Those things are rather dangerous. That's the reason why I put up barriers around this place, even though it is within the confines of this compound."

Tenten noticed that something was off about those things. In fact, they spooked her. As if the demonic visages were actual faces, staring at her. Seeing the girl take a step back, Naruto smiled. "Don't worry, they don't bite."

"What are those things?"

"Not sure," Naruto chuckled when she glared at him. "I'm not going to take any risks with those things, seriously. Some feel like they would suck out my soul if I'd put them up, others feel like a promise of endless torment, and others…" Naruto shivered for a moment. "I have to study the seals engraved on the masks in perfect detail, before I'm even doing a thing with them. And that's only for the ones that don't freak me out. The really bad ones… I'm not touching those, not for a hundred million ryo."

Tenten paled a little. Whatever frightened Naruto, someone who was unfazed even when confronting a bijuu, was something wayyyy beyond her comfort zone.

Rummaging through a pile of scrolls on the table, Naruto finally found what he was looking for. "Here," he threw it towards Tenten. "It's a copy of a weight seal, which includes some pre-sets which you could switch between when activated, so that it is easier to apply to the weapons you wield."

"Wha?" Tenten stared owlishly at the blond.

"You used something like that to beat Shino, during the finals. This version is a bit more advanced. I thought you would like it, considering how it complements nicely with your Bukijutsu. I mean, it's a seal that can be applied to most of your weapons. Well, except for the throwing weapons, I guess," Naruto considered. "But you'd be a better judge of that. It's your specialty, after all."

"T-thanks," Tenten felt a bit awkward that Naruto just handed her such a jutsu, without even asking for anything in return.

"No problem," Naruto smiled widely. For an instant, Tenten was stunned by the realization of how much the boy had changed. No longer did he have that distant look in his eyes, as if he distrusted the entire world around him. No, his blue eyes had a cheerful sparkle that just seemed to be too contagious to resist. "How are Bushy Brows, Neji, and Bushier Brows Sensei doing?"

"Training, of course," Tenten sighed. "Ever since you beat Lee, his 'flames of youth' are burning higher than ever. So I had to get away for a while, as I couldn't stand Gai sensei's rants on 'youth' any longer. As for Neji, well, he seems to have changed a lot. He spends a lot more time with us now, though the death of his father hit him hard," she admitted.

"Losing those dear to you… If it didn't affect him at all, he wouldn't have had a heart," Naruto grimaced, and Tenten saw that despite the cheerful attitude earlier, Naruto was still a rather contemplative. "And that would've been worse than the pain he feels right now."

"What did you do to him?"

"Eh?"

"Neji, he hated his clan. He had so much anger that Gai-sensei even considered taking him out of the exams, saying that Neji wasn't ready for promotion yet. But after you beat him… He suddenly addresses Hinata as 'sama', but without any of the sarcasm or gloomy expressions which he used to have with it. And attending the party for your birthday too, it was almost a bit out of character for him."

"Neji was cornered, and did things most people would have done, I guess. Hinata convinced me to force him from the path he was on. Frankly, if it had been up to me at that point, I would rather have murdered him for what he did during the prelims. But Hinata showed me that my beliefs were just as wrong as Neji's. Hatred isn't something that emerges without a cause. I was merely fighting the symptoms, while Hinata showed me that it is far more effective to confront the root cause."

"What do you mean?" Tenten frowned. "You mean that whole main and branch business from the Hyuga clan? You messed with his seal, didn't you?" she realized.

"I trust you, Tenten, so I won't lie and deny it- but never tell anyone that I can do that," Naruto looked her in the eyes. "If the Hyuga knew I could mess with their caged bird seal system, they wouldn't be very pleased. Well, that would be an understatement… Considering the power the Hyuga clan has, this is the kind of stuff that could cause civil wars."

Tenten paled, and was too speechless to do anything but nod.

"I know that Lee and Gai-sensei wouldn't question his behavior, and happily accept it as a change for the better. But you're too inquisitive," Naruto smiled. "You'd ask. And Neji can't give the honest answer without revealing this secret. And knowing him, I suspect his response would be rather disrespectful…" Noticing Tenten's grimaced, he started chuckling. "Now you know why he was such a prick about it."

"I suppose.. Not that I like it. Stupid secrets everywhere," Tenten mumbled.

"We're shinobi. It's not like all our conflicts could just be solved by turning it into a contest of whose jutsu is the most destructive. No, the secretive stuff is part of our lives. Though, I'd agree that just blowing everything apart would be an easier solution at times. At the same time, we can't expect people to just change after a single conversation. That would be utterly unrealistic," Naruto shrugged. He walked over to the other side of the hall, and took out his bo staff. "How about a spar? I haven't trained bojutsu since before the Jii-san fixed my seal."

"Yeah… Though, I have a question on differentiating elemental types of chakra for the chakra-conductors within barrier seal too, but we can deal with that afterwards. And I wouldn't mind venting some frustration," her predatory smile made Naruto pause for a second.

"Damn, everyone treats me like a punching bag these days," his shoulders slumped down due to a (mostly) faked depression.

"We're just trying to cheer you up," Tenten giggled. "And your less depressing attitude as of late also invites it. Now, we can at least mess with you, without having your eyes glowing red."

"Then I suppose me getting bullied is an unwanted side effect of getting my seal fixed? Ah well, I guess it's better than having the Kyuubi panting on the back of your neck."

"Is what Jiraiya-sama said really true? That Sandaime-sama reinforced your seal before he died?"

"Well, you heard Ero-kage's speech, right? What he said might not be fully complete, but it was correct nonetheless," Naruto sighed. "The Kyuubi is strong, so over the years my seal started to get some damage. The effort it took to stop Gaara, when he released the Ichibi in the middle of Konoha, only made things worse for me. The more of its chakra I used, the more my seal got damaged- to the point where I was starting to lose control. Jii-san undid that damage, and made the seal stronger than it's ever been."

"But… won't the people be scared now? I mean, you once said that your status as a jinchuriki was kept a secret."

"I asked for it, to make my burden public knowledge and to abolish the laws that prevented people from talking about it. Most of the adults knew about it anyway. And I told everyone that matters to me about it. So everyone who doesn't know at this time, well, I guess their ignorance would hurt me more in this case. If they want to hate me, they'd at least hate me for the right thing," Naruto shrugged. "And with their Godaime making the last will of the Sandaime public right after the funeral, perhaps they'll see the point in the old man's sacrifice. Aside from saving my ass, of course," he sighed.

"Gai-sensei said it was the noblest thing he ever heard of. Well, not literally, but with all the 'youthfulness' stuff removed, that's what he meant."

"Perhaps. I mean, it's obvious that I'm eternally grateful for what he did for me. But I can't help but feel sorry for Konohamaru," Naruto admitted. "If not for me, his grandfather could've lived for another few weeks. But due to my failure to contain the Kyuubi…"

"Hey! Jiraiya-sama said that it wasn't your fault, it was that of the seal. And who wouldn't understand that? Even the power of the freaking Yondaime has its limits when it comes to a monster like the Kyuubi, right?"

"…I guess you're right. Thanks, Tenten," he smiled, although not very convincingly. '_But what was that about the seal not being finished? What happened that night, when I was born? How could the seal have been incomplete from the very beginning? If that had not been the case, the Kyuubi would not have been able to slowly corrode the seal. But considering how neither Ero-sennin nor Baachan knew what the old man__'__s mysterious last words meant, we could not figure out why the seal had been incomplete. Although, Ero-sennin did mumble something about old suspicions that someone had manipulated the Kyuubi that night. But those suspicions died along with the Uchiha clan. Weird, if you consider it... If they were all wiped out in one night, as the stories said, then there had not been any Uchiha among them who was strong enough to manipulate the Kyuubi either. Unless… unless it had been the one who killed the Uchiha, himself. But it couldn__'__t have been Itachi, he was too young at that time…__'_

"Yeah, yeah, come on," Tenten urged him, oblivious to his musing. "I'm going to smack some sense into you. I can't allow myself to let you go full emo," she huffed. However, she felt a little annoyed that she felt a blush creep on her face.

"Who wouldn't go 'full emo' if they experienced being killed dozens of times a day?" Naruto laughed sheepishly.

"Anko took all your clones out?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Every. Single. One. With a freaking fireball, because she ran out of kunai…"

"She really is crazy, isn't she?"

"Only when she's not sleeping… or when she's at the dango booth," Naruto considered. "But in all other cases: yes. It's not that Chie isn't giving her enough reasons to go mad… I think the lack of alcohol is what really drives Anko mad."

* * *

"You are distracted," the bird flattered down, and looked Hinata in her eyes.

"S-sorry," Hinata squeaked.

"So, who is the boy who is lucky enough to deserve your affections?"

"T-that wa-wasn't-"

"I thought I told you not to attempt to lie to me," Suzaku chided her. It wasn't that the being was strict about it, but Hinata heard enough to know that she had to speak her mind.

"I apologize, I was merely worried about… a friend."

"You want him to be more than your friend, don't you?" the kind voice sounded more amused than Hinata had ever heard before. "You don't need to say it. I can see it clearly, dear."

Hinata bowed her head in defeat. "He.. Naruto-kun lost someone important to him. Again. I am a bit worried about him."

"Death is a natural part of life, something we must all face."

"I know, but he- Why do some people have to suffer so much more than others?"

"Do you want to delude yourself with ideas of equality? Nature does not bother itself with the opinions of mankind, dear. Notions such as 'fairness' are merely human inventions, but the world does not change its shape in order to fit the perception humanity has of it. No, human perception must follow the world. If you want to learn, you must be willing to abandon your ideas. You must be prepared to question yourself, in any possible way; including the habit you have of underestimating yourself, child."

The bird rustled its vermillion feathers, and hopped on the branch of a nearby tree. Hinata and Suzaku were within the confines of the Uzumaki compound, as Hitomi had deemed it best not to start any training exercises in the vicinity of the Hyuga clan, due to the risk of being discovered. When Hinata had explained this reasoning to Suzaku herself, the bird had merely been amused, stating that she wouldn't be spotted if she didn't want to be.

In fact, that very subject was the focus of today's training: chakra control, with the aim of becoming undetectable.

"You should try to focus yourself again, child, and continue."

"Yes, Suzaku-sama."

The bird watched as the young heiress closed her eyes and did as she was asked. '_Good. Hitomi-chan truly is correct that Hinata-chan has more potential than she had. Hinata__'__s chakra reserves are certainly far greater than hers at this age, though still completely insufficient to summon my real body… Until then, I shall just use this body as a substitute. Humans may mistake me for the ruler of all birds, but that doesn__'__t mean other birds won__'__t bow to my will. But, with a little of my chakra merging with this servant, I can see through its eyes and convey my voice, even to those who lack the power to summon me completely. With the will this child has, she might be capable of doing it in a few years.__'_

She looked – well her minion did – at the young girl, and realized that she also had to correct a lot of her fighting style. The art of Juken had really deteriorated over the last century. '_Those fools focusing on power while their style is named 'gentle fist__'__. And they wondered why I refused to be summoned all this time?__'_ Suzaku sighed, mentally at least, and considered that the girl didn't even perform so badly given the circumstances. Her natural affinity for water at least came with the usual tendency of flexibility. She shuddered at the thought of how much she would have had to re-educate the girl, had she been born with an affinity for earth…

* * *

"We'll wait here, Raido, you just go to the pervert and hand him your reports. Although with all the secrecy, I wonder if you're asking permission to marry Anko-chan," Naruto smirked. "Is that a file with nude pictures of her?"

Poof. Raido turned crimson instantly. "W-what?! I would never… I fell right into that one, didn't I?" the scar-faced tokubetsu jonin sighed as he realized he had been had.

"Completely," Karin laughed, after slurping down the last of her ramen. "Aah, you're really right, Nii-san. This is the best ramen ever!"

"Dear Kami, with two Uzumaki as customers, we're going to have to hire more help," Ayame looked at her father.

"Hey, don't think that I'm a pig like my brother!"

"Nee-chan, you just ate five bowls…"

"I trained the entire day," Karin pushed her glasses back, trying to hide her embarrassment. "It's not like I always eat this much. And it's their fault for making this stuff so good!" she pointed at the laughing Ayame.

"Told ya, ramen is the food of the gods! And old man Ichiraku makes the best ramen in the world!" Naruto put his bowl down. "Two more miso please!"

"Already working on it," Teuchi smiled. "Don't worry, Ayame, I'm sure Ako-chan won't let them come here every day, so it's not like we're being overrun. Right?"

"I sure hope so… I'm not going to last long if I'm going to have to make this much ramen every day," Ayame sighed. "Oh, more customers!" she walked towards the new entrants. "Welcome to Ichiraku's, do you need some time to decide or are you ready to order?"

"Well, I'll be back in ten minutes," Raido turned to Naruto. "You two should be fine here. It seems highly unlikely that someone would attack you on a street this busy."

"We'll manage, don't worry," Naruto waved him off. Turning to his nee-chan, "Seriously, he should relax a bit. Anko certainly has a point on that, hasn't she?" he mumbled, looking at the vanishing figure of their guard.

"Yup," Karin agreed. "Though I doubt Raido-san is ever going to accept that…"

"Stubborn as mules, both of them," Naruto chuckled. "Imagine if the two of them got married."

"Anko and Raido?" Karin dropped her chopstick in surprise. "Never! They'd kill each other before that," she laughed.

"See, Kakashi-sensei was right," a stoic voice sounded up from behind Naruto. "Why you ask? Because, Naruto-san is well known to spend a lot of time at this specific ramen stand."

"We know that," Sasuke grumbled.

"Hello, Naruto-san."

"Yo, what's up Shino? Why would Kakashi send you after me? Don't tell me you guys want to kill me again?" Naruto chuckled, though it could by no means be seen as a gesture of amusement. Naruto's cheerful attitude while eating ramen had disappeared the moment Sasuke showed up, something which definitely did not get past Sasuke. Then again, the last time they met had been less than friendly. Sasuke did not have fond memories of the corrosive chakra that Naruto had emitted that day.

"We are here to apologize," Shino remained patient despite Naruto's jab. "For none of us were aware of your burden, nor the sacrifice you had to make for our village."

"You already suspected that I was a jinchuriki, even though I did not confirm it," Naruto shrugged. "Besides, you never attacked me for it, so there's nothing you have to apologize for. If anything, I would have to apologize for not telling you sooner. And if you take into account what I did at the Wave mission, I suppose I can understand Sakura's response too, even though it was rather disappointing."

Sakura flinched, but looked defiant nonetheless. "How was I supposed to know what you are? I just saw you change and… slaughter."

"Yeah, you weren't prepared to see a shinobi doing a shinobi's job, I know," Naruto still found that he cared little. He could hardly imagine that he once had hopes for this girl. '_Especially if she refers to me as a 'what__' __instead of 'who__'__. That doesn__'__t get her any points on sympathy.__'_

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sakura was a little ticked off by Naruto's nonchalance. "If you had told us we might have-"

"You might have _what_? How would anyone respond when being told that the person in front of them contains the demon that destroyed half the village a decade ago? No, I just wanted to be treated as a normal person. Instead, I have felt your disgust and fear ever since you saw me defend those villagers."

"You and normal," Sasuke scoffed.

"As hard as it may be for you to understand it, being considered 'normal' was all I ever wanted," Naruto glared at him. He could sense the intent radiating from the Uchiha. Even without the Kyuubi's influence, this was fairly obvious. "I'm here to eat some ramen, not to get into another stupid fight. Besides, you have destroyed your reputation in Konoha enough by now, didn't you? Though I bet what little goodwill you had was just enough to evade a more serious admonishment; but even that idiotic council will get fed up with your attitude someday."

"Sasuke isn't here to fight," Shino interrupted. He turned to face the Uchiha, but the latter remained silent. "He is here to offer his apologies, for the unwarranted attack on you at the Uchiha compound."

Well, at this point Naruto could do nothing but laugh. Sasuke's frown only got deeper. "I can see how sorry he is," Naruto chuckled, catching his breath after the laughter. "Such a heartfelt confession, I am so moved. I suppose Kakashi sent you here for that? It's just as convincing as could be expected of the infamous copy ninja… Geez, the bastard's not even interested enough in this to bother coming here himself. I guess he couldn't just copy another sensei…"

"Why do you dislike nii-san so much?" Karin wondered, frowning when she saw Sasuke's grimace.

"Nii-san?" Sakura frowned. "Since when do _you_ have family, Naruto?"

Despite that his face was mostly hidden, Shino still visibly cringed. This was not the sort of question, especially with that discourteous tone, to ask an orphan.

"You don't sound like a fan of nii-san either. Look, I'm not really his sister, I know that, but we're both Uzumaki," Karin wondered what the pinkette's problem was. "But who cares?"

"I don't. Karin-neechan is the first Uzumaki I've found. As far as I'm concerned, she is my sister. Now, can I focus on my ramen now?" Naruto couldn't bother to even try to hide his annoyance. "Do you want a bowl though, Shino? There is something I want to talk to you about."

"Why do you hate Sasuke-kun so much?" Sakura blurted out.

"Excuse me? I'm not the one who began attacking the other," Naruto tone became rather icy. "Open your eyes for once, instead of always blindly siding with Sasuke. Try to understand the people around you, or else your blindness will keep chasing others away. Although I must say that it is rather ironic that you act this way, considering that you know very well what it is like to not be acknowledged."

Shino put a hand on Sakura's shoulder, before she could get the infuriated reply out of her mouth. "I am sorry, Naruto-san," he apologized once more. "It seems it was a mistake for us to come here. Why? Because Sakura is still grieving from her losses, while Sasuke is still too angry. I find your lack of composure disappointing as well."

"I had no intentions of insulting you, Shino, but you are all forgetting who I am. Did you really think you hid your intentions well enough? I can feel Sakura's fear as clearly as ever, and Sasuke… well, I think it doesn't take my particular sensory talent to notice his anger towards me," Narutoscoffed. "I thought you would have realized by now how dangerous it is if a person can't control his seal well enough. Are you really thinking Orochimaru gave you that thing without any ulterior motives? His influence will be as bad as the Kyuubi's was on me…"

That was the last thing Sasuke wanted to hear. All of the interior doubts within the young Uchiha flooded his mind, so he left before his anger got the better of him. With Sasuke stomping away, Sakura followed, leaving a frowning Shino.

"While I can understand your grudge against Sasuke, I find your behavior towards Sakura highly illogical."

"And why would that be? Naruto answered, more conversationally.

"Sakura is currently lost and confused, and under a great amount of stress. Why, you may ask? Because her mother died during the invasion," Shino stated. "After which her father lost himself to the intoxicating effects of alcohol, and perished due to an accident."

"So that was why she was so tense?" Karin realized.

Shino nodded. "Sakura has a lot of trouble dealing with her losses."

"I did not know that. It seems that, even without the Kyuubi constantly agitating me, I still act like a jerk," Naruto sighed. "Ah well, I will apologize for that on a later date. Even if she doesn't want to hear it, I owe her that much. But as for Sasuke… I must warn you to be careful," Naruto warned the Aburame. "The effectiveness of the method I used to seal the mark that Orochimaru left on Sasuke depends on Sasuke's willpower. The fact that that cursed thing influences him so much would suggest that Sasuke allows it to happen, that he seeks to use that power."

After a pause, Shino conceded, "His obsession with power seems to have increased, lately. Hatred seems to control his judgement, rather than logic."

"I guess I'm the last person to judge someone on that," Naruto grimaced. "But if I were you, I'd take this matter to Kakashi. And if he doesn't act, take it up to the Hokage."

"Sensei tried to reason with Sasuke several times now," Shino admitted. He didn't like to talk about others, especially not his teammates, behind their backs, but this was a matter that concerned him as well. In addition, he acknowledged Naruto's skill at fuinjutsu, not to mention that he began to realize that Naruto spoke from personal experience.

"You can use your kikaichu to analyze a person's chakra, can't you?"

"There is strand of kikaichu capable of such a thing, why?"

"Keep a close eye on Sasuke. If he really is tapping into that seal, the composition of his chakra should fluctuate whenever he's training or in combat. Or possibly, and it is the most troublesome option, the seal is affecting his mood. You're closer to him then we are. While I can sense the malice from that thing, I cannot say if it is affecting him… though I suspect it is doing so. The Sasuke I knew was someone who I looked up to for the way he coped with his losses. Despite everything, he remained strong. I wonder if my judgement about him was wrong, or if the seal increases his aggression."

Shino thought about it and nodded. "While spying on my teammates in such a fashion is not satisfactory, I must admit that this is the most logical way to analyze the situation. Thanks for your suggestion, Naruto-san. I shall take my leave now. Why? Because the ramen you ordered before we arrived is starting to get cold."

"Eh? No! Not my ramen!" Naruto despaired, crying fake tears.

"Completely serious on one moment, and then so childlike the next. You really are a strange person, nii-san," Karin giggled due to her brother's antics. "You really changed a lot, thank Kami for that…"

Looking up from his already half-finished bowl, Naruto smiled. "Wi-huubi mwaad mwe laik wat," he said with a mouth filled with ramen.

"Sorry?"

He gulped. "The Kyuubi made me like that. Seriously, when you sense that much hatred, while also constantly feeling angry yourself… The paranoia is a bit similar to the insomnia that Gaara had to suffer. I just expected enemies at every corner- that is why I made barriers and traps _everywhere_."

"But wouldn't the seal that holds the Kyuubi prevent-"

Naruto looked around, checking if anyone was nearby or not, and then whispered: "Something was wrong with the seal. Something interrupted the Yondaime when he sealed the Kyuubi within me. But as long as the fox isn't willing to tell me, I guess I'll never figure out what happened the night I was born," Naruto confided to her. "I suppose that is why I still feel sympathy for Sasuke, despite everything he did. He may be the biggest teme that walks the earth, but I can relate to his pain. And unfortunately, I can even relate to his anger…"

"Is that why you warned Shino-san?"

"Yup. Because if I am right, the source of Sasuke's anger will make his actions even more relatable to someone like me. You know, that cursed seal in his neck, I think that it drives him to be even angrier than he already was."

"I wonder what Sakura-san and Ino-san see in him," Karin mumbled to herself.

"Eh?" he looked up, his mouth already filled with ramen again.

"Nothing, nii-san, just finish your ramen, okay? Before Ayame-san thinks that you don't like their ramen anymore."

* * *

Stomping away from the ramen stand, Sasuke picked up the speed and jumped across the rooftops of Konoha. Soon, Sakura had lost him. While he thought she wasn't as annoying as usual lately, he had little interest in talking right now.

'_Damn that Dobe! Kakashi putting me up to this was bad enough, but to be brushed off like that…__' _Sasuke felt frustrated. He felt he should have been stronger by now, and the dreams were only getting worse: seeing his family, his clan, slaughtered. Seeing the ones he loved, bathed in blood… those memories were a continuous source of pain. But it seemed like the memories hurt him worse than ever, at the same time as the frustration with his own lack of progress grew.

'_I should have been much stronger. Itachi was way stronger at my age. And even though the Dobe has a demon sealed within him, he and Gaara are still way above me. Hell, even scum like that Inuzuka, and that ice-brat, managed to make me go all-out. Kakashi is holding me back.__'_

Jumping from the last rooftop, he noticed how Itachi's old cat was staring at him. "Shoo. Go annoy someone else," Sasuke snapped at the poor creature. Suto merely kept looking at the Uchiha, and Sasuke walked past the cat and entered his home. "I've got no other choice. If I want to get stronger, if I want to make Itachi pay for what he did… I need to accept Orochimaru's offer. This seal is the only way out. Kakashi, Shino, and Sakura… even the Dobe himself, they don't matter. They don't make me stronger," he grumbled to himself. "Me being stuck on pointless missions.. I'll only grow weaker if I stay here!"

In a bout of frustration, Sasuke kicked the couch again.

"And how can I allow myself to even care about _anyone_, while I haven't even avenged my family?"

* * *

Seeing him speed away, as he jumped over the rooftops, Sakura sighed. "Sasuke-kun isn't interested in talking anyway, so I might as well just leave him be."

Of course, going home would be no better. That place only brought up memories now, and memories hurt… So, she decided to just wander through the village for a while, aimlessly. '_Just like me. I have no purpose, I don__'__t aim for anything at all,__'_ she admitted to herself. '_Even Sasuke-kun… Why is he so cold to me?'_

In hindsight, she regretted leaving Shino behind like that. Although he was somewhat awkward when it came to social interactions, he had been there for her when everyone else seemed to abandon her. Since the loss of her parents, aside from Ino, whom she now saw less regularly due to her moving in with her parents again, Shino had been the only person with whom she could talk about her pain, in the few moments Sakura was able to talk about it. Most of the time, she felt like she would either cry her eyes out, or break everything into tiny pieces: despair and anger were the things she felt most of all. Who could blame her?

'_I just lost everything, and Kakashi-sensei doesn't even cut me any slack. Endure. As if I am some kind of emotionless anbu,'_ she scoffed, kicking a pebble away. '_Now… I feel so empty now. What have I been doing up to this point? Why did I even want to be a shinobi? Why didn't I realize sooner how great my life was… People like Sasuke-kun, they were always alone… and there I was: complaining about how nosy my parents are. Were,'_ she sniffed.

"Perhaps Naruto was right. I never took the effort to try and understand others. My pain… if this is what Sasuke has felt like for all these years, I can understand why he grew so distant." The pinkette scowled and looked up at the cloudy skies. "Am I really blinded?"

'_But he still said that I wouldn't understand his pain. That his pain is greater than mine. How can he be like that?' _Sakura thought sadly. Her inner personality started to stir a little. That voice had been mostly quiet since the day her mother died, but now it felt bitter.

'_Only now are you starting to question whether the image you have of him is right?'_

'_Wh-what do you-'_

'_Sasuke-kun isn't as strong as you thought he was. Look at Naruto: he too has suffered. He too has lived alone. And if what Ino said is true, he also knows what loss is, better than most others. And let's not forget that he had a demon crammed in him the day he was born!'_

'_But..'_

'_You were the one who asked if you were blinded,' _the inner voice replied sarcastically. _'And it is not just Naruto. Lee-kun told you his story. How he lost his only family. And unlike us, Lee had no talent either. But he endured. That is what sensei meant. He doesn't want you to forget. He never said such a thing.'_

'_But he-'_

'_Am I the only one of the two of us who actually thinks? You just jumped to a conclusion, got mad, and ran off. Shino helped you. Lee helped you. Ino helped you. But all you can see is Sasuke ignoring you. If what he does to you hurts you, then perhaps you can begin to realize that what you do also hurts the people who try to get close to you?'_

Sakura had no answers. Her inner voice scoffed, and silence returned. Downtrodden, Sakura wondered why she had fallen in love with Sasuke all those years ago. What was it that had driven her to even chase Ino away? With the stinging pain that had numbed her heart, Sakura suddenly recalled her father's words:

"_Our family has always been rather expressive when it comes to our emotions. Some may think it is a weakness, but do not be fooled. Those who are blind to their own emotions are the true weaklings!"_

Sakura smiled a little at the thought, for the first time in days. Her pain, her grief, she had been foolish to want to run from it, to cast it away. It was part of her. If she wanted to renounce part of herself… If only it did not hurt so terribly much.

"Hey, Forehead!" a rather noisy blonde interrupted her thoughts. "I've been looking all over for you, come along!"

"P-pig, but-"

"No 'but's. You're coming with me, and that's it. We're having dinner at my place tonight. I know things haven't been perfect between us, but I would never call myself your friend if I didn't even try to help you through this," Ino grabbed the pink-haired girl's wrist and dragged her along.

Sakura could not decide whether it was her exhaustion or her indifference that led her to not struggle against the blonde.

* * *

"But, Hideo-dono, we need to act soon before things spiral out of control. He will be a danger," Hyuga Eiji argued. The elder Hyuga, and member of the clan's council, looked as concerned as he sounded. It was two days since Naruto met his former teammates of team seven at Ichiraku's. However, the other Hyuga elder had called for Eiji for other reasons.

"The Kyuubi brat is no longer on our grounds. He moved to what is rumored to be his own clan's grounds, although, I have never heard of such a place. Then again, real estate is more your specialization," Hyuga Hideo sighed wearily. The father of the current clan leader started to grow tired of his talkative and tense fellow-conspirator.

"Your daughter-in-law is becoming the problem, not that brat. Although I must say that having that brat on our grounds gave us a lot of political leverage. No one wants to offend that boy too much, considering what he represents- what he will represent."

"Yet still the boy has been a thorn in our side. Hajime's death is only an example of how dangerous that brat is."

"You think I do not know that?" Eiji growled. "But that woman. The way she looked at me. And you too… she suspects something."

Hideo grimaced. "I am aware of that. Though, I am more concerned about the fact that she began training her eldest daughter. The irritating aspect of that training is that no one can figure out what she is trained in. Even my son does not seem to know the specifics."

"As if he cares about that failure. He's the one who argued that Hanabi should be named heir. If Hitomi had not opposed that idea…"

"As long as she is officially the heir, my eldest granddaughter is a threat," Hideo sighed. "And while my son is still convinced that she is emotionally too weak to carry any responsibilities, I am sure you can see the small changes in her behavior just as well as I could. He might come to the conclusion that her growth shows enough promise. She is his firstborn, after all."

"I will not presume my sight is as good as yours," Eiji humbly responded. "But the girl clearly grew during the Chunin Exams."

Hideo frowned. '_Stupid old man. It is not the exams that worry me; it is that secretive training Hitomi is giving her. After all, if that girl gains the same degree of insight as her mother, she would become a serious nuisance. She would become difficult to control, unlike her younger sister. After all, Hanabi is exactly like Hiashi. Had tradition not decreed that I had to step down in favor of Hiashi when his fighting ability surpassed mine, I would still have been in complete control regarding this matter. But at least Hiashi is easy to handle. But Hitomi… I never found out why her insight is so much better than any other clan member in the clan__'__s recorded history. Even my own insight is inferior,__'_ he begrudgingly admitted to himself. '_Allowing that girl to marry Hiashi is probably one of my biggest mistakes…__'_

"We need to act soon," Hideo agreed.

"Will he still cooperate? After your son sided with the current Godaime during the vote."

"That was a different matter. We cannot allow cowards to rule the village. No, my son was correct in his decision. But regardless of that matter, he will still want our support. And I hold all the cards he needs, I hold more influence over the clan than I ever did when I was the actual head. And he knows better than anyone that the Hyuga _are_ the strongest of the leaf," Hideo boasted. '_Yet what value would that hold for the roots of the tree that carries those leafs? We must be careful with that man. He can never be trusted.__'_

* * *

Temari smiled when she walked towards the open space where once a building had been. On top of the mountain ridge, above the Uzumaki living quarters and the mask storage temple, her little brother and his fellow jinchuriki were having a rather vicious taijutsu spar. Temari knew there had been buildings up here too, prior to the Kyuubi's attack on Konoha. She could even see a few remains. But this open place still fell within the bounds of the barrier that surrounded the Uzumaki compound, so it was the perfect training ground for them.

'_I__'__ve never seen Gaara act like that, to anyone,__'_ Temari realized. She saw the two boys circling around each other, lashing out with fists, palms, or feet. But as fierce as the spar was, it was still done with a wide smile. Well, in Naruto's case at least. But even from a distance, Temari could see that her little brother was having fun too.

"What brought you up here, Blondie?" Temari was startled when the snake mistress spoke up from behind her.

"When are you ever going to stop sneaking up on me?"

"When are you not going to react like a startled hamster?"

Scowling, Temari turned around and glared at the older kunoichi. "I told you before that Kamatari is a weasel, not a hamster!"

"Who cares," Anko grinned wickedly. "Weasels, hamsters, cats, mice… They're all just food for my pretty snakes."

After her eyes were drawn towards the slapping sound she heard, Temari saw Raido with a hand in front of his head. The reddish imprint of his hand was still seen on his forehead. "Don't mind her, Temari-san. Anko is just an idiot," Raido sighed. He continued, ignoring Anko's indignant response. "What brings you up here?"

"Naruto's clones ran out."

"You smacked his clones?" Anko guessed.

"No. They just ran out of chakra," the blonde shrugged.

"It is to be expected. Both Gaara and Naruto indicated that they had far less chakra at their disposal after their seals were fixed," Raido put up his hand before the girl could react. "Despite their smaller chakra reserves, their control has increased drastically. If anything, I would say that they are both better shinobi due to this. But control is still something they both need to learn a lot about."

"At least Dusty figured out how to stop his sand from automatically trying to defend him all of the time."

"It only works for Naruto though," Raido sighed. "Your snakes have never gotten through."

"Yeah, bummer…"

At some distance from the trio, Gaara looked at his sister for a second.

"Hey, don't get distracted now," Naruto scolded him while landing a rather vicious blow at the back of the red-haired boy's head. Well, the boy's hair used to be auburn coloured, but after an earlier hit that created a rather large gash on top of Gaara's head, it now was truly red. Of course, they were jinchuriki, so healing was not really an issue for them, thus neither of them was really bothered.

"Why is my sister up here?"

"My clones ran out," Naruto shrugged. "I have access to less chakra after the Kyuubi's influence was kicked out of the window. Ah well, I'm still adjusting."

"Humans are strange," Gaara sounded almost subdued as he looked at his sister, who for some reason had gotten into a rather heated discussion with Anko. Even with his acute senses, Naruto only could pick up something about weasels and snakes.

"They call us monster, yet they are capable of being far more inhuman than we could ever be. And still… where there is evil in them, there is also good. Without your sister, I could not have changed you," Naruto smiled. "She feared you. Perhaps even hated what you became. And still she loved who _you_ are, irrespective of the Ichibi."

"She gave me a reason to exist," Gaara agreed, still wearing the same faint smile.

Naruto couldn't do anything but agree with that. Friends and family gave him his reasons to exist as well- the reasons to endure everything thrown at him. And above all, '_Hinata… I still do not understand you. And I am sure that I must be mistaken. How could someone like you like someone like me? Perhaps… It will take time, but I will do everything within my power, so that I will not become a danger again. Jiisan gave me extra time, so I have to go all out. I will become strong enough to keep that bastard fox sealed within me.__'_

"Are you ready for another round?" Gaara frowned when he saw Naruto's determined grimace when the blond spoke. But with one glance at Temari, Gaara understood his determination. He too would go to any length to protect the people precious to him. And he would give no quarter to those who tried to harm his precious people- their blood would be a proper offering to his sand.

Raido sighed as the two kunoichi continued to bicker, but he felt relief as he saw the two jinchuriki resume their spar. Gaara lacked experience, but he was taught all the forms of his taijutsu style. Meanwhile, Naruto's style was a bastardized version of the juken. Raido had no doubts that Naruto usually used his fiery claws in conjunction with this style. But with some pointers, Raido had managed to improve Naruto's style by leaps and bounds. His stances, attack patterns, and defense had all improved. However, it was still as chaotic as ever, as the boy seemed to insist on being imaginative in every move he made.

It was not that Raido was bothered. He agreed with the notion that the blond would not be a taijutsu type. His humongous chakra reserves would make him an overwhelmingly powerful ninjutsu specialist, if, and only if, he could get better control over his chakra.

'_Then again, Minato-sama combined ninjutsu and taijutsu together. Naruto__'__s stamina would probably make him even better, although he is still lagging behind when it comes to his father__'__s agility,__'_ Raido scratched his chin. '_Or his mother__'__s strength.__' _Yes, if the boy would get a better grip on the raiton elemental jutsus, he would likely be able to integrate the hiraishin into his style. '_Unless he continues to stubbornly refuse learning his father__'__s jutsu. Why did he have to inherit that trait from his mother__…'_

* * *

'_D-ranks. I hate D-ranks. What was that idiot of a new Hokage thinking when he sends our team to plough the fields for some sickly farmer? We are way better than that! And if it wasn__'__t bad enough, Kakashi takes Shino and Sakura apart for training, leaving _me_ to do all the work again,__'_ Sasuke kept his frustration inside when his team walked back to the village. He knew very well that Kakashi would not like it if Sasuke voiced his frustrations. It would just end up with another boring speech.

While technically still a D-ranked mission, it actually took them outside of the village. But considering how it was well within the safety zone… Ah well, not that any of them really cared. Kakashi just took these missions as an opportunity to train his students, while he let Sasuke do the work. It was Sasuke's punishment, after all. In fact, if it hadn't been for the council's decision, Kakashi would have thrown Sasuke out of the team. The jonin kept a calm demeanor, but he was getting very tired of Sasuke's angry behavior. This was not the type of personality fit for the job. And while Jiraiya, just like Hiruzen, agreed with that, the majority chose to believe in Sasuke's bloodline instead of acknowledging the actual problems which Sasuke had.

Meanwhile, Shino had become even more silent than usual. Kakashi had seen that one of Shino's kikaichu had returned to him, and after that the young Aburame had seemed rather downcast. The only thing he had said was 'I need to speak to you, sensei, after we have reported to Hokage-sama', and that was it. While laid-back, Kakashi became curious about what could spook the usually unflappable genin to this degree.

Looking back at the brooding Uchiha who was moving at some distance behind the rest of the team, Kakashi once again had this ominous feeling that Shino's request was all about Sasuke. Again. There were so many distractions these days… He wasn't really looking forward to Shino adding another one to the constantly-growing pile of headaches.

Equally distracted, Aburame Shino was still mulling over what he should tell his sensei and the Hokage. The evidence the kikaichu brought him was irrefutable: Sasuke was deliberately tapping into the cursed seal Orochimaru left on him. Apparently it was affecting his mood, too.

"There is no way that Sasuke-san can be unaware of the price that he would have to pay for such power," he mumbled softly against the back of the collar that covered his mouth. "But apparently he decided it was worth that price- why? He..." Shino fell silent. It disturbed him that his teammate would deliberately choose to do such a thing. Shino could find no logical explanation, other than the boy's desire for power. But what could be so important about strength that you would throw away everything you are?

Kakashi didn't notice the boy mumble, or at least he didn't show it. Sakura was too lost in thought to notice, just running alongside them, but actually thinking more about what she should do. She had still not visited the cemetery since her father was buried, and she had no idea if she could muster the courage to go there… and part of her refused to ask Ino to join her. No, if she went, she wanted to be alone with her parents' graves- but she wasn't entirely sure if she could take it. Part of her wanted to go there, while another part wanted nothing but to run away from that very place. It tore her apart.

Sasuke did not hear the Aburame's mumblings either. Even if he hadn't been lagging behind the others, he would have been too distracted. '_He has such a thunderous power. I__'__m completely inferior. All this time at the academy, all those weird fluctuations in his strength and skill… He was always hiding. Why didn__'__t anyone say he was hiding the Kyuubi, of all things?__' _Involuntarily, Sasuke shuddered. 'And t_he feeling of fear that I had at that time, even Orochimaru__'__s killing intent was a joke in comparison.__'_

Not for the first time, Sasuke wondered if his decision to go with the snake sannin's minions the next time he'd see them was the right one. '_Orochimaru is strong, but Naruto… that maelstrom of power, what kind of body does he even have that he can hold such a power? How can I… How can I grow that sort of power?__' _he looked in front of him. Yes, his decision was the right one. Kakashi had made it clear that he would not teach Sasuke anymore, not until Sasuke 'changed'. But the boy felt that he did not have the time to wait for such nonsense. In the end, his rivalry with Naruto only made Sasuke desire more power for himself.

But there was nothing for him in this village of idiots. Not even the strange sense of amity he had with Sakura and Shino was enough of a reason for the young Uchiha to want to stay. It was weird, but in a way it felt a bit like having a family when he was around those two, Sasuke admitted. '_But how can I even bring myself to care about anyone, when my real family can__'__t rest until I avenged their deaths?__'_ Sasuke grimaced. Subconsciously, the anger he felt when thinking about his older brother made Sasuke activate his sharingan- and that was when he saw it.

Dozens of senbon flew at his team members, perfectly aimed so that so they just fell within Kakashi's blind spot. Sure, that would never have worked on a normal day, but with the jonin being distracted, while also simultaneously under the false belief that no one would attack them so close to the village…

Sasuke's yell made Kakashi and Shino move, just in time. But Sakura got several of the needles in her side. Crying out in pain, the pinkette fell to the ground, seemingly rendered unconscious. Or worse… but Sasuke didn't want to think that way. He kept himself blind to that option. He had seen too many people he cared for die, he refused to see another one.

"It must be poisoned senbon, it must be," Sasuke mumbled. His sharingan flashed around, searching for their assailants. Much to his shock, he found one of their attackers standing beside him.

"Why did you fucking warn them, you clueless fucktard," the red-haired girl snapped at him.

"Calm down, Tayuya," a six-armed teen startled Sasuke even more, standing on his other side. "You just focus on taking that bug guy down, okay?"

"Tsk, whatever."

"Sakon, Ukon, and the fatass are stalling the jonin," Kidomaru remembered her. "So get your skinny ass moving and take that other piece of trash down, because our guys will need your help. You know that Kakashi is no joke, right?"

"I fucking agreed to the plan, didn't I?" Tayuya huffed. In front of them, in a blur of movement, three red-skinned demon-like assailants (one of near-giant size) suddenly erupted from the ground, ambushing Kakashi with such speed that the jonin barely even had the time to unveil his sharingan.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke demanded.

"Orders," Kidomaru shrugged. "You were taking too long to decide voluntarily, and we couldn't stay in Konoha indefinitely- not when our ally failed to become your next Hokage. Freaking idiot," he scoffed. "So what will it be? Will you struggle or will you submit?"

"I already made my choice," Sasuke grit his teeth when he saw how the girl uncovered the first level of her cursed seal. '_Shino won__'__t be able to face her,__'_ Sasuke realized. _'And with the others already having completely released the power of the seal, how long will Kakashi be able to withstand them?__'_

"Call those morons back," Sasuke glared at the six-armed boy beside him. "And then take me to Orochimaru. I don't give a damn about the consequences anymore, I only want power."

Kidomaru only smirked back. "As you command," he chuckled. Suddenly, he spit out some sticky substance. It was the same material as the senbon earlier. Sasuke could see the chakra within it glow, as he watched with his sharingan. Kidomaru formed it into a bow, while simultaneously releasing the first level of his cursed seal. As the black markings crawled over the boy's skin, he created a second object- an arrow.

"What-" Sasuke wanted to ask what the other boy was planning to do, but while his eyes could follow, his body was still too slow: he saw how Kidomaru pulled back the arrow, aimed, and released.

Sasuke felt as if his heart froze. All of a sudden it was as if time itself froze, and everything went in slow motion.

His sharingan projected where the arrow would go. Despite realizing the inevitable truth, he still started to move towards his teammate. But the arrow was too fast- or was he too slow? He could not say. He could not think. He did not want this- not his teammates. He would be the one to pay the price, not them!

With a dull thud, the arrow landed in the back of Shino's head. Distracted by Tayuya, the boy had never seen the arrow coming. And the few insects that hovered behind him were too weak to even hinder the arrow. The sheer force behind the weapon made it pierce right through.

Seeing that he was too late, Sasuke closed his eyes, trying to shut out what he just saw. But the sight of the Aburame with an arrow piercing through his head was already burned into his eyes… "NO!" Sasuke turned, but Kidomaru was already upon him. A dagger made out of the same web-like material as the bow and arrow was pressed against the Uchiha's throat.

"I thought you wanted power, and didn't give a damn about the consequences?" a wicked grin was on Kidomaru's face. "Did you really fool yourself, thinking that the consequences were only for you? You will need more determination if you even want to try and control the cursed seal that our master has bestowed upon you."

"But… not them."

"You chose power, didn't ya? You chose that over everything else. Even those pieces of trash, right?"

Numbed, Sasuke could only nod. He hated himself for it, but Kidomaru was right. This was his choice. He stopped resisting. This was the path of an avenger. It was a dark and forsaken path, he now fully began to realize- but he would have to endure it. '_I should have cut my ties sooner. This is my fault entirely. If I hadn__'__t hesitated this long, they would not have to suffer the consequences. But this is the only option I have… I__'__m sorry Sakura. I__'__m sorry Shino. Kakashi. I have to do this. I have to kill Itachi. I must! Even if everyone hates me, even if I am branded a traitor, I must avenge my family!__'_

Kidomaru chuckled when he saw the look in his eyes. "I see you have accepted the inevitable. Follow me."

* * *

Past the corpse of Aburame Shino, Tayuya moved silent as a predator, sneaking up on their last and by far most capable adversary: Hatake Kakashi. She felt annoyed that the Aburame had been able to push her into using the first level of her seal already. He was far more competent then they had anticipated. She hated bugs right now, with a passion. It was a good thing that Kidomaru's arrow had made short work of that. With the Aburame dead, the creepy insects had scattered as well.

As she moved towards Kakashi, careful that he would not see her approach, she moved past the body of the pink-haired girl, who had been felled by senbon earlier. Paralyzed by the poison Kidomaru had put on these senbon, the girl was completely powerless and could only wait until someone would slit her throat. But now that Tayuya stood next to the defenseless girl, the red-haired kunoichi started to feel some doubts.

'_Fuck! It would be pointless to kill this useless fangirl, wouldn__'__t it? It__'__s not like she could do anything to hinder that Snake__'s plan,'_ Tayuya mused. Still, her orders were clear: kill the entire team. '_I could just leave her be. The poison would last a few hours, long enough for us to haul ass,__'_ she pondered. '_Nobody would miss these weaklings anyway, so there won__'__t be a search. But the orders were clear- I gotta kill this moron.__'_

And yet… watching the team for these last weeks had made Tayuya a bit sympathetic for the difficult position the girl was in. '_At least this idiot had parents who loved her, rather than selling her to someone like Orochimaru-sama,__'_ she spit on the ground, feeling bitter about her own fate.

The terrified green eyes looked up, staring into Tayuya's pissed-off dark-brown eyes.

"Life or death, what do you want, Pinky?" Tayuya scowled.

* * *

**Bonus: A trapped cat (?)**

* * *

Shizune kept glaring at the both of them. Anko just tried to avoid her eyes, while Tsunade at least had the decency to look ashamed.

"What were you two even thinking.." the usually level-headed woman now hissed in anger.

"Don't worry about it, Shizune-neechan," Naruto couldn't hide his mirth. "I wanted to fix the garden anyway. Though I do admit that a field with craters was not what I had in mind."

"Tsunade-sama was too drunk to punch straight," Anko muttered.

"I only started to squint when your snakes bit me," Tsunade retorted.

Whatever Anko wanted to say in return was cut off by a very impatient Shizune. "You two better behave from now on, or I will make sure you _will_. Anko's sake-ban sure gave me a lot of good ideas."

Anko looked at the angered medic stomping away. "She's joking, right?"

"I taught her too thoroughly for that threat to be idle," Tsunade muttered with a very, very pale face.

"Just be glad I managed to keep Ako-neechan out of this," Naruto burst out in laughter upon seeing the horrified looks. He had never laughed this much while in a hospital before.

* * *

Sometime later, both Anko and Tsunade left the hospital. Their injuries healed, but their pride still hurting. The blonde looked at the bluish-black haired woman. Anko had the same bloodthirsty expression as she did. "That cat will pay."

"Oh yes, she will go through hell for pranking us," Anko's sadistic smile unnerved the sannin.

But she agreed. "Making us look like fools… even causing the destruction of that high-quality sake… It was a bottle of the Marked Man label! Yes, she will definitely suffer for that."

* * *

Groaning, the forgotten toad sage awoke in the middle of the forest. "My head," the soon-to-be-appointed Hokage groaned. "What on earth happened…"

His ankle ached, and suddenly he remembered it. "Damn you, Hime. I am not some kind of blunt weapon for you to smash around."

Getting up, he decided to get back to the brothel. He needed some relaxation now.

A short distance away, a flabbergasted Kiba watched as the 'great' Jiraiya – his long white manes filled with twigs and leafs – now stumbled to get out of the Uzumaki compound. "I don't know either boy," Kiba mumbled, after Akamaru whined questioningly. "Let's just keep out of this."

Akamaru nodded, and urged Kiba to follow him. The pup knew that Karin would've prepared something to eat by now- something much tastier than the supposedly healthy stuff which Hana gave him. At least the pup could brag to the triplets that he had some good-tasting food every now and then!

Seeing the eager pup straddle in front of him, tail waggling in anticipation, Kiba knew what was going to happen. "We've got a mission later today, so don't eat too much, okay?" the Inuzuka sighed.

* * *

"Are you sure this will work?" Tsunade frowned.

"Of course it will! I've been living with them for quite a while now, and I know that Ako is the only one whom Chie listens to. That cat fears the Hyuga more than anyone," Ako snickered. "Well, she respects Naruto as well, but she once said that that was 'different', though I don't know why."

"Just planting this in her room… It seems too simple," the Senju hesitated.

"That's why she won't expect it!" Anko grinned. "We plant the evidence here, and Ako will figure out soon enough."

Tsunade remained a bit skeptical, but she assumed that it could work. Within the Uzumaki compound, only Chie was always busy pranking people, so naturally the suspicion would befall her. And if Ako found some evidence to support that suspicion…

"Too bad I'm a sensor," Chie chuckled from the door opening. Anko turned around, looking at the feline with a shocked 'oh crap' expression. Tsunade wanted to move toward the door, but Chie already closed it. "Don't worry, two-legs. I'm sure Ako-sama is happy to let you two out. Oh, and don't waste your time on trying to break free. Whisker-two-leg made these seals and barriers especially for me, after Ako-sama ordered him to do so. And the threat of being deprived of ramen made him very, very thorough…"

Anko paled as she heard the mirth in the cat's voice. "And we're not even at the window side. We are doomed…"

"Oh, and should I add that Ako-sama went out shopping with the Pig-carrying-two-leg?"

Now Tsunade paled.

"Never try to prank the queen of pranks!" Chie laughed.

* * *

**A/N**: Poor Shino. Nothing against him, but this is the reality of combat: people die. Dying is, in my fic at least, not a privilege reserved only for the bad guys. Speaking of dying, I wonder what decision Tayuya will make. Will she kill Sakura? Or could Kakashi save her?

I must admit that I was thinking of doing a scene on Hiruzen's burial in this chapter as well, but I eventually decided against it. I feel like previous chapter was a good conclusion for his character, and whatever I wrote just didn't feel right. Considering how I could not give him a better farewell, so I chose to move the story forward. Konohamaru won't be forgotten though.

Back to my usual items: has anyone of you read **Senju****'****s Heir** by **Seldom Prodigy**? It's a good read so far. Good attention for detail, nice writing style, and an original start of the story. Yup, I'm certainly recommending this. Especially because it is a NaruHina fic!

Credits go to my beta reader, advisor, editor, and overall language expert **Illuminated**. And to all of you who encourage me with your **reviews**! You're dealing with a greedy author here! And I have a pink haired hostage. Unless you prefer a 'Demise pt3' for next time?

-Z-


	53. Sound against Leaf

"_I want to say one thing to the people. I want you to listen to me, I__'__m gonna say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman… Oh wait, that was my other cigar," scrapes from his throat and she tarts over. "I__'__m gonna say this again: I did not hate Aburame Shino."_

"_Then why did you kill him?" an outraged journalist demands._

"_Well, for the same reason why I do everything else: for the story I have in mind. I like to listen to you guys, as I find it the best way to improve my writing, but at the end of the day I have to be the one who likes what I__'__m writing. Otherwise, I wouldn__'__t be writing," I sigh. _

"_But, but, but, but…. Shino?!" another journalist cries._

"_I knew my decision was a controversial one. And controversy is usually followed by some hate. I knew that, so I was prepared for it. But I did not do it because I hate Shino. Thank you for your time." I stand up and walk away from the cameras. _

* * *

**Sasuke retrieval arc**

**Sound against Leaf**

* * *

Dodging attack after attack, Hatake Kakashi wondered how he had made such a foolish mistake. The grey haired jonin was not accustomed to these things anymore. Walking into an ambush without noticing even a single thing… this had not happened to him in years.

He found himself cut off from his genin as the three demon-like assailants slowly drove him further into the woods. Kakashi could not see Shino any more, but he hoped the Aburame could manage. Last he saw was that Shino faced a girl with dark pink, almost red, hair. He had faith that Shino could at least hold off a single one of these enemies, but… with Sakura incapacitated, Kakashi knew that the youngster would be getting in trouble soon. Shino had an odd sense of loyalty and friendship. He never spoke much, but whenever there were issues, he seemed to silently steer things in such a way that people could find a solution. If someone threatened Sakura's life, the silent boy would undoubtedly use all his might to protect her, even if-

Another massive fist came down.

Kakashi grimaced, although none could see this, as most of it was hidden underneath his mask. The big red-skinned boy (or was it a grown man? Kakashi could not tell) had completely specialized himself in raw power. And while Kakashi was no slouch, he quickly realized that attempting to block these attacks was not advisable. '_It would take an Akimichi or a taijutsu-specialist like Gai to fight this guy on equal footing in terms of raw physical power,'_ he realized. '_Good thing that he is far too slow to be a real danger. No, the other two are more troublesome. It's as if they want me to hit them. Strange.'_

The two smaller ones were practically identical. Both had a single pointy horn, although one had the horn on the left of his forehead, and the other on the right. They were fast: not fast enough to truly trouble a jonin of Kakashi's level of skill, but still they were rather annoying. Their confident grins were what troubled Kakashi most, though, and the three had flawless teamwork.

'_If I can separate them, I could easily ensnare them with my sharingan and take them out. But for some reason, I think it is best not to touch the smaller ones. They deliberately leave openings for me to exploit. It doesn't make any sense,'_ Kakashi analyzed his situation. '_The big one should be taken down first. I easily countered his doton jutsu earlier, but his massive hits are annoying. With him out of the way, these two should be easily dealt with.'_

Throwing a barrage of kunai, Kakashi suddenly stopped dodging and started his counterattack. Ukon, being the slightly faster of the two, dodged the kunai, yet was forced back. Sakon, on the other hand, got a large gash on his shoulder. Cursing, the two brothers noticed how Kakashi now launched a barrage of fireballs at Jirobo. "Fuck!" the giant cried out in pain.

Before Kakashi could smile, though, his chakra was suddenly disrupted. Losing his momentum, his attack lost some of its power. And with Jirobo already being rather durable, the attack had far less effect than Kakashi had hoped. But why did he… '_Genjutsu!'_

Hidden in the forestry, Tayuya prepared a second melody. She was astounded that the jonin was so hard to catch. Even Kazu would have been caught by that one. Hell, her previous melody should have been enough to ensnare just about anyone, and firmly at that, but Kakashi had barely been fazed. '_Just how much experience does this guy have?'_

Tayuya was not hidden as well as she had hoped. With his sharingan, Kakashi spotted where the attack came from and moved to take this nuisance out. At that moment, Kakashi made a crucial mistake.

Ukon, having dodged the kunai earlier, now slashed out at the jonin's back. Kakashi's sharp ears gave him the opportunity to block the attack, but that did not matter to Ukon.

"Bullseye!" Sakon cheered.

Even Tayuya sighed in relief, being startled when the jonin had rushed towards her. '_Not even a jonin should be able to deal with his freakish merging jutsu thingy. That fucktard's kekkei genkai may be the ugliest thing I've ever seen, but even Kimimaro had to admit that it was a useful skill.'_

Kakashi could see the foreign chakra invade the hand that he had just used to block Ukon's attack. In a split-second decision, Kakashi took a gamble. '_Hopefully this guy isn't the raiton type. Because, without hand seals, this won't do too much damage. It's going to hurt though…'_

"Chidori!"

The confident smiles of Sakon and Tayuya vanished the moment the lightning current flew through Kakashi's arm. Ukon's screams were loud but short, and before he could completely escape it was already too late. Paralyzed, he fell down from Kakashi's arm, and the jonin showed no mercy. The chidori now enveloping his hand now flew through Ukon's chest, leaving a burnt out gap where once his heart had been.

Eyes wide, and injury forgotten, Sakon rushed forward. Howling his fallen brother's name, the boy went berserk. Screaming, fuming, he blindly rushed into combat without even stopping to think for a second. The distraction for the jonin, however, was the cue for Tayuya to start her next move: she began playing the notes for her strongest genjutsu, the mugen onsa- phantom sound chains.

Struggling to keep Sakon at bay, while simultaneously fending off Tayuya's attempts to trap him in her genjutsu, Kakashi noticed too late that the shadow around him was quickly expanding.

From above, an enormous hand crashed into him and broke his resistance; Tayuya continued playing her song. They had him…'_Kidomaru already took that the Uchiha faggot away, so our mission is a complete success. Whoop-dee-fucking-doo,'_ Tayuya could not even smile, despite the fact that the three of them had just taken down one of the most infamous jonin of Konoha. Then again, she never was happy. She just hated everything.

"We should get the fuck out of here," she urged. "The fat-ass is hurt from that katon jutsu, and you need to calm down."

Sakon was still seething. "We have him now, we should-"

"Our mission was to take the faggot, nothing more. Killing Kakashi would be something that would piss off that one-eyed fucktard. He clearly stated that Konoha could not afford to lose this guy- and Orochimaru-sama still needs that geriatric coward. We've got orders, so shut the fuck up and get going."

"He killed Ukon!"

"Ukon was killed by his own stupidity. Move, now!"

* * *

"What do you mean that you couldn't get into that hospital wing?" Kiba exclaimed. "Our friend is there!"

It was several hours after team seven was ambushed. Teams eight and ten had met up, confused as to why they were suddenly recalled and then ordered to stay put, while their sensei had to report with the Godaime Hokage. Well, confused, until Shikamaru overheard his father and Inoichi discussing what could have put Hatake Kakashi into the hospital. From the looks of it, the Aburame clan was in uproar as well. Something bad happened, and considering how none of the Aburame clan came to the hospital…

"Like I told you, Tsunade-sama's right hand, Kato Shizune, said I couldn't come in," Ino snapped at the Inuzuka. She was angry, frustrated that she couldn't visit her friend, couldn't even find out if Sakura was even alive.

"That means she's either in a critical condition, or something else happened," Shikamaru frowned. "No one heard about Sasuke yet? And what about Shino?"

Hinata had a sad expression. She had been silent ever since they had met up again. Shikamaru had spread the six of them over the village, in order to gather information. Hinata had been the one to watch the morgue. "I-I saw A-Aburame Shibi going into the m-m-" Hinata forced the words out of her throat, tears running over her cheeks. "S-Shino-kun must be… must be…"

Karin pulled her teammate into an embrace, awkwardly trying to comfort the distraught girl. Kiba slumped down, sitting down on the ground, while Akamaru whined and put his head on Kiba's lap. Shino had been their former teammate. The three of them had been the original team eight.

"This can't be real, can it? Shikamaru?" Choji was equally startled. For the first time, Shikamaru began to wonder if his softhearted friend was perhaps not cut out for this job. For shinobi, death was in the job description, but the Akimichi just seemed too gentle to deal with it. Shikamaru didn't really like to acknowledge the fact that they could all die, but he knew that it was the inevitability of their world. But Shikamaru admitted that if he was honest with himself, he didn't want Choji to harden to an extent that he could deal with such things. Hell, he even doubted that he himself was ready for these kinds of things. Even if he logically knew the possibility, his heart said something completely different.

'_I shouldn't be foolish enough to think that I can protect Choji or anyone else from such things,'_ Shikamaru grimaced. He had to shift his mind on to something else- away from these emotions, and towards the analytical part of his brain. "Sasuke?"

Choji shook his head, and Karin also shrugged. None of them had seen him. "I felt nothing. I think I felt Haruno-san for a second, but it was too faint to be certain. I do know that their sensei, Kakashi, is in the hospital. Tsunade-sama is with him," Karin clarified. Her sensory abilities were a gift from the heavens, in Shikamaru's opinion.

"And Shino?" he asked, against his better judgment.

"I only met him twice," Karin hesitated. "And I can't say that I can recall his chakra pattern. But…"

"You won't sense Aburame-san," Neji spoke up. He, Rock Lee, and Tenten approached the six. Chie had guided them here, to the back alley at the center of the village where the two teams had met up. "We are the ones who… We found team seven."

Lee nodded, but his sad and silent demeanor already revealed that what they found was bad news- very bad news.

"Shino… There was an arrow right through his… So much blood," Tenten grimaced. While Neji had first spotted the team with his byakugan, Tenten had been first to see the fallen Aburame up close. She still felt as sick as the moment she had seen his lifeless body for the first time. "Shino is dead."

"And Kakashi? Sasuke-kun? Sakura?" Ino pleaded.

"We brought them to the hospital, as fast as we could. But we found no sign of the Uchiha," Neji said bluntly. "Sasuke was either kidnapped, or he fled. But considering the condition Kakashi was in…"

"It was an ambush, that much is clear," Tenten agreed solemnly. "All the signs of the battlefield pointed at that."

"That means someone was after Sasuke," Shikamaru sighed. He had been afraid of this. Dojutsu like the sharingan were a highly valued commodity on the black markets. And with the Uchiha clan practically on the brink of extinction, that price had only grown to higher, absurdly higher, levels. "Someone wants his sharingan."

Kiba's head jerked up. "Orochimaru," he growled.

"O-Orochimaru?" Ino gasped.

"He gave Sasuke-san some kind of seal," Hinata began to explain the event that happened in the Forest for Death, during the second part of the Chunin Exams, up to the point when Naruto had sealed the thing off.

"So Orochimaru put some kind of freakish seal on the Uchiha, and now has kidnapped him?" Neji frowned. "But someone like Orochimaru wouldn't have made such a mess out of fighting a jonin like Kakashi. As strong as our sensei are, people like Orochimaru, Tsunade-sama, and Godaime-sama are leagues above them. Besides, that would explain that charred corpse as well: it must have been someone of the group who attacked team seven."

"He sent out some of his henchmen to do the dirty job," Shikamaru analyzed the situation. "And if he is after the sharingan, they will get him to a medical facility as soon as they can in order to extract Sasuke's eyes."

Ino paled, and Hinata and Neji looked equally horrified. The latter two had been raised with threat of being targeted for their eyes. Hinata herself had almost been snatched away once. It was a day she would never forget, especially because it had been the first time she had really met Naruto.

"And when they have his eyes, they will probably get rid of him," Kiba added grimly. "Like hell we would let that happen!"

"We can't do a thing," Shikamaru reminded the angered Inuzuka. "Hokage-sama must have realized the same thing: it would make sense for him to gather as many jonin as he can if Orochimaru is involved in this mess."

"He ordered us to stand down until further orders," Neji nodded.

"Screw those orders," Kiba snarled. "Those bastards killed Shino!"

"What do you think we can do?" Shikamaru sighed. "This is something involving a shinobi who is far better than the nine of us combined. We wouldn't even stand a ghost of a chance."

"It was not Orochimaru himself who attacked team seven, right?" Kiba countered.

"True," Neji agreed. "And at least two of the attackers seemed injured, judging by the tracks we found. There were at least two who lost blood, aside from the one who was electrocuted."

"Then we can take them down, avenge Shino, and get that prick of an Uchiha back!" Kiba jumped to his feet. "Yes, Ino, you can glare all you want, but Sasuke has always been an arrogant jerk. But he is still our arrogant jerk. We can't let someone kill him for his freaking eyeballs!"

"None of our sensei would agree with this-" Karin hesitated, "With us going out of the village while we were ordered to stay put."

"We can't wait around and do nothing!" Ino decided. "We'll get him out of there. I can't do a thing for Sakura as I'm no medic, but I can do something for Sasuke-kun!"

'_Ino, you make it sound logical, but this is your heart speaking, not your mind,'_ Shikamaru sighed. "It is not that easy." The Nara looked up at Neji, and then turned to Hinata and Karin. "Kiba's opinion seems clear enough, but what about you three? We will need your byakugan and your sensory abilities if we want to hunt them down."

Neji activated his byakugan for a moment, analyzing the Nara's expression. '_He is completely serious. Surprising. I thought he was completely lazy, but his anger runs a lot deeper than his appearance would make you think.'_

Tenten grabbed Neji by his arm, and gave him a fierce look. "We can't let them take our friends."

"It would be most unyouthful," Lee agreed. "Even if Gai-sensei would not approve… Gai-sensei also told us that we should not always blindly follow orders, but do what our heart tells us is right!"

"Where is Naruto?" Neji surprised everyone by turning towards Chie. "We asked you to take us to him, but you brought us to them," he gestured at the two other teams.

"Naruto-sama is training, together with Dusty-two-leg and the others," Chie, for once, used a reverent way to address Naruto. She rarely did so; it was only during those rare occasions when she was actually serious that she showed how much she actually respected him. She had respect, because she could sense his struggle better than most, being different from all those around, and because he saved her from the empty void that once was her life. "I cannot take you two-legs up there, not when Scarface-two-leg and Crazy-snakes-two-leg are with him. So I took you to them," she nodded at teams eight and ten. "They deserved to know about their fallen comrade."

"You… you knew?" Tenten gasped. "But how? We didn't tell you.."

"You were talking to each other, and I had been following you ever since you were walking through the woods before you entered the Uzumaki compound," Chie clarified.

"Having Naruto at our side would be a great help," Neji sighed.

"That is why I came here, Scar-head-two-leg," Chie was a bit annoyed that everyone was so slow. She thought that it was all perfectly clear already, but of course she needed to explain things even further. Slow two-legs… "If White-eyed-princess-two-leg goes, Whisker-two-leg will surely follow."

Hinata looked at the cat, wondering if she was actually serious. Was Chie really using her as a pawn to move Naruto?

"It's your choice, White-eyed-princess-two-leg," Chie remained dead-serious. "No one can force you to go, yet if you go, you deserve to be aware of the consequences if you choose to go."

"S-Shino-kun was killed," Hinata mumbled, not comfortable now that everyone was looking at her. "But I don't want revenge… Sasuke-san needs our help. If the jonin don't take action, we will have to. The least we can do is track them down to where they hold Sasuke-san, and await reinforcements."

'_Perhaps Naruto's words about Hinata-sama aren't as crazy as they once sounded,' _Neji smiled faintly, seeing the determination peeking out underneath her shyness. "I swore to guard you, Hinata-sama, so if you go, I shall follow," he bowed slightly.

Tenten frowned; it would still take some time to adjust to seeing her usually stoic teammate changing so much. But at least he wasn't a 'total asshole' anymore, as Naruto could describe him so eloquently.

Shikamaru looked at Choji and Ino, who both nodded. "Everybody in?"

"Yeah."

But before they left, Neji bowed to Chie, and whispered to the feline. "Hurry up and bring Naruto out. Even when wounded, they were people capable of taking down a jonin. Ambush or not, this means that they are at the very least as strong as a chunin. We will need Naruto at our side- and if possible, Gaara and the others as well…"

"I will hurry, but you should make sure the other two-legs aren't going to do something stupid. Anger leads to many mistakes…"

Neji nodded. Ironically, he knew better than most how much wrong blind hatred could do. His own mistakes had proven a hard lesson. While his father's death would have most likely reinforced his hatred towards the main house prior to his battle against Naruto, Neji now knew that it was not the entire main house that was guilty. Only a select few were guilty. And together, they would find those who were guilty. Neji wondered why his father had been so terribly misguided, and in hindsight many of his actions had made little sense as they would harm the branch as much as the main house. Neji could remember times when his father had talked differently… But regardless of his mistakes, Hizashi had been his father. He was not the warmest and most caring father perhaps, but those things were not too common within their clan anyway. He was Neji's father, and as such, Neji wanted to make those responsible for Hizashi's death pay.

But for now, his sense of loyalty was stronger than his hatred. Making an individual pay for a single action would not change the clan. Aiding Hinata to grasp control of the clan, however, would be a path that could lead to freedom. With Naruto backing her, abolishing the caged bird seal would not be impossible either. No, she was the only path that gave a chance of freedom, and he would do anything in his power to protect that chance.

His father's older lessons had rooted firmly within Neji: 'for the sake of the clan'.

He took one last look at the black-and-white cat and saw her vanish around the corner. Yes, she would call in reinforcements. Even when disobeying orders, Neji knew that the risk was not as grave as he initially feared. Orochimaru was not there, and Neji doubted that any of the man's servants would be capable of beating the three teams, especially when backed by one or two jinchuriki.

Pride was still Neji's weakness, though.

* * *

Sasuke frowned when his four guards stopped in the clearing. They only had moved for an hour or two, so they still had enough ground to cover. "Why are we stopping? We need to hurry, Konoha will send out squads to retrieve me, so if we stay too long on one-"

"Shut your fucking mouth," Sakon snapped. "Or I will rip your tongue out."

"Sakon!" Kidomaru stepped forward, positioning himself between the now deranged- looking Sakon and their mission. "Orochimaru-sama wants him unharmed. We all know why."

Sakon spat on the ground, but remained silent otherwise.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke wondered. "You know what he wants with me?"

"He wants your body, you dipshit!" the red-haired girl growled. She laughed when she saw him shudder in disgust. "No, not in that way. He's a freaking snake, he has no interest in things like raping your skinny ass. No, he literally wants your body. He'll explain it soon enough. But it is the price you have to pay for using his gift."

"Do I _have_ to pay it?"

"It looks like you have no control over the curse seal yet. Bit by bit, the curse seal will consume your body. If you don't pay the price, you'll die," Tayuya smirked.

"I… die?" Sasuke was actually taken aback. The seal had provided him with so much power, but now it was lethal?

"If you can't control it, yes," Kidomaru agreed. "But Orochimaru-sama seems to believe you can endure it. If not, he would not have given you _that_ seal."

Reaching up, Sasuke touched his own seal. "What's so special about it? You guys have the same thing, right?"

"Not really. There are differences," Kidomaru shrugged. "But we know what it means. That is why we kept waiting for you, Sasuke-sama."

"Sama?" Sasuke wondered. "What's the meaning of this?"

"His giving you that specific mark means that you will lead us. So I hope you forgive our earlier actions," Kidomaru inclined his head slightly, and it would have been respectful too if not for the mocking tone at which he spoke.

"Hn. I don't care, let's go."

"We can't," the largest of the four huffed. "We need some time to recover."

"Pathetic fat-ass," Tayuya scoffed.

Jirobo shook his head, annoyed by the foul language. "You need rest too, Tayuya. You did not go to the second level for as long as Sakon and I did, but you are tired as well."

"Konoha will track us down soon," Sasuke warned.

Tayuya laughed. "You really think we came unprepared? No, those morons will have to sift through a mountain of fake information first, before they can make their decisions. They'll think Orochimaru-sama himself is with us, for example. And even if they sent people out, it would be in the wrong directions. No, that limp old bastard will derail Konoha's force long enough for us to get away. You can bet your pretty eyeballs on that."

"And yet that filthy old goat forbade us to permanently harm that jonin," Sakon growled. "We should've killed that piece of trash!"

"Shut the fuck up about that, Sakon," Tayuya snapped. "You know about his deal with Orochimaru-sama as well as I do. He didn't mind it if some weak piece of trash died, but he needed his top jonin alive."

"He didn't become Hokage!"

"His plans seem to have backfired on him, but we still have that agreement. So unless you want to piss off the snake himself…" Tayuya shrugged.

"Then why… why did you kill Shino?" Sasuke mumbled.

"Gheh, you got pissed off because we killed your boyfriend?"

Sasuke glared at the girl. "It was my burden, not theirs."

"I told ya: it was your choice that led to his death," Kidomaru frowned. "Your actions have consequences. And those consequences are as much for others as they are for you. This is not some kind of fairy tale where everyone lives happily ever after. From the moment we crawl into this fucked up world, we suffer."

"Yeah, if someone is to be blamed, it is the one who threw us into this shit," Tayuya scowled. "But what do you know. You lived your life in the safety of the fucked-up village of tree huggers."

"What do you know about me?" Sasuke snapped. "What do you know about the pain I-"

"You weren't sold off by your parents. Your family wasn't wiped out due to some retarded superstition," Tayuya growled, making Sakon look away. "You weren't enslaved by the very bandits who massacred your village," Kidomaro grimaced at hearing this. "You weren't left for death, after your entire village was slaughtered," Jirobo sighed. "Do you have the fucking audacity to talk about pain in comparison with _us_!"

"Tsk. Whatever," Sasuke glared, but otherwise becoming silent. He knew they were right. If anyone was hurt due to his choices, it may be his fault, but… But the Sasuke who was part of team seven, the Sasuke who went out on missions with the people who he eventually accepted as being close to him, closer than anyone had been since the extermination of his clan, was gone. That Sasuke had lost the struggle against the ever-present desire for vengeance. His heart ached, but it was nothing compared to the pain the memory of family left him. '_I will kill Itachi, even if it is the last thing I do,'_ he repeated his mantra to himself. It was this mantra that had dragged him through those painful and lonely years following the Uchiha massacre. '_I am not like the rest of them. We have different paths that we must walk. I am an avenger. This is why I am alive. Not even Naruto can understand that pain.__'_

Silently, although the restless Sakon kept staring at Sasuke, the five teenagers ate a quick meal. Under the cover of the trees that surrounded the clearing, Jirobo even took a short nap. Sakon was too angry to even consider resting, even though Kidomaro had taken the duty of keeping watch. Meanwhile, Tayuya was playing her flute. Sasuke was actually surprised that the rude redhead was capable of creating such soothing music. It was so sad, and yet it held such calm… He soon drifted away.

* * *

With Kiba and Akamaru quickly picking up the five different scents, the nine rookies had quickly rushed through the forests surrounding Konoha. Still, it took them nearly two hours until Karin suddenly paused.

"I sense them," the Uzumaki hissed.

Shikamaru looked at Neji and Hinata, but they shook their heads. They saw nothing. "How far can you even-"

"They're a few miles from here," Karin still had her eyes shut tightly, completely focusing on her 'inner eye' as Kurenai had nicknamed her sensory abilities. "Aside from Sasuke, there are four… One seems very strange. His chakra seems scrambled."

"What do you mean?" Ino was confused as to why someone's chakra would be 'scrambled.'

"Two of them are injured," Kiba said. "I smelled their blood. If someone is injured badly enough, their chakra is affected too."

"No, this is… different," Karin hesitated. "It's almost like this person lost part of himself or something. Remember how Naruto-niisan was after right Sandaime-sama strengthened his seal?"

"His chakra needed some time to settle down," Hinata nodded.

"I wonder what could have happened to that guy to get his chakra altered in such a fundamental way," Shikamaru wondered. "But it means that at least one of them is weakened. And the others? How strong are they, Karin-san?"

"They all seem about as strong as a chunin, though the big one and scrambled one are rather weakened for some reason."

"But we can beat them?"

Karin shrugged, still not opening her eyes, but not sure how to answer. "I cannot say how skilled they are. I only sense the strength of their chakras. And I must say that they are foul, all five of them."

"Hey! Why is Sasuke-kun-" Ino began to protest, but Shikamaru cut her off.

"What is wrong with Sasuke's chakra pattern?"

"It's dark, darker than ever before. It almost feels a bit like Nii-san, when the Kyuubi influenced him."

"What did they do to Sasuke-kun!?"

"Ino, don't let your emotions get in the way of our mission," Shikamaru cut her off once more. The blonde glared, but for once the Nara did not back off. Troublesome as she may be, this was no situation where he would just leave things be. This was a matter of life and death, not some kind of stupid training. In addition, considering how he had been promoted, the others had appointed him as their makeshift captain. "Karin, is he bound or otherwise restrained?"

"I can't sense anything holding him down. No drugs, genjutsu, or other reasons why he wouldn't be able to escape," Karin shook her head. "But I'm not sure. We should get closer so that Hinata-san or Neji-san could see."

"Let's move," Kiba growled, getting an agreeing bark from Akamaru.

* * *

Nodding, even Sasuke lingered near the borders of waking and sleeping. This had been an exhausting day, both physical and mentally, and with Tayuya's music in the background, his thoughts had soon drifted away. At least, he did so until Sakon unsealed some kind of weird bathtub, which he threw on the ground with enough of a racket to wake even the noisily snoring Jirobo.

"What is that?" Sasuke looked at the wooden construct with more than a little distrust.

"This will be a good place, Sasuke-_sama_," Sakon mocked the Uchiha. "We've gone far enough from that piece of trash village."

"I'm asking you: what the hell is that?"

"We've got important orders from Orochimaru-sama," Sakon's insane grin never left his face. "I particularly like the last one. You… must die once."

Immediately on guard, Sasuke glared at the least sane of his four 'guards'. "You're telling me to die, once?"

Ruffling through his pockets, Sakon presented a small bottle with pills to him. "This is Seishingan. I'll have you take one of these…"

Tayuya sighed as she saw the look on Sasuke's face, not that she really blamed him. By the looks of it, Sakon really wished the Uchiha to die from it. '_Ukon was always the crazy one, but his death seems to have caused some severe mental damage to Sakon. Well, he was always an idiot, but this level of retardation is way beyond what we're used to from him.'_

"Seishingan will forcefully release the cursed seal to its second level," she explained. "But that will also dramatically increase the contamination speed of the seal. If we do nothing, you will die."

"In order to control the second level, your body needs some time to get adjusted," Kidomaru continued. "With the second level, you will probably possess the same level of strength as us, but if you are in that state, you probably only have a few minutes before you die."

Sasuke gulped. "How do I… adjust?"

"Don't worry," Sakon, the guy who actually worried Sasuke the most, chuckled. "That's what we're here for. We'll put you in a temporary coma by creating a barrier. We put that thing around you, and it will reduce the side-effects of the curse."

"Barrier skills," Sasuke grimaced. He had grown to despise that branch of ninjutsu, especially because Naruto made use of it. "How reliable are they?"

"Hey, we four are usually the elite guards of Orochimaru-sama himself. Creating seals and barriers are our strongest skills!" Kidomaru boasted. Well, boasting was not really the right word. Kenta, Kazu, and Kabuto were far stronger than they were, but unlike the Sound Four, this trio was always sent out on missions of their own.

'_I cannot die yet… I must kill Itachi first. I'll do everything for the sake of avenging our parents, Itachi. Even if I have to sell my soul to the devil, my face will be the last thing you'll ever see,'_ Sasuke opened the bottle, took one of the pills, and swallowed it. All members of the four looked at him. Each of them had gone through the very same process, and knew very well how much Sasuke would have to suffer.

Actually, knowing what was to come was a source of amusement to both Kidomaru and Sakon.

When Sasuke doubled over, it was if he was hit by a pain more severe than anything he'd ever felt before – including being poisoned by the Kyuubi's chakra. Jirobo looked at his teammates. "We should hurry, or Sasuke-sama is going to kick the bucket."

"Let him," Sakon smirked.

"Perhaps that would be the most merciful way, but we can't let that happen," Tayuya sighed. "Let's seal the princess."

Jirobo grabbed the withering Uchiha, and deposited him in the wooden container. All four stood at a side of the container, focusing their chakra and synchronously executing the exact same hand seals. A large black cloud enveloped the container, and when the members of the Sound Four put their hands down, the cloud descended upon the crate. All the darkness was sucked into the object, only leaving a solid black mass behind.

The sealing tags stabilized the dark seal, the houin fuukoku, which the four had used.

Now Sasuke was trapped in the darkness. And they knew he would have to survive on his own now. The strength of his volition would determine if he would fail or not. Not even Orochimaru himself could change that part of the process, and they had all seen enough people fail during this process. It was definitely not the best way to die…

* * *

"One has some burns on his chest, the big one," Hinata reported. "The wounds seem to limit his movements."

"Not by much though, but it would seem that none of the four know any medical ninjutsu, if they left that untreated," Neji added. "They are weird though. The girl and the six-armed boy seem to be the most difficult opponents. They possess the most chakra at least."

"Six arms?" Choji exclaimed, quickly hushed by Ino.

"They're the henchmen of that Orochimaru, remember?" Kiba mumbled. "No surprise that he collected a group around him who are as freakish as he is."

"Still, six arms…"

"It makes me wonder what kind of modifications the other three have," Neji mused. "There is no way that those three are normal."

"So, should we attack, or send someone back for reinforcements and keep tracking them?" Shikamaru remained focused, not wanting to distract himself too much by thinking how freaking tough this group would be. "There are nine of us, against four of them. Two of them are injured. Can we take them down by ourselves?"

"…"

"Hey, are you-"

Neji cut him off by raising his hand. "What is going on?"

"Sasuke-san just swallowed some kind of pill. It is affecting him badly," Hinata clarified.

'_Is her eyesight better than mine?'_ Neji frowned. He had not seen that detail. Not from this distance, at least. "They seem to be sealing him into something now."

"His chakra… it was changing. It grew darker and colder," Karin shuddered. "And more powerful. But it seemed very unstable. Shikamaru-san, I don't think they are merely after his sharingan. It seems like they gave him something which affected his cursed seal. It was just like when he went crazy in the Forest of Death..."

"Is that thing truly that evil?" Tenten wondered. "How bad can it be?"

"It spreads a secondary chakra through his body," Neji clarified. "And based on what Hinata-sama, Kiba, and Karin-san just told us, it also affects his emotions."

"But what just happened?" Ino demanded.

"Sasuke-san has been sealed within _something_… It is like there is some kind of barrier surrounding him, I cannot see past it," Hinata looked at Neji, but he too could not see through it.

"I've got nothing either," Karin shrugged. "But whatever they did, it was dangerous. But now it is like they created a void into which Sasuske disappeared."

"He sustained a lot of damage to his tenketsu, before they sealed him," Neji agreed.

"Were they killing him?"

"Ino-san… I do not think Sasuke-san was held against his will," Hinata hesitated.

"I feared as much," Shikamaru sighed. "Yes, Ino, if you opened your eyes instead of following your heart, you would have seen that possibility too. Sasuke was way too obsessed with power. I suppose that whatever Orochimaru gave him, this is a way to master that power, am I right?"

"It seems likely, but what are we supposed to do about this?" Neji looked at Shikamaru.

"The longer we wait, the greater the grip of the seal on Sasuke will become. So we should act fast. Two of them are injured, and we are nine. I know the basic level of skill of each of us, except for Karin… I must ask you, how strong are you?"

Karin hesitated. Seeing that she did, Kiba answered on her behalf. "Kusa never trained her well. She is an excellent sensor, but she's not cut out for front-line combat," he looked at Karin, who seemed rather dejected. "Don't blame yourself. I didn't mean to insult you, but I don't want you to put in harm's way either. You're an amazing sensor. I mean, you managed to track down the legendary Tsunade, when even Jiraiya-sama failed! Spend some time with Kurenai-sensei and you'll be kicking our asses as well."

Karin smiled a little at that prediction, but still… "I am sorry I am not more useful."

"Without you we would not have been able to evade those traps, right?" Shikamaru remembered the girl of the craftily-hidden traps that had surrounded the area. But all those traps shared one fatal flaw: they were based on chakra. So Karin had spotted all the traps, even when Neji and Hinata had missed several of them. "But while we do not know how strong these guys are, nor do we know who has what kind of skill set. So, we could better split into well-balanced teams. All we know right now is that there is one capable of doton jutsus, and one of them is an archer."

"Are you sure that it is wise to split up?" Neji frowned.

"These guys took down Hatake Kakashi. Even if they fought three on one, it shows their teamwork is good. In contrast, we are composed of three teams, and aren't used to working together like this, so our teamwork is probably a lot worse. Our best odds are to split them up and take them down separately. I'd rather take that option than let them work together, cover for each other's weaknesses, and take us down one by one."

"Why not just snatch the coffin which holds Sasuke, and make run for it?"

"And get the four of them after us? Are all nine of us capable of outrunning them? No. Or should only one take Sasuke, while the other eight stay and stall them? Again, the problem would be that they aren't split up. Besides, we have to fight them anyway, whether we do it with eight or with nine. But I think the latter case gives us better odds," Shikamaru summarized. "I think it is best to scatter them with our first attack, and split them up. But who has to fight who?"

Neji considered this for a moment, and then nodded. "I think you are right. Besides, if we do not attack all of them, one could try to take Sasuke and run. Going in on offense might be best… As for your question: the big guy seems like a close combat type."

"In that case, Choji and Kiba should focus on him," Shikamaru suggested. "As long as we do not know whether the big guy has some kind of ninjutsu or not, Lee should better focus on the one with the scrambled chakra. I doubt that guy could perform any jutsu in his state."

"I'll help Lee," Ino suggested. "If he does not have proper control of his own chakra, my shintenshin no jutsu would be even more useful than normal."

"And Karin could help Choji, Akamaru, and me," Kiba added.

"Very well. Neji, can you and Tenten deal with that six armed guy?" Shikamaru asked. Neji and Tenten nodded. "Good, then I will cooperate with Hinata. If I trap that girl, Hinata should be able to disable her with her juken. On top of it, with Karin, Neji, and Hinata split, at least three groups have a good overview of the situation."

"Hey, my clan is known for its sensory abilities too!" Ino protested. Not that anyone bothered to start an argument with her on this. It was neither the time nor the place for that.

"S-Shouldn't we wait on Naruto-kun?" Hinata looked hesitantly at the others, who all seemed to prepare themselves for the oncoming battle.

"Sasuke-kun is hurt, he may die, we cannot wait," Ino snapped.

"She does have a point, Ino," Shikamaru hushed her, though not with too much enthusiasm. "And there is little point in meaninglessly wasting your life in a failed attempt to save him." Ino bristled, but Shikamaru ignored her and looked at the two Hyuga and Karin. "You three can judge our situation best. With the plan we have, can we take them down, or should we wait for Naruto and risk that the spot us while we wait until Chie brings reinforcements?"

"We can do it," Neji was confident. "We always have a two-on-one situation, and as soon as one of them falls, the odds only grow in our favor. They may have beaten Kakashi-sensei, but this time it is their time to be ambushed. Besides, if Chie manages to warn Naruto quickly, he should be here soon enough anyway. If we let them go away now, we might risk our opportunity. We now have the extra advantage of them not knowing we are here, but if we need to follow them…"

"If they are good enough to take down Kakashi-sensei, they are good enough to notice us soon too," Shikamaru agreed. He was still confused how they had created those web-like threads around the clearing. If it had not been for Karin, they would have missed at least some of the lines. Luckily, the threads were created with chakra, so she could 'see' them. If only barely. "Okay, attack on my cue. And we don't want to be taken out with one jutsu, so spread out."

'_Much will depend on how quickly the two injured guys are taken down, if that happens we will definitely have the upper hand,'_ Shikamaru grimaced.

"Don't worry Shika, we can do it," Choji smiled at his friend. "They killed Shino, hurt Kakashi-sensei, and we don't even know if Sakura is alive or not. We will repay the favor."

"Yosh!" Lee's unusually silent demeanor vanished like snow before the sun. Even Tenten was taken aback a little when she saw the fire in his eyes. '_He must be angry that Sakura got hurt. Worse even, he doesn__'__t know whether she is alive or not,__'_ she guessed. '_Well, __it's the Lee-equivalent of anger, at least,__'_ she mentally added, while she prepared her weapon scrolls.

The nine jumped down from the trees, into clearing, where four surprised shinobi awaited them.

* * *

**Bonus: The Marked Man (1) **

* * *

Raido pulled the key out, and closed the door behind him. "Ahh.. Home at last," he mumbled. With Anko currently looking after the 'kids', he had some time to get home- and he needed it. While he was happy to serve the son of the man he had once sworn loyalty to, some time off was definitely a luxury, especially due to Anko's alcohol-deprived antics.

But most of all, Raido needed to check on his basement. '_Anko would probably murder me if she knew what I did in my spare time…__'_

A lot of people would probably freak out if they knew; that was exactly the reason why they kept it a secret. Raido had inherited it from his grandfather, and now he cooperated with his elder cousin. Through a secret tunnel, his cousin, who lived around the corner, could enter Raido's basement. Of course, that poor man had to keep this a secret as well, considering how his wife would react if she would find out. Similarly, someone with Raido's position could not be known for this either.

Who knew how anyone would react when they figured out he and his cousin had secretly continued their grandfather's sake brewery?

It was not just any label either. 'The Marked Man' was one of Konoha's most exclusive brands of sake. Both Raido and his cousin were extremely methodical with their every move. It ensured that the brewing process was extremely precise, even though it was all traditionally made, rather than many of the other sake brands which were created through a (partially) automated production process. No, 'The Marked Man' was a label which maintained extremely high standards. Considering how it was a two-man business, it was also a highly exclusive brand. It was one which many parties within Konoha desired to take under their control.

Raido had seen the chaos that Anko and Tsunade had created only a few days before, over the destruction of one bottle of his sake. '_Yeah, she__'__d definitely try to murder me if she found out,_' Raido shuddered at the thought.

Going down the stairs and entering the surprisingly large basement – Raido had put his wages to good use – Raido immediately saw that something was missing.

The casks, made of the best wood available, were filled to the brim with the delicious strained, clear sake. However, the funnel used to pour the sake from the casks into the bottles was gone. It was gone, yet Raido knew that his cousin would never put it anywhere but the designated position. Where was it?!

* * *

"Crazy-snakes-two-leg?"

"What is it this time?" Anko asked the cat wearily. "I'm not in the mood for another prank. So unless you get me either dango or sake, I suggest you scram."

"I wanted to apologize for locking you in that room the other day," Chie continued, as if she was never interrupted.

Anko shivered. Shizune and Ako had not been pleased when they found Anko and Tsunade locked in that room. '_That gaki truly went overboard when it came to sealing that room. What the hell is wrong with that kid? There was no way out, aside from tearing down the building… Why would he go that far for some stupid threat against his ramen? If it had been dango or sake, I would__'__ve understood, but that shitty broth.__'_

Two other cats, one reddish and one brown with a white-tipped tail, entered the room while they carried a strange metal object in their mouths.

"The hell is this?"

"Not sure, but it smelled like your flaming water," Chie spoke up. "So we brought it here…"

"Right… and what do I have to do with it?"

"It is from the marked two-leg, or whatever it was that stood on the bottle," Chie tilted her head slightly. "You seemed to like it last time."

"The marked two-leg? What are you talking about… wait, are you talking about 'The Marked Man'?"

Chie nodded.

"You found the brewery of the most elusive company in Konoha?" Anko had eyes big as saucers at this point. "Please tell me where!"

"Errr," taken aback by Anko's sudden change in demeanor, Chie wondered if it would be wise to tell. Anko just seemed to be a bit too fanatical. And as if on cue, the snake mistress conjured up a kunai. '_The two-leg would go nuts if I don__'__t tell… Ah well. I__'__m too young to die just yet, I__'__m sorry, Scarface-two-leg.__'_

* * *

Raido had searched through his entire basement, visited his cousin's place – thank Kami his wife had not been there – and was currently ransacking his own house. But so far, the funnel remained missing.

He was so distracted by his quest, Raido even failed to notice the ominous sensation when someone knocked at his front door. "Coming!"

'_It isn__'__t in the hall either… Where on earth did it go?__'_ Raido fumed while walking to the door.

"Hellooooo, Raido-kun."

Anko as of late had made a game of striking seductive poses with her already way-too-revealing usual clothing, but this pose really hit the top spot. "A-Anko?"

"Who else?"

"Why… Wait, what are you doing right here?" Raido suddenly realized that she must have left the two jinchuriki unguarded at the Uzumaki compound.

"I came to make an offer you can't resist," Anko leaned towards him. Unsure what he was supposed to be doing in this situation, Raido leaned back.

'_She lost it. She has completely lost it…__'_ Raido blinked. His calm and collected attitude was completely shattered right now, embarrassed as he was that he could barely look away from the rather close view he now had of Anko's cleavage. "Offer?" he eventually repeated dumbly.

"Yes… Why don't I give you this," Anko held up the funnel Raido was seeking. "And in return for me keeping your hobby a secret, you provide me with sake," she smiled. However, that smile had nothing friendly at all in it- at least, not in Raido's eyes. He saw it as a threat. "I'm not sure why you went to such lengths to keep this a secret, but I doubt you want it to get exposed, right?"

"How-"

"Hi, Scarface-two-leg," Chie popped up from behind Anko. "I love what you did to your basement."

Looking from the mischievous black-and-white cat to his fellow tokubetsu jonin, Raido paled. Even the weal-like scar on his face seemed to change colour. "Fuck…"

"I didn't agree to that. Yet," Anko winked. "Get me a few bottles of your sake. I'll give you a day, or else I'm going to pay Tsunade-sama a visit. I'm sure she would love to know about this too."

"Y-you wouldn't…"

"Hey, you're the mastermind behind Konoha's best sake, of course you would be a great catch!" Anko smirked.

"Wha-what?" Raido started to blush. "No! Eh, no, that's not… Not what I meant. I meant about telling Tsunade-sama!"

"If you're a good boy, I will be a good girl," Anko purred, before she walked away- as seductively as she could. Raido swore that he had never seen such curves when a person wore a trench coat before. "Remember, you have one day…"

* * *

**A/N**: It never made much sense to me that the Sound Four could just waltz in an out of the village. So I added a bit of Danzo to the plot. Anyway, I hope you like those match-ups. And yes, I did not make the Sound Four shinobi exactly identical to their manga counterparts. Especially not when including the filler episodes where they were revived. No, I'd prefer to show a more human side to them.

As for Kakashi being beaten: by using the cursed seal, the sound four could take down Genma and Raido, two jonin formidable enough to be guards to the Hokage himself, in the manga. So I didn't think that it was unrealistic that three of them could take down Hatake Kakashi.

Today's recommendation: considering the amount of Tayuya in this chapter, I would like to recommend the top-NaruTayu story. **Seeing Red** from **RyoshiMorino** starts when Naruto begins his three year training period, but just after they leave the village they meet an interesting (and wounded) person who will tag along. The fic certainly had me laughing many times. Especially Ryoshi's take on Kurama is brilliant.

As always, thank you **Illuminated** for beta-ing my chapter. And thank you to all of you who take your time to leave your reviews! Hopefully, this chapter will push my fic past the 1.000 review mark!

Next chapter:** Origins in flames**.

-Z-


	54. Origins in Flames

_Whoohooo! 1,000 reviews! Even though I'd have achieved that number earlier if I had not deleted all those anonymous "kill yourself" reviews. But still, I'm very happy I reached this far. And even better news: I now have a new cover image! Never did I dare to think that I would get a cover image of my own, but thanks to Dark-Indigo I now have one! Check out the link to his deviantart account on my profile page!_

* * *

**Sasuke retrieval arc**

**Origins in flames**

* * *

She tugged the yellow fabric with no small amount of pride. Pride, because Naruto had given her this short-sleeved, tan kimono-like blouse. She absolutely loved it, especially its dark, embroidered border. He had also given her a black obi that kept the blouse closed, as well as being able to hold some kunai and sealing scrolls. She had also found a (not-too-expensive) dark skirt and stockings that went with it. Sure, it was not lavender, which was by far her favorite color, but this… this was something Uzumaki Kushina herself had worn, something that truly belonged to the Uzumaki clan. 'M_y_ _clan_,' Karin kept telling herself, over and over again. She had a clan. She still could hardly fathom it. She really had family now.

Her dream, for as long as she could remember, was having a family. Karin had always been alone. Memories of her childhood were mostly a blur, filled with nightmares of pain and loneliness. But even many of the other street-rats had had some family: a little brother, a sister, an ill mother, a father lost to battle, or _anyone_. But, Karin had not. Even when she was thrown into the orphanage, Karin had always felt alone. On the streets of the wretched city whose name she couldn't even remember anymore, she had lived alone-stealing, begging, getting food by whatever means possible. It wasn't like the orphanage provided any of it, and what they did provide was always taken away by the older and stronger kids. It was a desperate life, with a constant threat of pain or even death, but it was still better than what most older homeless girls eventually had to deal with.

Children of the street were usually captured and sold. The orphanage was just another name for a warehouse, one where kids were nothing more than merchandise. Only once had Karin seen one of the older girls return to her neighborhood. That poor girl had barely been fifteen when she was captured and sold. She had always refused to talk about what had happened to her, and only later Karin would realize why the girl's stomach had started to grow so much in the months after. Now, Karin could understand why the poor girl had cried so much, even after all the bruises and cuts had healed. Karin still felt sick whenever she thought about it.

How close had Karin been to such a fate… she had been sold off to Kusagakure after a jonin of that village had noticed her sensory abilities, and would have inevitably ended up as a mother herself. Whether it was willing or not, she had been bought for her DNA so reproduction was part of the 'job'. Each hidden village had this iron law: the militaristic society always needed more soldiers. While boys with bloodlines were more wanted in the slavery business, as they could 'spread their genes' faster than girls, who only gave birth once every nine months, girls like Karin were always in demand on the black market. After all, blood was the most valuable commodity in their world, and a sensory ability like Karin's was deemed extremely useful. If she 'produced' several male children with that same ability, a hidden village could spread that blood within several generations. No one cared if there were a few more crying girls with swollen bellies.

But as dark and hopeless as her world had looked, by chance her team had been selected to join the Chunin Exams in Konoha. Her teammates were considered to be among the strongest of their generation, at least in Kusagakure. Karin's sensory ability would complement them perfectly. But, her teammates were not as strong as the village had thought, and they had died soon enough. Karin had barely even learned their names, before they lost their lives in that cruel forest. Kusa believed she had perished as well. And she would have, if Kiba had not saved her from that bear in the Forest of Death. By doing that, he had spared her far more pain and anguish than he would ever realize. Especially since that encounter led to her being accepted into Konohagakure.

Thanks to Kiba, she had been freed. She became more than just a womb on legs. Thanks to him, she had been happy for the first time since she could remember, truly happy. That Naruto, the boy who initially terrified her with his ominous chakra, had the same Uzumaki blood as hers made her life even more perfect. She was no longer alone! Naruto was equally exhilarated at having someone who was truly related to him by blood, no matter how distant. He had even granted Karin her long cherished wish: she now had someone to call a brother. She had someone who called her sister! Every time he called her 'neechan', she smiled like crazy.

To her, the tan kimono-like blouse she now wore was a physical manifestation of that new bond. That he would give her something that once belonged to his mother still humbled her. She knew how happy he had been when he found out about his mother, and for him to give her something that belonged to Kushina made her so happy.

It was this happiness she now feared losing. All the things she gained, she would do everything in her power to protect, to keep them. However, Karin knew that her power was very limited. '_I am weak. My only talent is my sensory ability, but otherwise I am useless. I just hope I won't be a burden to Choji or Kiba-kun,'_ Karin felt her confidence crumble.

Their group had caught up with the quartet that had abducted Uchiha Sasuke. '_Or guided him out of town_,' Karin thought. Yes, that would be a better way to put it. Unlike what the blonde Yamanaka seemed to believe, the Uchiha boy did not seem to be restrained at all. In fact, Karin could not even find a hint that he had resisted his 'capture'.

As Shikamaru, the only chunin and thus unofficial commander of the group, laid out the plans, Karin wondered if this whole clandestine mission could even be considered as a 'Sasuke retrieval' mission. '_If he went with them willingly, he would be branded a traitor…'_

Karin had seen in Kusa how traitors and runaways were treated. While Konoha seemed to keep its darker side better concealed than Kusa did, Karin had no illusions that her new village would be much kinder if it turned out Sasuke had indeed become a traitor. In fact, the stories Anko told about her job at the Torture and Interrogation division were enough to make most people lose their appetites. '_I hope for his sake my suspicions are wrong. I'm probably prejudiced anyway, considering how he attacked Nii-san and all. Besides, I'm not half as good at tracking as Kiba or Hinata are.'_

"If they are good enough to take down Kakashi-sensei, they are good enough to notice us soon too," Shikamaru spoke up, snapping her out of her train of thought. "Okay, attack on my cue. And we don't want to be taken out with one jutsu, so spread out."

Karin felt annoyed that she could not stop herself from trembling. She was afraid. She felt powerless, but at the same time she wished with all her heart that she had the ability to protect all the things, and all the people precious to her. For the first time, she had something to fight for. She would give it her all, for Kiba, for Naruto, for her new team, and for her friends. She took out the scroll with exploding tags. She, Hinata, and Tenten had practiced making these, and while Karin's tags were far less potent than Tenten's, she sure hoped that they would be useful in their fight against the biggest of the four 'kidnappers', although it was clearly apparent to her that he was not the strongest.

"Don't worry Shikamaru, we can do it," Choji smiled at his friend. Karin wondered how a boy like this had gone so far in the previous exams. He just seemed so innocent to her. Then again, most of their group seemed to be oblivious to how dark their world truly was. "They killed Shino, hurt Kakashi-sensei, and we don't even know if Sakura is alive or not. We will repay the favor," the chubby boy spoke with more determination than Karin had expected. '_Perhaps this fight won't be as bad as I feared?' _she hoped.

"Yosh!" Lee's unusually silent demeanor vanished like snow before the sun.

The nine jumped down from the trees into the clearing, where four surprised shinobi awaited them.

* * *

Tired- she felt so horribly tired. The eerie, white surroundings of the hospital had confused her for a few moments, until she once again remembered what had happened. '_Sasuke-kun… how could you?'_

Tears fell down, but Sakura felt too numbed to move, to cry out, or to vent her frustration, anger, despair, and confusion. Those people belonged to Otogakure; they had been Orochimaru's henchmen. Why had Sasuke not resisted? He had just stood there, talking with that six-armed freak, and had not even lifted a hand when the latter had aimed his bow. Sasuke had done nothing to rescue Shino. Shino… '_Why, Sasuke? Why? I knew you were angry, I knew you were frustrated, but to do something like this… I thought you cared about us. How could you just allow them to kill Shino? Did he mean nothing to you? Did I mean nothing to you? You just stood there, and did nothing.'_

Her heart felt as if it had shattered. She lost her mother during the invasion, and then her fool of a father had died in an accident, all because the man had been so drunk that he couldn't even walk down the stairs. At least, that was what she thought had happened. On top of that, now Sasuke had left her behind as well? '_I knew you were hurting, but… even if you lost so much, you still had us. You still had me. Did you not know I love you, Sasuke-kun?'_

And now she was bound to this accursed hospital bed. She wished she could get out, to go after Sasuke; because without him, what did she even have in this village? There were some distant relatives, and there was her aunt from mother's side whom she hadn't seen in years due to the fight her aunt once had with Mebuki. No- the only person who was still important to her was Uchiha Sasuke: the boy who had broken her heart by betraying her, by betraying their team.

As she sobbed, she even wished that she could have gone with him. If only she had not been hit by those poisoned senbon! The after-effects of their poison still numbed her. In fact, according to Tsunade, whom Sakura had spoken with a bit earlier, those senbon had actually done little damage. One had severed a tendon, and one had come close to an artery. But seeing how she had been struck by over a dozen needles, she could be considered lucky to get away with this little damage. Even the poison had contained no dangerous side effects, something Tsunade had remarked upon as very curious. Apparently, Orochimaru was not known for making poisons that would not kill someone. Had Sakura been clear of mind, she would have realized that those senbon had been prepared for Sasuke.

But none of those things crossed Sakura's mind. Her sensei had been gravely injured, her teammate had been killed, and the people who did it were apparently Sasuke's allies? Sakura had not known what to say to Tsunade, but realized that if she voiced her suspicions that Sasuke had gone with them willingly, he would be marked as a traitor. '_I can't tell any of the adults. Someone who doesn't know Sasuke-kun would declare him a missing nin, and Sasuke-kun would be hunted down and killed. I can't… No, I can't let that happen. I'm sure there must be another explanation as to why Sasuke did not resist being taken away. He must be threatened, or anything. He wouldn't… No, I love him, he won't do such things! Perhaps they threatened to kill me, and that was why he surrendered?'_

'_You're being naïve,'_ her inner voice sighed. '_Sasuke went with them. He let that guy kill Shino.'_

'_But he… But Sasuke-kun would not-'_

'_Cheh! You are blind! Shino trusted him to take that six-armed guy on, and look what it brought him? But assume you find anyone willing to take him back alive, who would be strong enough? You already know who you should ask… But what guarantee can he give you that he won't kill him with his own hands?'_

'_Naruto and Sasuke-kun may have this rivalry thing, but Naruto would understand… No, he wouldn't have to know. If he wouldn't know any better than that those Oto nin abducted Sasuke-kun, he would go out and rescue him, right?' _Sakura felt her inner persona's disappointment. '_What?'_ she snarled at… well, at herself.

'_Lying to Naruto is dangerous. It will only make the situation worse. If he finds out that you would use him like this, he'd never-'_

'_Who cares about that?! The only thing that matters is that Sasuke-kun gets back to Konoha. I'm sure that if I talk to him, Sasuke-kun would-'_

'_IDIOT! You would talk to him and he would change? Even you should not believe that. What did you think Kakashi-sensei did? And Shino? Why did Shino even give us that cryptic warning before we went back to Konoha? He knew something was off about Sasuke. He knew something we didn't see…'_

Sakura was about to argue against this, not believing that there was anything 'off' about Sasuke at all, that he was as perfect as usual, but something distracted her. She opened her eyes, red from crying, and looked around. The door had not opened, nor had the window, but something…

"Good afternoon, Haruno-san," a seemingly-frail old man spoke up. Sakura felt certain that his appearance was only hiding his abilities. There had been nearly no sound at all, and the only thing that Sakura had noticed was the slight breath of air that followed the person's movement.

'_Shunshin no jutsu? With this level of stealth? He would be at least as skilled as a jonin,'_ Sakura grew suspicious. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

It was clear that the old man, despite the fact that his face was mostly covered in bandages, seemed mildly amused at her suspicion. "I am Shimura Danzo, elder of the Konoha council," he rasped. "I am here for you, Haruno Sakura. Tell me, what do you feel, knowing that the Uchiha child has betrayed you and your team?"

"You… How… Sasuke-kun did not-"

"Do not try to lie to me. I know about his foolish desire to avenge and redeem his clan," his calm and nearly emotionless voice terrified Sakura. "I know why he left and I know who led him away. Now that we have skipped the part where you try to defend your teammate, answer my question."

"My… How I feel? I am… I feel lost. Sad. And… angry."

Danzo's disapproval was only visible by how the corner of his mouth turned a few millimeters down. "Emotions are something that weakens a shinobi. Your distractions only cause you to do nothing. But if you are truly angry at the Uchiha, what are you going to do? You need strength if you want to confront the boy."

"Strength?" Sakura blinked.

"That is what I offer. Had you been faster, you would have been able to dodge those senbon. Had you been stronger, you would have been able to fight alongside your teammates. But that is not going to change anything," Danzo continued. "The way you think is your weakness. You let your emotions run rampant. But my training could help you in that. It could make you powerful."

"But… I don't know if-"

"I read the reports. You lost your mother during the invasion, and your father soon after. And now your team fell apart. Do you wish to continue feeling like you are right now?"

Sakura opened her mouth, but forgot what she wanted to say before she even said it. She felt dumb, and closed her mouth. After moments of silence in which Danzo's visible eye kept studying her expressions, Sakura finally made her decision. "No…" she whispered.

"Would you accept my training regime? Would you do whatever it takes to protect the roots that uphold the tree that is Konohagakure no Sato?"

Meanwhile, the 'inner Sakura' was starting to panic. She felt a foreign chakra seeping in her, influencing her dominant counterpart. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. But no matter how hard she screamed, Sakura seemed to be oblivious to the threat.

Danzo's eyebrow cocked up a little. "Well?"

"No, I do not wish to remain like this, Danzo-sama," Sakura spoke clearly now. Her inner voice shivered at the bland and emotionless tone, and especially noted the 'sama' which suddenly popped up. '_Don't listen to him! Don't trust him! Dammit, listen to me you baka!'_

"Good. My men will pick you up once you are fit to return home. In the meanwhile, your initial mission will be to earn the trust of Senju Tsunade. She is currently performing surgery on Hatake Kakashi, but she will soon inspect you again. You are exactly the type of kunoichi she would like to have as an apprentice. Moreover, with the situation you are currently in, you should be able to gain her sympathy with ease."

"Yes, Danzo-sama."

"After you commence and carry on your training with Root, for at least a month, you will also repair your bond with Uzumaki Naruto in your spare time. I need an agent close to him. I need to know how he acts, how he will respond to the plans I wish to set in motion. I need to be able to predict his every movement. I need to understand that _thing_. You, Haruno Sakura, are a useful piece in this game, but Uzumaki Naruto is the asset every power in Konoha covets. If he continues to grow like this, he will be someone who will shape the future of this village. And the one who controls him, will control that future. I need that volatile, yet extraordinary powerful jinchuriki under my command soon, so you will have to do your work well."

"Yes, Danzo-sama," Sakura stared blankly at her new master. She was receptive to his every order, as the genjutsu had now fully taken its effect.

"And with the jinchuriki in my grasp, we should be able to retrieve the Uchiha quickly," Danzo smirked at the ease of this process. Of course, he would not tell her that he had a hand in the Uchiha's betrayal by helping Orochimaru to retrieve the boy and distracting the entire village by creating false leads. No, she would be easier to control if her heart agreed with his goals. '_Shisui's eye is truly one of the most valuable items in our world. It is a shame I never got my hands on his other eye. But with the senju dna, the Kotoamatsukami recharged quick enough from when I used it on Hizashi. However, had I not prepared her like this, convincing her would have been more difficult.'_

Yes, the harder it was to convince the target, the more chakra the genjutsu would consume. Powerful and subtle as the Kotoamatsukami may be, if Sakura had not already been willing to agree with Danzo's proposition, it would have taken a lot longer to recharge the stolen eye. '_A month. Perhaps a bit longer. Ordering Fu to kill the girl's father was the right call. It broke her. It removed the things that gave her hope, allowing me to use the one thing she still desired as bait. Young girls are far too easy to manipulate. But because of it, my plans can be set in motion much sooner than originally intended. Orochimaru unknowingly acted as my pawn, playing along with my plan. I suppose I should pay Hyuga Hideo a visit, so that this part of the plan is set in motion as well.'_

Inner Sakura could do little more than watch silently as her dominant persona was now manipulated. She was caged, powerless to do anything while Danzo pulled her strings. The inner voice was completely disconnected from the 'main' Sakura. '_What is Root? How did he do that genjutsu? There were no hand seals, nor did he channel his chakra the usual way, it almost seemed like he… A dojutsu? But not even Kakashi sensei could cast illusions as overwhelmingly strong as this one! Damn it! How on earth did he even manage to lock me away? Or is it because she agreed with his ideas? Hell no! She wouldn't be stupid enough to run away from the pain, would she?'_

* * *

"You gotta be fucking kidding me," Tayuya stared at the group, completely baffled for a second. "These idiots are attacking us?"

"All genin, we saw a few of them when we watched the finals alongside Orochimaru-sama," Kidomaru frowned. "Tayuya, you should take the coffin with you. Retrieving Sasuke is our main objective. Sakon, Jirobo, and I will be more than enough to deal with these pieces of thrash."

"I'm going to tear them apart," Sakon hissed his agreement.

"Don't do anything completely retarded. You guys just released your second level to take on that one-eye, and haven't had enough rest to recover already," Tayuya picked up the wooden coffin in which they had just sealed Uchiha Sasuke. He would be Orochimaru's vessel. He was a far cry from Kimimaro, but with the last Kaguya in comatose condition right now, Orochimaru would find the Uchiha more than satisfying. '_He probably wouldn't give a shit if we live or die in this mission, as long as we retrieve this faggot…'_ she thought bitterly. '_Not that our opinions matter. The four of us were fucked the moment he got that seal on us. This Uchiha faggot won't be an exception. Ugh, if only I could burn down this entire fucked-up world!'_

Seeing 'their' target take the coffin and vanish into the woods behind, Shikamaru and Hinata knew they would have to get past the other three quickly, or the redheaded girl would slip away. '_Troublesome, women always are troublesome… Didn't we run enough already?_' Shikamaru looked at the others. "Anyone got a way to split those three up, and quickly?" he whispered.

Tenten gave him a wide grin and took out one of her scrolls. "Would exploding tags do? Karin, help me with this," she said softly.

"Yes," Karin nodded vigorously. "We will show them what Nii-san taught us!"

"Just throw one volley, after that we will rush in," Shikamaru looked at the others. "Kiba, Lee, Neji, you three are the fastest among us, so rush towards your opponents immediately. Keep them occupied, so that they don't get an opportunity to stop Hinata and me from chasing that red-haired girl."

Across the clearing, Kidomaru was lazily stretching his six arms. "What do you think they are whispering about?"

"Who cares, let's just crush them," he heard back. It was painfully obvious to Kidomaru that Sakon was completely insane now. '_Then again, he never told us the truth about his relation to Ukon. We assumed they were brothers, but perhaps they were just two halves of the same being… And with one half dead, the other is crippled. This stupid battle might get more troublesome than anticipated.' _

For some odd reason, Shikamaru suddenly wondered if he had not picked the wrong opponent..

"They are very bold, hunting us down and attacking us like this," Jirobo broke the silence that had fallen while Sakon awaited Kidomaru's approval to attack. "I wonder if they are just stupid, or if they actually think they have a chance against us."

"Probably both," Sakon laughed, although it sounded more hysterical than actually amused. "Tayuya has gotten enough of a lead by now, do you think we have to wait?"

"I told you already, if there is an opportunity to take all these nine morons down in one strike, it is pivotal to keep them together. And if we spread out… Kunai?" Kidomaru frowned. "A straightforward attack like this? Are you kidding me?"

The trio easily dodged. Though Jirobo noticed that these kunai were-

A rapid series of explosions cut him off before he could even warn the others. Jirobo jumped right, and saw Kidomaru jumping away at the other side of the cloud of smoke and dust. '_Where is Sakon?_' the robustly-built shinobi wondered, not that he got a chance to look. Two drill-like cyclones forced him to back down even further- into the woods.

* * *

Fire. She had never liked it. She couldn't fathom what Tenten found so appealing about fire either. '_Fire is pain, anguish, fear. How could someone be excited by it?'_ Karin asked herself. She hated the element more than any other. It always filled her worst nightmares.

The largest of the four was currently busy fending of the Gatsuga of both Kiba and Akamaru. Jirobo had managed to evade the first couple of attacks, but was now seriously pushed into defense.

As he was separated from Sakon, who was currently busy fending off the quick-as-lighting Rock Lee, and Kidomaru, Jirobo was no longer amused by what he had thought to be a common band of weak genin. '_These pieces of trash are far better organized than I would have expected from a couple of inexperienced genin. They weren't like this during the exams…'_

"Doton: Doroku Gaeshi!" Jirobo growled. The jutsu created a large wall of solid earth in front of him, enough to stop Akamaru in his Jujin Bunshin form- though the cracks left in the wall were more than enough to let the pup's partner through.

"Go Kiba-kun!" Karin cheered when she saw that the Gatsuga had finally made a direct hit.

Unlike Karin, though, Choji kept paying close attention. "Nikudan Sensha!" he bloated up, and spinning at high speeds, he rushed towards Jorobo as a human bullet-tank. He had seen the black markings spread over Jirobo's body, and just after he started his jutsu, Kiba was smacked away.

"Houshou!"

Karin gasped when Choji flew back. The palm of the sound nin's hand had struck so hard that it had deflected the human tank.

As easy as it had seemed, Jirobo actually felt his wrist ache. '_That kid with the dog is annoyingly fast, but that fat-weak-looking kid really packs a punch. I can't believe he managed to hurt me like this, despite the fact that I'm using the cursed seal already,'_ he rubbed over his aching wrist.

And although she conceded her training still left much room for improvement, her timing had been impeccable. Utilizing the moment Jirobo looked down to inspect his injury, Karin had thrown three kunai- kunai carrying explosive tags set with different delay times before they would explode.

Kiba got onto his feet, quickly joined by Akamaru, who now looked like a feral copy of Kiba. Still a bit dazed, Choji quickly joined the Inuzuka. Once the first explosion went off, Karin jumped towards them as well. "Can either of you hold him down for a moment?" Kiba asked his impromptu-teammates.

"Why?"

"I can merge with Akamaru, using the Jinju Konbi Henge: Sotoro," Kiba smirked when Jirobo was struck by a second explosion, just when he let his guard down. "Nice thinking, Karin," Kiba smiled at the insecure-looking red-haired girl.

"T-thanks!"

"What's another transformation going to achieve though," Choji barely had more confidence.

"Our Cho Garoga will tear him apart," Kiba boasted, accompanied by a rather unnerving bark from the Kiba-clone that was Akamaru. "But I need to have a good aim. And worse, if used for too long, we'll both end up using most of our chakra- so we will be defenseless after the jutsu."

"An all-or-nothing type of move," Karin frowned. "I'm not good enough with barriers to keep him trapped."

"I'll do it," Choji showed them a box with three compartments, two of them were filled. Karin wondered what the yellow and red pills would do. "The Sanshoku no Gan'yaku, the three colored pills," Choji sighed. "I already took the green one. After he swatted me back like that I realized I needed more strength. These pills are dangerous, but if this is the only way… The yellow one should make me stronger than he is right now."

Struck twice by delayed explosive notes, Jirobo was furious. "Bubun Baika no Jutsu," was all the warning he got, before a massive fist swatted him down like a fly. Dazed and confused, Jirobo realized the fat kid had somehow caught him. '_Damn this, do I have to use the second level just to get rid of these weaklings, the others will never stop making fun of-'_

"Cho Garoga!"

Jirobo gasped when a massive force hit him head-on.

* * *

Fire and smoke, Sakon was dazed and confused by the onslaught of explosions surrounding him. Unlike Jirobo or Kidomoru, who could just jump aside, Sakon was caught in the middle. Too enraged to hold back any longer, he just took the blasts. His brother had already died, and Sakon already felt like part of him was torn away.

"Rhaaaaaghhh," he charged out of the cloud of smoke, blindly. Who cared about eyesight anyway? Or injuries. People with common sense would, but… well, that was not how one should describe Sakon right now.

He was a mindless as his demonic shape made him look. Horned, with his side covered in the demon leather-like plating, Sakon just trusted his superior speed and strength would suffice against a couple of dumb genin.

In a blur of speed, a red-skinned boy with a bowl-cut style of hair and huge eyebrows crashed into him. Having opened his third gate, Seimon, Rock Lee was far faster than Sakon. Sure, had Sakon not lost his mind due to the anger, grief, and pain that consumed him, Sakon might have had a chance. But right now, he felt like a pinball, caught in the middle of a furious flurry of attacks.

Ino watched in awe as Lee apparently tore their opponent apart all on his own. "I saw how good he was when he fought Naruto… But this," she gasped. "I could feel how much stronger that guy suddenly got when he transformed, but Lee is even more powerful."

Still, despite their apparent success, Ino worried that the other three kidnappers would be able to do similar transformations. Karin, Neji, and Hinata had said that they could take these shinobi down, but that was before they knew that these guys could transform into something drastically more powerful. "Lee, make sure he doesn't move!" Ino shouted. '_I need to finish this quickly.'_

"Konoha senpu!" with a mighty kick, Lee face planted Sakon deep into the burnt soil of the clearing. With a wide grin, he lifted his thumb up to show he was ready.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu!" Ino exclaimed. She would mess their opponent up from the inside. Considering how this guy was just brute, in her eyes, she thought that she would finish her job quickly.

Lee wondered if he needed to help Choji, Kiba, and Karin first, or if he had to join his teammates. He had the utmost confidence in the abilities of Neji and Tenten, but Sakon's transformation confused him. These opponents were far stronger than they had anticipated. And considering how their opponent had been weakened by Kakashi previously, Shikamaru had ordered Lee and Ino to make quick work of their battle. When they would win, they would act as backup for the others.

Judging by the sound of several explosions in the forest, Lee realized that Choji's group was closer. "Yosh! Let's help our friends, and end this-"

Lee fell silent when Ino suddenly screamed. Contorting her face as if in incredible pain, Ino fell down in convulsive movements. She soon lost her consciousness, but before that she screamed her lungs inside-out.

Yamanaka Ino had underestimated the wounded and insane psyche of Sakon. One could not enter a broken mind without the right preparations. The insane mind could not be entered without risk. The Yamanaka had strict protocols for that, and only those who mastered their family's jutsu to the highest degrees could enter such minds without facing grave risks. But how could Ino know about the damaged Ukon's death caused to the mind of Sakon?

That twisted mind rejected Ino's presence, immediately.

The damage caused by Ino's jutsu, however, made Sakon lose his last shreds of sanity. Unable of form words, the wounded demon roared. Surprised by the sudden defeat of his teammate, Lee reacted just a fraction of a second too slow. With a cruel hit to the face, Lee flew into the woods behind, only to be stopped by a rather uncomfortable landing against a particularly hard tree.

Well, it was actually a large boulder, rather than a tree. But Lee could not know that. He could not see.

All he saw was the demonic form of Sakon, salivating like a wild dog, storming toward him.

* * *

With a body that had not ached this much since he was 'granted' the power of the cursed seal, Jirobo spat out a mouthful of blood. Only at the last second, had he transformed to the second level of his cursed seal form- but Kiba's massive attack was too much for even him to block.

Brute strength and endurance were his forte. To an extent, even Kimimaru praised Jirobo's physical ability, even though he would call Jirobo a moron in the same breath. Jirobo had not been born with special bloodlines. Sure, he had that weird ability to absorb chakra from others, but as far as Jirobo knew, that was not a bloodline limit. His parents had been perfectly ordinary civilians who had lived in a border town that had gotten mixed up in a petty war between far greater nations. In a tiny conflict which would not even be recorded in the history books, his family had been one of those which had gotten wiped out- even his little sister. He too had been left for death, but despite his injuries, Jirobo had buried his parents when he had eventually woken up. But his sister… there had been so much rubble, she could've been anywhere.

To this day, he regretted that he had not sought for her longer. His kept on doubting. What if she had survived? But it had been pointless. Even if she had survived that raid, thrown out in the wild, his sister would not have lasted very long. Even Jirobo would have perished, had Orochimaru not found him. Who would have known that someone like him, a failed experiment, would be chosen as one of the greatest living shinobi's personal guards? Pride suffused him enough to endure the mockery from the other members. It had been worth all the experiments. As long as he did his duty, and made his savior proud of him, Jirobo would endure. Even if it left Jirobo almost unrecognizable at the end of the process, he would endure. Even if the experiments had changed his body into some kind of hulking behemoth, he would endure.

A few broken ribs were a small price to pay, if it meant serving the one who had given him power. The torn muscles in his left arm were but a nuisance compared to the regret and hatred he still felt. He still wanted to avenge his family, to avenge his little sister, but attacking Kusagakure was not in Orochimaru's plans yet. He looked forward to the day when Otogakure would set out to conquer that accursed village. He would personally burn down that village, and annihilate all its shinobi. He would teach them the pain he had felt, all those years ago- but he would have to be patient. '_Perhaps squishing these bugs will amuse me for a bit?' _the lethargic red-skinned giant wondered.

Lifting up a massive boulder, he smirked as he saw his enemies covered in the shadows he cast over them. The gigantic lump of earth was an impressive show of the destructive power his second level gave him. Jirobo saw his opponents lose their will to fight. But unlike normal, they did not run away. Not even the red haired girl had fled.

"Whatever," Jirobo smirked. "Doton: Doryo Dango!" He moved so that he could hurl the giant boulder at them, and he knew what would happen. The entire area would be flattened. None of these pesky trees would last. Those three morons would be squished, like the bugs they were.

* * *

Karin felt panicked. Kiba's all-out attack had not worked. Well, she had felt how Jirobo's chakra had suddenly spiked, and how much it had gone down again after Kiba and Akamaru's combination henge had hit him. But Jirobo was still going strong. Worse, Kiba and Akamaru both had been mostly exhausted by the Cho Garoga.

In addition, Kiba was bleeding profusely from a nasty gash at the side of his forehead. A move supposed to bring down fortifications was blocked by a single person. "What the hell is that guy made off?" Kiba growled.

"He still sustained a lot of d-damage, Kiba-kun," Karin hated herself for her shaky voice. She felt scared, terrified. Combat situations like these always seemed to cloud her mind. It was as if something dark lingered within her. Like her dreams, the fire, the screams; at times like these, those dreams seemed to haunt her even while awake.

"What the," Choji gasped when their now red-skinned opponent lifted a rock of epic proportions. "How can a single human being carry that behemoth?"

"How are we going to stop that," Kiba felt dejected. How could this guy be so insanely strong?

'_This is something I can do,_' Karin realized. "Throw me."

"What?" both boys gawked at her.

"Just throw me," Karin urged. She took out one of her sealing scrolls. A gift from Naruto, so that she could train on replicating it.

"Doton: Doryo Dango!" they heard Jirobo shout.

Quickly changing his hand in the gigantic form it took due to his partially transformation technique, Choji picked up the Uzumaki and threw her on top of the rock. Not that hard, he didn't want to injure her, but he fall did strain her ankle.

But that was of no concern now.

"Fuin!" Karin cried out, desperately hoping and praying that this weight seal would be enough to stop Jirobo.

The latter had just started to throw the massive boulder, when suddenly the boulder's weight amplified. The massive object nearly instantly lost its momentum, and started to fall down. While he still stood underneath. "Oh crap," Jirobo mumbled in disbelief. "Shogekisho!" he cried out. Now it was his turn to hope the jutsu would be enough.

When the upward palm thrust hit, clouds of dust covered him. But with an audible crack, the boulder broke. While Karin was still on top of it. Jumping free, Karin felt her strained ankle. But a little pain was preferable over being caught in this destruction.

"You alright?" Kiba asked rushing towards her with concern. Akamaru was limping behind him.

"Did it work?" Karin ignored her aching leg. It would heal soon enough anyway. It was apparently one of the benefits of being an Uzumaki, as she shared this with Naruto.

"Dunno, I can't smell anything with all this dust."

Dusting off her yellow blouse, Karin meanwhile used her sensory ability to figure out where the red-skinned opponent had gone. "He took a considerable hit, his reserves have nearly halved. But he is still able to fight on. Kiba-kun, you should take food pills, you don't-"

"Already took them, Akamaru too," Kiba shook his head. "Taking more would be dangerous. We can't help the others if we are poisoned. Do you have more explosive tags?"

Choji took out the box with the three pills. Well, only one remained. The red one. "Karin-san, can we defeat him as we are right now?" he needed to know if he had to pay the price or not.

"I think we… He went underground! Watch out!"

The Moguragakure no Jutsu was a jutsu nearly every doton user had to master. The versatility, despite its simplicity, made this jutsu one of the favorites among those who mastered the earth element- moving through the ground as graceful as a mole. Of course, Jirobo had learned this jutsu long ago. He was a great contrast to someone like Kiba, who perhaps shared the same affinity, but rather focused on his clan's techniques.

"He's underground? Then perhaps…" Kiba formed three quick hand seals. "Doton: Dosekiryu!"

He put in as much chakra as he could spare, and quickly located Jirobo. The soil underneath them had turned into a mudslide, trapping the Oto nin.

Just as Kiba wanted to grin that he caught the teme, Jirobo broke out. His left arm was already shredded, but the right-armed strike against the super-weighted boulder had literally broken his right arm. Pure fury burned from Jirobo's eyes, and before any of the four, counting Akamaru, could react, Jirobo already stood among them. The charge Jirobo executed, named 'Tokken' in his unique Rakankan taijutsu style, took Kiba completely off guard.

"Kiba-kun!" Karin cried out when she saw the bloodied Inuzuka slump down the tree he had crashed into. Akamaru howled, and furiously attacked Jirobo, using what little chakra he had left to form his Jujin Bunshin.

Karin was too startled to focus on the fight though. She left it to the now-angered Choji, who was supported by Akamaru. And in his battered condition, Jirobo could do little more than fending of their attacks.

"Kiba-kun? Say something! Please! Say something, talk! You can't be… You can't be… No! NO!"

* * *

Rock Lee spit out some blood. Sakon had hit him hard. '_Feels like my cheekbone is broken. Not the most youthful feeling,'_ his large brows merged down into a frown.

To make things worse, Ino was out cold. Lee had no idea what happened to her, but her condition seemed stable. Nevertheless, she was a burden to him. The feral Sakon made no distinctions. He attacked the unconscious Ino just as much as Lee himself. As such, Lee could not take any break, nor could he evade his opponent. If he gave Sakon a window of opportunity, he might go after the defenseless Yamanaka.

He could not let any harm come to her.

Aside from the event itself being very unyouthful, Ino was also a precious friend of Sakura. Needless to say, the single-minded Rock Lee did not need additional motivation to give it his all. "Seimon is not sufficient. But if the third gate is not enough to take him down, I have to use the fourth… Hmm, that is seriously going to mess up tomorrow's training session," Lee sighed. "But the fifth would make it impossible for me to help the others."

Sakon raged on, his demonic fists swinging wildly at Lee.

"Gate of Pain it is," Lee smirked. Now he made his decision, he decided he might as well enjoy this a little. This was far better than regular training. Much more of a challenge. "Shomon!"

'_Yes, and if I manage to get Sasuke-san back to Konoha, Sakura-san will definitely be grateful. Unless I take too long. If I take too long, someone else might find Sasuke first, and win her heart. I can't let that happen!'_

Even in his deranged condition, Sakon could feel pain. The glowing shinobi who had just vanished, completely outmatched him. Sakon felt the bones in his arm shatter. His face was bruised. Ribs were fractured by a foot or fist which Sakon had not even registered. The damage to his organs would be catastrophic.

Even with his damaged mind, Sakon instinctively knew that there was only one option left to him. Only one path in which he would not end up being slaughtered by the green-clad freak.

The already round and wide-open eyes of Rock Lee widened even further when after the latest strike, Sakon had suddenly disappeared. He still heard the other boy's insane laughter though. But from where did the sound come? Lee looked left and right, but his opponent was nowhere to be seen. Ino was still behind the tree where Lee had left her. She was safe.

"Did he run away?" Lee could not help but be disappointed.

And how could he find the one who had literally invaded his body? The kekkei genkai which Sakon and Ukon were born with allowed them to merge with their opponent. On a molecular level, they could deconstruct themselves and invade another body, where they would reconstruct themselves once again. Right now, Sakon shared a body with Rock Lee. Just like he had done with Ukon, his entire life.

Lee was left speechless when his own left fist suddenly punched him right in the face.

The taijutsu specialist, who had honed his body to attain the nigh impossible level of strength and control which Maito Gai showed him, immediately realized he had momentarily lost control over his limb. In fact, his left shoulder felt off. Lee could not explain why, but something was wrong.

"Dispelling did not help, so this is not a genjutsu. My opponent has disappeared, and I suddenly lose control over my body. And that loss of control is not caused by a genjutsu," Lee mumbled to himself. "It is as if am being controlled from a… That's it! Just like Sunagakure's puppeteer!"

Even with the full effect of the fourth gate, Lee could not prevent his hands from moving towards his throat. '_He is going to make me strangle myself. How disappointing.. I suppose there is only one way to escape the puppeteer's threads: I must become even stronger!'_

"Tomon, Kai!" Lee knew that opening the fifth gate would render him immobile afterwards, but he could not allow his opponent to win. '_I am sorry everyone, it seems I won't be able to help you all, but at least I take down this unyouthful puppeteer!'_

Opening the gate tore at his muscle tissue, seemingly tore everything apart. The pain it caused was at least as severe as the amount of power Lee gained. And this was what would undo Sakon's control. Though not like Lee had mistakenly assumed, that Sakon was hiding somewhere in the surrounding forestry, no… Sakon was hiding inside Lee. And he felt every bit of pain Lee caused to himself.

Unlike Lee, however, Sakon was not trained to endure the degree of damage the eight inner gates would cause to his body. What was a horrible pain for Lee, was something unimaginable for Sakon. His body ruined, he fled Lee's body. His already broken from still crippled by the pain, Sakon could not even stand straight.

Lee was alerted when something behind him fell. He saw Sakon, lying on the ground, and Lee did not hesitate for a second. In his pain, Sakon lost control over his cursed seal. At the same time Lee lashed out with his super-charged Konoha Senpu, Sakon reverted back to his basic form.

The sheer force of Lee's kick snapped Sakon's neck, shattered his cervical vertebrae. Lifelessly, Sakon's body crashed into the soil.

Lee did not understand what had just happened, but he did not really care either. The pain was severe, and all he really wanted was to lie down and get some rest. He dragged himself back to Ino, who was still unconscious. However, she was no longer as motionless and pale as before- she now seemed to be sleeping.

"Ugh," Lee gritted his teeth. "I suppose I will take some rest now. Hopefully the others have less trouble in their fights…" He slumped down against a nearby tree, and closed his eyes. Despite the pain, his exhaustion was great enough to get him to snore right away.

Ino and Lee were down for the count, but Sakon was dead. A pyrrhic victory, but a victory nonetheless.

* * *

_Trembling in fear, a little red-haired girl tried to push the man away. But that man, with that same hair color as she had, was too heavy. The smell was sickening, turning her stomach upside down. All that smoke, all that noise… What had happened?_

_She vaguely remembered being dragged from her bed. That red-haired man had dragged her through the house, until they met that woman. The woman with her worried expression had scared her even more than the noise outside- and then everything had gone dark, until she woke up just now. Her head was still ringing, and her six year-old body felt numb. Heavy, even without the burden of these people on top of her. _

_But who were these people? She didn't know. She did know that she felt dirty. A sticky, and partially-dried layer of blood covered the left side of her head and shoulder. Her already red hair was soaked with it at that spot. But she could not feel any injury at all. Yes, her head ached, a lot even, but there was no gaping wound or anything._

_Again, she struggled to get free from the man and woman who lay on top of her. They felt cold and stiff, something that freaked her out. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not remember who these people were. His red hair was just like hers, and the woman wore that lavender dress that somehow felt so familiar._

_In her dazed and weakened condition, it felt like hours had passed before she managed to free herself. The man and woman both had horrible burns on their backs, and it almost seemed to her as if they had shielded her. But why would they shield her? Who were they?_

_She didn't know. But the greenish discoloring at their shoulders and heads horrified her. The entire scene had a sense of wrongness which the small six year-old girl could not comprehend. And how could a girl of her age know what a corpse was? But that was not what occupied her mind right now. Who were these people? Why did they save her? And… who was she? _

_Even as she wandered through the street of the burnt-down village, with its streets littered with corpses, she could not find an answer to that question. Some things looked familiar. Like that one building on the corner of the street: she had somehow known that it was a shop that sold bottles that contained the special water which smelled so nice. Not that those bottles were still there-no, the colorful shop it once had been was now a smoldering ruin. In another street, she saw a boy, only a few years older than herself, who had the same remarkable red hair she had, only a few shades lighter, more like a dark orange than the crimson locks that fell from her own head. His face seemed so similar to the red-haired man who had shielded her from the fire._

_For some reason, the sight of the boy's torn body made her cry. She could not recall who he was, but seeing him like this made her feel as if her chest was torn apart. She cried and cried, grabbed the boy by his shoulders and shook him… But he did not respond. He was not as cold or stiff as the others, but his orange eyes would not open. And he was too heavy. But he would not smile at her like he… "Why can't I remember? Who am I?" the little girl cried. "Where is everyone? Help me! Help me, please!"_

_But no one came to help her. She wandered around for hours, but none she saw could respond to her. Everyone in the village had died. And the little girl didn't know why. Fire, smoke, and explosions- that was all she could remember. Who those two adults had been, who that boy had been, the girl did not know. She had forgotten everything, even her name. Her name, she would later discover, had been sewn into her blood-soaked jacket. Everything else was erased by the explosion which had caused that head injury._

_Karin._

"Kiba-kun? Say something! Please! Say something, talk! You can't be… You can't be… No! NO!" Karin cried out. Her mind was flooded with the same horrified scenes as those that filled her nightmares. Her past, apparently. Her memories, buried because she did not want to remember that despair ever again. But seeing Kiba… his still form was so similar to that red-haired boy's. That sight had stirred something within herself, something she had not remembered in all these years.

But she could do nothing for Kiba. She wished she could heal him, like Tsunade would have been able to do. She wished she had been stronger, so she could have protected him. She thought herself a failure of a kunoichi. Kiba, the boy who dragged her out of her miserable life, would just die in her arms.

Her panic blocked out every other emotion. She did not see how Choji and Akamaru battled their opponent until his transformation receded and fell down. She did not see how Ino joined her at some point. The blonde half-carried, half-dragged the barely-conscious Lee. In her state of catatonia, she did not even notice it when Kiba woke up. The boy awkwardly tried to comfort her, not even bothering to try to escape her grasp, but she never knew. Karin did not see how Akamaru leapt to them, glad that the boy she held was still alive, despite his loss of blood.

The only thing loud enough to wake her from her stupor was when Ino screamed of the top of her lungs…

* * *

**Bonus: The Marked Man (2) **

* * *

Fifteen bottles of sake- it would cost Raido a small fortune, but if that was the price to ensure that Anko remained silent about him secretly running Konoha's most exclusive sake-label, then even for a stingy person like him it would a price he would gladly pay. After all the time he had spent with Anko on this guard mission, he had no doubts that this woman could turn his life in a living hell if she wanted to. And after that meddlesome cat had shown her Raido's secret…

He was Namiashi Raido, the inconspicuous assassin. The tokubetsu jonin who never drew any attention. Not that he expected such attention. Ever since he was a kid, people looked at his scars first, and then they saw him. It made him rather unpopular among his peers at the academy, and ever since, he just tried to keep a low profile. His mother had died when he was very young, and a few years afterward, his father had presumably been killed in action. They never found his body. Consequently, Raido had mostly been raised by his grandfather. Even though Raido had been talented, and thus admitted into the academy, he had always been poor compared to his classmates.

That unremarkable boy, however, grew up to be one of the three hand-picked shinobi who became elites under the Yondaime's tutelage. It had even drawn the attention of a shy girl his age. He never cared that she was clanless, those things never mattered for a person from an insignificant clan like him anyway. Raido had loved her with all his heart. And she had broken it, too… That fateful night when the Kyuubi broke free and attacked Konoha, Raido had lost her.

How ironic that the very creature that had ruined his life by killing the woman he had loved, had been sealed within the son of the man whom he owned so much. Other people might know him for his efficiency, for his phrase 'time is money'. But the few people who had got to know Namiashi Raido learned that he was fiercely loyal. Not to mention that he was a very honest person.

They were odd traits for a man hailed as one of the best assassins of his generation.

But as loyal and honest as he was, Raido wondered if he could really trust Mitarashi Anko. This woman was chaos in the flesh. The opposite of his precision, she seemed to thrive whenever things became a complete mess. With her easygoing and playful attitude, could this woman truly hold his secret? This known sadist, the former student of Orochimaru, would she be true to her word? '_So far, she just seems completely different from all the stories that are circulating. Though, I wouldn__'__t be surprised if she just plans to keep blackmailing me.__'_

As Raido stood in front of the door to Anko's room, he could barely suppress the blush when he thought of how she made her demands. '_Ugh, I totally fell for it. I know how she uses her charms for interrogation, but to get caught in her place this easily is simply embarrassing…__'_

He looked at the scroll which contained the fifteen bottles. He knew he would probably meet Ako if he lingered for too long. As the building contained guest rooms, both Ako and Anko had claimed a room. Naruto had the master bedroom, while Karin also had a room. With Chie taking one room, Raido usually spent his nights in the last remaining room. So he knew very well how Ako was… And getting caught while he was bringing sake to Anko would be nothing less than suicide. After all, Anko's village-wide alcohol-ban was still active.

So, rather than hesitating like some teenage kid, he knew he needed to hurry up. If he got caught, it could even cost him his good name as well. No longer would he be deemed trustworthy, no longer would he be able to pride himself for following his orders to the letter. '_Let__'__s get this over with. If she tries to blackmail me, then so be it,_' a grimace twisted his scarred face. '_I bet that the Hyuga will begin to pester me if they find out that I__'__m the one behind The Marked Man, though. They__'__ve always tried to dominate the market for luxury goods…__' _Raido sighed. Resigning himself, he knocked on the door of Anko's room…

To find it opened up by an Anko suffering one hell of a hangover. But the hangover was not what got Raido's blood rushing: she opened the door while wearing only her panties and a bra. The fabric being only a few shades pinker than her soft skin. The edges decorated with a lacing he had not expected of her. It was far more delicate than he would expect the woman with her tomboyish behavior to wear. Not that he disliked it. Oh no, in the contrary. He liked it very much. So much that the pressure of the blood accumulating behind his nose started to worry him.

"Waddayawant," Anko groaned. The splitting headache made her squint, so she could barely recognize Raido. Nor did her headache allow her to hear properly. This was a good thing, because Raido needed a few extra moments to restart his frozen-up brain. This had truly been the last thing he expected.

"How on earth did you get alcohol despite your ban?" was the first thing that came to mind that wouldn't make him sound like a complete sexist. The smell of booze was too pervasive to ignore.

"Crap! Ako? I didn't dr… Oh, it's you!" Anko finally managed to open her eyes. "You nearly gave me a heartattack there… Geez, I thought you were Ako. Get in, before she sees ya!"

Awkwardly, Raido shuffled in. Meanwhile, Anko staggered back to the couch she had been sleeping on ever since she passed out last night, giving him a full view of her barely covered backside. "I had to tap into my emergency reserve," Anko admitted. "No shop sells me alcohol, and I'm not going to drink the crap they sell at the clanless district. I'm not that desperate. Yet. Their sake is crap."

'_Why doesn__'__t she even attempt to dress herself?_' Raido mused. He knew he would have less trouble suppressing his annoying blush if she had worn a bit more- though the view was definitely not bad.

"Oh, is it that scroll?" Anko got enthusiastic when she noticed what Raido held in his left hand. "How much?" with star-sprinkled eyes she looked at him, suddenly wide awake.

"Fifteen," Raido mumbled. _'Please let it be enough…__'_ he begged internally as his eyes wandered around in order to find something to focus on other than her gorgeous round… '_No! Stop thinking like that! Get your mind out of the cleavage. Gutter! Out of the gutter!__'_

"Fifteen?!" Anko gasped. Quick as lightning, she grabbed the scroll and unwound it. '_I never thought he would take my silly demand seriously! This would have cost a small fortune if I had to buy it at the store…__'_

Just before she could jump up and 'thank' the man like she had planned to, she suddenly saw his expression change.

"Is that enough to make sure you remain silent about this?" Raido sighed, his blush having paled. "I've already made sure the cat shuts up about it." Unlike his flustered behavior earlier, he had suddenly become distant. Not knowing how to respond, partially due to the intoxication of last night, Anko just nodded dumbly.

"Good, I'll be going then… I'm sorry to have disturbed you," Raido muttered emotionlessly. He turned around and left her room.

"Oh… O-ok," Anko blinked. Her cheerfulness vanished like snow under the summer sun, because there was a reason why Mitarashi Anko been drinking this much: Raido. As long as she could remember, Anko had been a loner. Talented beyond her years, she had always been surrounded by much older kids during her time at the academy. When she graduated, Orochimaru had noticed her: a talented, yet no-name orphan. Yet her pride had not lasted long. When she was later discarded by her teacher, she found that upon the news of his betrayal, she too was seen as a traitor by the inhabitants of Konoha. Of her old friends, only Yuhi Kurenai had truly been able to look past her out-going and wild behavior. Only Kurenai knew about the vulnerable side Anko had.

Admittedly, Naruto had been able to rip right through her façade on several occasions as well. Perhaps it was because they shared the same burden, both being shunned for something they could not help. People hated Anko for her cursed seal. They said she had to be a terrible person if she was Orochimaru's student. Men had noticed her for her beauty, but left her just as easily. Though the sex was fun while it lasted, it had only felt empty to Anko. They just used her, while she used them. When she saw how Kurenai lived with Asuma, Anko just… She hated herself for being jealous. The childish dreams of love, which she had abandoned long ago, had suddenly played tricks on her again.

'_But who was I kidding? I thought that Raido was different. That perhaps he could… I'm such a fool. I blackmailed him because he's such a damn hard guy to drag out of his comfort zone, and because of it I only confirmed the bad image he must've had of me,'_ Anko pulled her legs up, lying down like a ball on her suddenly uncomfortable couch. '_This mission is the most fun I've had in years, and now I'm fucking it up again. Ako sees me as a nuisance and Raido seems to hate me… How long until the kid will share their opinion? And I can't blame them. I'm a total fuck-up! Every time someone gets close, I give them a reason to leave me behind..'_

She had been drinking herself unconscious because she had been all tensed up. She meant just to make a playful joke with Raido, but he took it so seriously. He always acted so serious. She just wanted to give him a little push in her direction. And as flustered as he had seemed the day before, and now that he saw her in her underwear… It seemed to have worked. But why had he suddenly changed like that?

Pissed off, she jumped up from the couch and stamped to her bed. No one would give her the cold shoulder like that. But what she saw on her bed made her freeze in her tracks. "That is what he saw… That is why he changed," Anko felt crushed. "He must think I'm some kind of cheap whore, a fickle slut who'd seduce just about everyone…"

She had meant to 'thank' Raido for his sake in a more active way, hoping that perhaps something could grow out of it. But now that she saw what was lying on her bed, she couldn't even blame him for suddenly losing his flustered air, for suddenly becoming so cold. "He must think that I was just playing with his emotions…"

* * *

Chie peeked around the corner. Raido had left with a face that was devoid of any emotion, yet she could sense his inner turmoil in his chakra. But seeing that Anko was on the verge of tears, with Gai's spandex suit next to her on the bed, Chie realized that she had made a horrible mistake with her prank. As much as she loved teasing Anko, she never intended to make her really miserable. But whatever occurred between Anko and Raido, Chie knew that leaving the suit there had something to do with it.

"I have to fix this, don't I?"

* * *

**A/N**: But why did Ino scream that loudly? You'll see it next time. Perhaps this was my most evil cliffhanger to date…

How did you like the little bit of backstory I added for Karin? It kinda sucks that the filler episode came out just after I finished writing her parts. Ah well, who cares. It was just filler anyway, and filler that didn't even fit that well with the info we had on her from the manga anyway. According to the third databook, Karin lived in a small village that was burnt to the ground during a war. I used this as a starting point. And of course, the true tragedy of this chapter would be… well, those who paid attention saw it. Also: I imagined that Karin's healing ability was something discovered by Orochimaru, considering how she was free from bitemarks in the Forest of Death. The way it was portrayed in the filler just didn't feel right to me, so I just kept to the things I said earlier: that she was bought for her sensory abilities.

And Danzo got a new recruit.. So many of you wanted me to kill Sakura. But I think this is better. I have a rather strong dislike for the canon version of Sakura, so in this fic I want her to know what Sasuke and Naruto experienced. I want her to understand. So that she can act, when time comes, rather than weep and watch.

Recommendations? Is anyone thinking this is still useful? For those who do, I'd like to point you at **Invisible Fox** by **TheBeardedOne**. An excellently written NaruHina story where Naruto accidentally discovers he can become invisible. Especially Itachi's role in this fic is very interesting. Those who want to see Itachi-sensei will undoubtedly love this fic!

Credits, as always, to my awesome beta **Illuminated**. And you know the drill: **review**, favorite, follow, and cast your votes in the poll on my profile page. Also, please check out my new fic **Apophenia**!

'till next time!

-Z-


	55. Reinforcements

_Yo! Long-time no see! It's only a few chapters ago when the number of views for this story surpassed the number of words. But now the number of views has passed the 500.000! Half a freaking million!_

* * *

**Sasuke retrieval arc**

**Reinforcements**

* * *

"Dammit Neji, don't rush off on your own," Tenten growled toward the direction the Hyuga had just gone and vanished. After she and Karin had driven the trio of adversaries from Otogakure apart, and Hinata and Shikamaru had slipped by, Tenten had followed Neji with the aim of defeating their six-armed opponent as quickly as possible. But their opponent turned out to be a smart one. Realizing that he would have more difficulty fighting the two of them at once, Kidomaru had kept his distance and constantly tried to lure Neji towards him, while hindering Tenten from getting close with his arrows.

Unfortunately for him, Tenten was just not simply Konoha's next weapons mistress. The kunoichi had trained under Maito Gai, alongside Rock Lee and Neji himself. She did not lag that far behind in physical prowess at all. So many had told her that kunoichi could never be good at taijutsu, told her that women were too weak, but she proved them all wrong. It was not that she mastered any specific taijutsu style, like Neji or Lee, but still… dodging a few hastily-aimed arrows was definitely something she could do. But, it did slow her down a little- just enough to prevent her from catching up with Neji.

Quickly collecting more web, Kidomaru spat out another few wires. Much to his annoyance, the Hyuga had been able to evade his previous trap. He had even destroyed it, so that the girl would not be caught in it either. Still, the dense forestry played to Kidomaru's advantage right now.

Leaping onto a thick branch, Neji stared at his opponent. With his byakugan activated, he could see Tenten would catch up soon. He could not, however, understand the smug grin on his opponent's face. '_Why is he so confident? We should have the advantage. And unless he found some way to hide his true power from me…'_

"So much for the 'all-seeing' moniker of your dojutsu," Kidomaru chuckled.

Neji looked down. "You covered the entire branch with that sticky-"

"Bingo!" A few hand seals later, and wires wrapped themselves around the surprised Hyuga.

"I don't have time to play with you," Neji said coldly. '_This stickiness… It is made by mixing his chakra with his body fluid. And there are still some traces of his chakra within it, which would explain why it is so strong- that was what Karin noticed. I'm only seeing it from this close. How incredibly accurate is her sensory ability?'_

"Nehh, you just 'stick around' while I go play with your little girlfriend…"

From his mouth he drew six long and thick threads of web. They were denser than those arrows he created earlier, and had a different color. With his eyes, Neji saw that the amount of chakra poured into them was far greater.

"Kumo Nenkin," Kidomaru announced his 'sticky spider thread'. Neji saw the spikes harden, forming strong dagger-like weapons. Then he watched as the Oto nin make his second mistake: he rushed forward to challenge Tenten in a close-combat weapons battle.

Had it been his old self, Neji realized, he would have made fun of the boy's mistake, and claimed that his imminent defeat was merely his fate. Naruto, however, had changed him. '_No, not just Naruto. Hinata-sama was the one who truly is responsible. Without her I would not even have had the chance to change myself,'_ Neji considered. After all, Naruto had easily admitted that he would've killed Neji if not for her request.

Focusing his chakra, and expelling it from his entire body, Neji broke free from the web that held him down. '_I cannot waste any time. Not on the useless sentiments for my father, whose actions are still a mystery to me. And not for what Naruto and Hinata-sama did for me either. I have to hurry up and beat this guy. Hinata-sama has gone after that red haired girl, and I have to help her. I cannot let her be harmed. I cannot let that happen. Not for Naruto, but especially not for the clan. Father always talked about saving the branch, but she is the only one who is in the position to do so. She is the only one who can liberate the branch without any more anguish.'_

Tenten blocked Kidomaru's strikes with her sword and her tonfa. But even while dual-wielding, she was outmatched by Kidomaru's six arms. But despite being outnumbered six to two, she still blocked his attacks effortlessly. She simply was that much more skilled when it came to close combat with weapons. Grabbing the initiative and launching a counterattack, though, was not something she could do right now. But she knew Neji would come soon. He would not be held down by some lousy trap. No, all she needed to do was distract her opponent so that Neji could ambush him. Taking risks now would be unnecessary. Something made with chakra would never be able to hold Neji down for too long, Tenten assured herself.

* * *

'_That went easy,'_ Shikamaru mused. '_Too easy. Things never go that easy.. That six-armed guy definitely saw that Hinata and I slipped by. Why didn't he take the shot? He looked right at me, and he had clear aim. Or did he believe she doesn't need to help? If he thinks she can handle a two against one match while carrying Sasuke at the same time, I bet this red-haired girl is one troublesome piece of work…'_

"Shikamaru-san, we are gaining on her," Hinata noted, as she stared into the distance with her byakugan activated. Shikamaru wouldn't tell her, but those bulging veins and that determined expression made her look quite fierce. "The casket seems to be slowing her down. You should be able to see her soon."

'_Just my luck. I team up with the one girl who never seemed to be that troublesome, and she turns out to be troublesome anyway. It's always the silent ones,'_ he sighed to himself. "Good. You will hide, while I try to ensnare her in my shadows. With an ambush, that shouldn't be too troublesome. Once I have her, you use your Juken and disable her."

"Fifty meters," was Hint's sole reply, with no stutter, no hesitation. Right now, the girl was determined to act quickly.

'_Perhaps I shouldn't have told her that Naruto would quickly give chase once he heard that she went out on this clandestine mission?'_ the usually lazy Nara shook his head. "Rushing now would be stupid, you know that, right?"

The heiress of the Hyuga, even she only held that position in name alone, glared at him. "If we do not hurry, Sasuke-san might get out of our reach. And the sooner we finish our fight, the sooner we can aid the others."

"You think the others would lose?"

"No.. But, I don't like it that they-"

"Hinata, they are all shinobi. Neji, Lee, and Tenten have an additional year of experience, so they know what they are doing. And I doubt Kiba and Karin would get in much danger. I mean, if not for genjutsu, Kiba could have beaten Sasuke in the prelims… And I have confidence in Ino and Choji."

"…"

"Choji might be a soft hearted guy, but he is undoubtedly strong. His family's jutsu would make him one of the physically strongest shinobi of our age. And Ino, while she has an annoyingly big mouth, I have a complete trust in her abilities when it comes to the shintenshin no jutsu."

"Don't you wish to help them, Shikamaru-san?"

"If I rush now, I could end up wounded or perhaps even dead. I'd be no help to them in that case, would I?" Shikamaru raised one eyebrow. "And knowing you, you'd be worried about Naruto too."

"I… I didn't…"

"Don't be so troublesome… Why do you even try to deny it," Shikamaru sighed. They sped through the forest, chasing an opponent of unknown strength, and yet Hinata managed to get all flustered. "Considering his temper, if you get yourself injured, he would lose it. And when he says that he 'held back' while beating up Neji, I truly do not wish to find out what happens if he doesn't hold back. And I definitely do not want to end up dying in some horrid way if he decides to blame me when you get injured. I'm not sure I understand what Godaime-sama said about the Sadaime reinforcing Naruto's seal, but I am not going to take any risk. Not with Naruto," Shikamaru said lazily. "So let's focus on our fight, okay?"

"O-okay."

"…though I have to say that the determination you showed earlier was not a bad thing. Just don't rush things."

The girl in the navy blue pants and cream-colored jacket nodded.

* * *

"_Neji? What brings you here at this time?"_

"_Naruto-san," Neji bowed his head to show his respect._

"_Err… Don't do that, please…"_

"_What?"_

"_All that respect! I'm not some kind of clan head or something."_

"_You seem to have changed quite a lot."_

"_Look who is talking," Naruto sweat-dropped. "But you heard the Godaime. The Sandaime helped me more than I could ever explain," Naruto smiled gently. "No longer do I have that constant paranoia, nor that constant anger. I feel like I was suddenly liberated!"_

"_Did your goals change when you changed?"_

"_Nope. I'm going to be the next Hokage, and fix everything that Ero-kage hasn't fixed at that time. Believe it!" Naruto grinned his goofy grin. But that expression did not last long, because he knew why Neji approached him. "But you are here because of the Hyuga clan, aren't you?"_

"_I was approached, like you predicted," Neji admitted. "Indirectly, of course, and through someone of the branch who obviously did not do so out of free will. I am keeping tabs on him, but so far I haven't found anything concrete. Nor was anything asked from me, it was only concerning the possibility of whether I still hated Hinata-sama."_

"_But you wouldn't be here if you had not found anything," Naruto sighed. "I assume you found something that troubled you, judging by your expression…"_

"_My grandfather. There is no concrete evidence, absolutely nothing that points his way, but something about him seems off."_

"_Hyuga Hideo," Naruto grimaced. "Talk about a slippery snake. Although, I've never been able to find anything on him either. But he definitely feels wrong. And if I'm not mistaken, I once heard him order a branch member to poison some cinnamon buns. I never found anything though, and considering how he is the grandfather of Hinata, I thought I misheard…"_

"_Do you think he was behind the murder on my father?"_

_Naruto shrugged. "That old man feels wrong, but if he is responsible for that… I can't say."_

"_Feel?"_

"_Yes, I'm a jinchuriki, remember? For some reason, the Kyuubi makes me feel the darkness in other people's hearts."_

"_A useful ability," Neji furrowed his brow._

"_You think? Seriously, when the bastard had a strong grip on me, I felt darkness everywhere," Naruto sighed. "It made me paranoid, a security freak. I always expected that someone would try to stab me in the back whenever I couldn't pay enough attention."_

"_Like your anbu guard?"_

"_Exactly. I bet that your byakugan puts you in a similar position: seeing the truth must be as much of a burden as it is a gift. And still we are fooled by our senses. In my case, simply because I was overwhelmed: nearly everyone has some darkness," Naruto watched Neji grimace. "The Hyuga are no different. You said you could see a person's fate itself. I know it isn't just you who believes that. Your grandfather has that same arrogance. I guess it is the greatest flaw those amazing eyes give you," the blond chuckled. "As gifted as you may be, even your senses delude you into believing you sense everything. While no one can ever sense everything. There exists nothing that is truly perfect. We always have some kind of blindness we're not aware of."_

Neji saw Tenten hop over the tree branches, towards him. "I thought you had him," she said in disbelief.

"He made some kind of armor with that web-like substance of his," Neji grimaced. '_Why did I think back about Naruto's words? Though, his analysis was correct: I was arrogant. No, I am still arrogant. I thought I would just beat this guy quickly, and help Hinata-sama. It blinded me. My emotions blinded me. And now I have wasted all that chakra on the Hakke Rokujuyon Sho.'_

"What's the plan?"

"You engaged him in close combat, how good is he?" the Hyuga asked.

'_He's asking for my opinion? Now there's a new one,'_ Tenten frowned. "He isn't particularly strong, nor is he that fast. But he has six arms, making him difficult to deal with nonetheless."

"He seemed more like a midrange combatant," Neji agreed. "He's the intelligent type, a strategist rather than a brawler. But the annoying part is that this guy has been holding back so far. Did you hear those explosions earlier?"

"There were rather distant," Tenten shrugged. "I guess Karin threw more tags."

"At this range, I can barely see Lee's fight. These guys can somehow increase and change their powers."

"Bingo," Kidomaru chuckled. The hardened web fell from his skin, showing that Neji's 'surprise' attack had done absolutely nothing.

"No, not bingo," Tenten waved him goodbye while smirking. Spurring open his eyes in surprise, Kidomaru could barely blink before the barrage of explosive tags around him set off.

"Good thinking. That armor may have been an excellent defense, but it also left him blinded to his surroundings," Neji smiled slightly. It was the typical frugal 'Hyuga smile', as Tenten had labeled it. Her own smile was a lot wider. However, the two of them remained vigilant. This guy was definitely not an ordinary opponent.

* * *

"Son of a…" Tayuya growled to herself as she turned around. "One of the pale-eyed freaks. Just fucking great. Easy illusions barely work on those fucktards. Did everyone else kick the bucket already? No, it seems more likely that those lazy assholes just let them slip by… so fucking typical of those half-assed bastards."

Hinata did not respond, other than shifting into a fighting stance. She was still too far away from the red-haired girl to engage her in taijutsu, but that was not her goal. And Tayuya saw it. After all, she had seen Neji's fight during the finals, disguised as she was at that moment. Not that Tayuya was worried in any way. She was far too confident in her own skills for that.

"Trying to stall me? That would mean…" from the corner of her eyes, she saw black tendrils creeping towards her. '_Shadows?'_

"Troublesome… Why did you have to dodge that?" Shikamaru sighed wearily. "I know I should've let Neji take you down. Women are just too troublesome to fight…"

"One of those pale-eyed freaks, and a lazy bum like you… While I've got to protect this pansy as well. Fuck this," Tayuya just threw the bucket that contained Sasuke into the dense bushes that were at the foot of the tree she currently stood upon. While pulling out her flute, she smiled deviously at the two. "I'll clean you up in seconds!"

"It's still two on one, we've got the advantage on our side. It's nothing two can't take care of!" Shikamaru suddenly changed his attitude. "Let's go, Hinata!"

Confused, but only for an instant, Hinata waited with her answer. She had seen something she just couldn't explain, but it seemed to be nothing. Looking at the Nara, she nodded and rushed forward.

"Advantage?" Tayuya laughed. "You stupid pieces of trash! It won't make a difference to me how many there are, bring it on!"

She used her flute to block Shikamaru's kunai, and watched as… '_Wait, where is that bitch…'_ Tayuya's eyes widened. "You're not taking that faggot back to your village! I'm on a mission here, and I've got no interest in fighting a few retards like you. So go fuck yourself with a rubber kunai, but stop pissing me off, dammit!"

Not that Hinata listened. She took the casket that contained the last (what she believed to be) loyal Uchiha, and rushed back. This had been Shikamaru's contingency plan. Stall Tayuya, and in the meantime get Sasuke out.

Before Shikamaru's shadows could connect to his target, however, something disrupted his shadow tendrils. "What the…"

"Tayuya-chan… Tsk tsk. I don't think Kenta would be pleased if he learned his pet was screwing up as badly as this…"

* * *

Kidomaru was not the type of person who got angered quickly. Usually, he just saw his fights as a game. It was his way of coping with the hardships of his life. And with his level of skill, this meant that he was the one playing with his opponents. Today was not such a day, though. The explosions had taken him off guard, and had hurt him considerably. He had been hurt by a few fodder-types like the pale eyed boy and the girl with the silly buns on her head- if only he could decide which of the six palms he had to slap against his forehead.

But no, this was no longer a game, this was payback. These fools had just entered the bonus level, and he would be their final boss, their last boss. And for that, he would show them his final form. He dropped his forehead protector to unveil his third eye. His skin darkened. His canines and nails grew longer, and the horns that grew on his head only made him look more demonic.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu," he summoned Kyodaigumo. "You deal with that annoying girl," he ordered the gigantic black spider with its orange stripes.

"I think I just pissed him off, didn't I?" Tenten asked her teammate with a deadpan expression.

"Naruto would love the spider though."

"You think we should try to catch it for him?"

"Perhaps it would permanently destroy his love for the color orange?" Neji smirked.

While the spider spread its threads throughout the surrounding trees, Kidomaru spat small webs at the two genin. Neji had to admit that it could have been an annoying skill, if not for him being a Hyuga. Cutting the wires with his chakra was child's play to him.

"You attack, I'll defend," Neji said.

Placing two scrolls on the ground, Tenten didn't even nod to show her agreement. Her Soshoryu, her Twin Rising Dragons, would be an attack that would drain her of most of her weaponry, but they had to get rid of that giant black-and-orange spider first. The two scrolls released a cloud of smoke, confusing Kidomaru for a second. Tenten then jumped between the two scrolls that flew up from the smoke, and started to rapidly summon and throw all sorts of weaponry as a powerful projectile barrage.

Not expecting such a furious attack, Kidomaru could merely evade it. Those weapons got stuck at his sticky webs anyway. But he had never been the girl's target.

With an explosion of webs, Kyodaigumo disappeared. The creature had been covered with so many weapons that it could not have stayed 'out' any longer.

"You fucking piece of trash!" Kidomaru seethed.

"It seems you just pissed him off even more," Neji remarked dryly.

'_Dammit! That pale eyed trash is dangerous if I let him get too close. My spider bind is useless against him, making him even worse. Close combat truly seems suicide against the Juken fighting style. But ranged combat is equally annoying due to that girl. How on earth could she unleash such a barrage of weaponry?'_ Kidomaru thought as he vanished between the trees. '_If she can't see me, I can attack from the-'_

"He's there," Neji pointed, with his byakugan activated.

"On it!" Tenten threw a trio of spears at the precise location where Kidomaru was. Had been, at least. Upon dodging, Kidomaru's reply was a barrage of web-made shuriken.

"Hakkesho Kaiten!"

'_Fuck… I forgot this guy had such a strong defense as well. They are truly haxx. It's an unfair advantage,'_ but Kidomaru knew that whining would not help. He needed to act, and fast. "I've had enough of this game. Let's see how you stop this."

Kidomaru had noticed the small crater the Kaiten had left in the soil. He knew that Neji's defense could not protect Tenten from every direction. With his Kumo Senkyo, his Spider War Bow, aimed and ready, Kidomaru knew what he had to do to take his revenge. Neji realized it just a fraction too late…

* * *

"How is he, Hime?"

"Kakashi didn't get famous for just any reason. He'll recover. His injuries were deep though, if Gai and his team had not found him, he could've bled out," Tsunade sighed.

"I'll get the bastards who did this… Though for some reason I had to send out five different teams."

"Why so many?

"My informants… they contradict each other. Even the ones who I am one hundred per cent sure have no ties with Orochimaru," Jiraiya frowned. "Someone else is meddling. Perhaps the other villages are trying to get their hands on the last Uchiha as well? Or someone from within Konoha? I honestly can't say. But I do know that I have to check my sources in the near future. Thoroughly. But that is something for later. The poor Aburame kid isn't even buried yet. How is the girl? She's been through a lot now…"

The Senju made a sad grimace. "She… her physical injuries are not the problem. When the residuals of that paralyzing poison are out of her system, she'll be back in perfect health. But mentally…"

"Losing her parents first, and then this happens," Jiraiya agreed with her assessment. "I think I'll give her some time before I even consider asking her to take even easy missions."

"I don't really know the girl, all I know is what I've read from the reports, but her behavior is a bit off… When I checked up on her just now, she-"

"She is traumatized, Hime. You of all people should know that traumas make people do strange things," Jiraiya patted her on the shoulder when he saw her lip tremble, if only for the fraction of a second it took her to compose herself again. "Why don't you keep her around in the hospital? You could help the girl, and if she does some shifts that don't put her in situations that are too stressful for her, you could also keep an eye on her. Who knows, it might help you a bit too."

Tsunade glared at her former teammate and current, though she didn't like to admit it, superior. "I'm not the same as I was-"

"I know," he laughed. "That kid got you good, didn't he? It's weird how he can affect people."

"You sound awfully proud," Tsunade smiled. "And with good reason. I can't imagine how much trouble the kid must've had. And still he endured it all."

"He's my godson, of course I'm proud! To last this long with a seal that wasn't even finished… I still don't understand how sensei and I did not see that before. It seemed to be perfect. I wonder what was 'incomplete' about it?"

"But he really benefitted from sensei's last actions, didn't he?"

"It seems only Anko kept him as a 'paranoid sadist', as she called him. But I think that seeing that goofy little kid I once knew return is a lot better," Jiraiya said with twinkling eyes. "Although, he will have some issues when it comes to controlling the Kyuubi's chakra at first. And his experiences will leave their marks on him as well."

"Are you still planning to train him in-"

Tsunade was cut off when an anbu operative suddenly rushed into the hospital room. "Ho-Hokage-sama," she panted. "There are a couple of genin who left the village."

"What?"

"And that is not the worst part, Godaime-sama," the anbu hesitated. "The jinchuriki… Both of them…"

* * *

"Neji," Tenten looked at her teammate, too shocked to properly process what had just happened. She saw Neji deflecting the mighty arrow Kidomaru shot at them. The bow was so powerful that even with his chakra enhanced hands, Neji had received injuries. But somehow…

When Neji blocked the arrow, exactly as Kidomaru had planned, the Oto nin had used his threads to quickly move to another angle. With a second arrow at the ready, he took the shot, only a few moments after Neji had blocked the first. But unlike the previous arrow, which came straight at Neji, this one came from the side. It was aimed at Tenten, the one who gave Kidomaru the most troubles.

With no time to think things through, the Hyuga had gone with his first instinct. He pushed Tenten out of the arrow's path.

"Neji, why…" she looked at the hole that went right through his shoulder.

"I'm fine," he said with a pained expression, a futile attempt to comfort her. And he knew it.

"I knew I could spend some time to find a weak spot in your defenses, but this was way more entertaining," Kidomaru chuckled. He looked down on the two from a tree branch. "And with that one arm out of commission, you won't be much of a threat to me… All the more time for you, darling!"

Leaping forward, Kidomaru formed a great spear with his chakra. In his injured condition, Neji couldn't do anything to stop him. "Tenten, WATCH OU… out," he gasped when he saw the spear run through the kunoichi's chest.

Not wasting a second, Kidomaro used his threads, as a true equilibrist, and charged at the wounded Hyuga. '_Even with one arm, I'm still going to kill you. How dare you! Tenten!'_

With two hands holding the threads he balanced on, Kidomaru had four daggers. Each of them aimed for Neji's vitals. These pieces of trash had dared to injure him, and he would punish them for their audacity.

If, however, the Sound Four had one fatal flaw they all shared, it would be their arrogance. Like their master, they were overly proud. Unlike Orochimaru himself, though, this overconfidence was not tempered by years of experience and a mountain of knowledge and skill that exempted them for this arrogance.

Neji may have had a gaping hole through his shoulder that immobilized his right arm, but he still had his left arm. Dodging right, Neji did not even mind that his already injured left side sustained another stab. No, he focused purely on his counterattack, and haste, seeing the amounts of blood he was losing. He wanted to kill Kidomaru before he would pass out. He needed to avenge Tenten!

One thrust at Kidomaru's throat with Neji's gentle fist style caused more damage than any knife to his side could have done. It was a good trade, in the Hyuga's opinion.

"Duck!"

Neji reacted on instinct, barely processing that this was the voice of someone he believed to be dead.

With a mighty crash, Tenten's giant war axe tore Kidomaru in half. The weight seal which the kunoichi had applied to the weapon made the damage far more devastating than even Tenten had anticipated. Even after tearing through her opponent, Tenten could not stop the swing, the axe would simply continue its downward movement, unstoppable. The axe bit its way through a tree before it finally dug itself deep into the ground.

"_Here," Naruto threw a scroll towards Tenten. "It's a copy of a weight seal, which includes some pre-sets which you could switch between when activated, so that it is easier to apply to the weapons you wield."_

"Woah, thank you Naruto… That jutsu was… _amazing_," Tenten was in awe of what she had just done. Only for a second, because she realized that Neji was in rather bad condition right now.

"How?" Neji blinked. "I saw that spear… I thought that spear had gone right through your heart.."

"Kawarimi no Jutsu," Tenten explained. "Though only barely in time. But I just left an ordinary clone, while I took out my axe. Can you still…"

Neji slumped down, leaning against the nearest tree. "You should go and help Hinata-sama. I can't, not in my current condition."

"And leave you here? Are you nuts?"

"My fate is unimportant. Hinata-sama is crucial for my family, I am not."

"You are my teammate, so don't give me that nonsense of you being expendable! I am going to get you back to the others. Once we catch up with Lee and the others, we can go to Hinata together."

"…nothing I say will change your mind, will it?" Neji sighed in defeat. He knew far too well how stubborn the girl could be.

"You make it sound like I never listen to others," she pouted.

"You are rather fierce, even scary, when the situation calls for it," Neji deadpanned. "I just saw you chop down on opponent, one who was at least of chunin level, AND a tree. In one swing… I can't believe how much you have grown."

Tenten blushed, embarrassed by the praise, especially from someone like Neji. "Naruto really changed your life, didn't he?"

'_Not just mine, I see,'_ he thought as he looked at her, strangely saddened by the realization of the emotions he saw on her face. "It seems it is not just Hinata who admires Naruto, these days," he smirked at her, hiding his own emotions.

Looking way, but unable to hide the intensifying blush, Tenten just said nothing. "I don't have much bandages, do you have any in your pack?"

"Here."

'_Neji with a sense of humor, it seems like his change is really thorough. I wonder if that is all the effect of Naruto freeing him from the Hyuga clan's seal? But why is he comparing my admiration to Hinata? She is far… Wait, I am giving the impression that I… no. No, that can't be. He couldn't see that, could he?'_

* * *

Shikamaru watched in horror as he saw Hinata fall. Dozens of shadow tendrils pierced her arms, making her cry out in pain and leaving her bleeding profusely. And if this was not shocking enough to the young Nara, he also saw what he could only describe as a ghost.

"Ojisan… How? You died," he stammered.

"My cute little nephew is still so naïve," the black haired man smirked. His dark outfit resembled that of an anbu operative, although rather than having a grey flak jacket, he had a pitch-black one. "I suppose my accursed brother-in-law failed to teach you how the world really works…"

"You committed suicide!"

"I suppose my little act was more convincing than I anticipated," the traitorous Nara shrugged. "Tayuya-chan, make sure these two are killed. They're your prey. Or I will make sure you will get assigned to Immore for a few weeks. You're at the age he likes to see his girls most, so you better make quick work of these morons. Unless you want to him to enjoy your body over and over again, of course. It wouldn't be the healthiest move considering how he has broken every woman that he and his petty band of beasts have gotten their hands on. So hurry up, before they come up here…"

Tayuya went pale, and nodded to the elder Nara. The latter barely even looked as he grabbed Sasuke's coffin. His shadow tendrils had taken the object from Hinata, and lifted it up so that he could grab a hold of it. Before Shikamaru could even blink, his uncle had disappeared.

'_Nara Kazu… The contender for father's position. Until he lost his mind. Mother said that he had killed Junko-basan before he committed suicide by burning their whole house down. I guess he fooled us all,'_ he grimaced. The deranged Kazu was infamous among the Nara, as well as the Yamanaka and the Akimichi. He was a living example of the dangers they all faced while cooperating in their 'ino-shika-cho' formation.

Kazu had been mentally connected to his two teammates when they were killed, and it was said that something within him had died with them that day. At first, none had noticed, not even his very own sister. Only his wife had noticed- but she had never been able to warn anyone.

Poor Junko had never gotten a chance. When Shikaku and the others had found her half-burnt body, they had seen the signs of his cruelty. It was obvious that the woman had been tortured for months. At that point, the stories started to circulate: how he had brutally murdered several civilians, how he had tortured a foreign shinobi for days until the poor man's mind had finally broken. It was not because the shinobi had information which Konoha needed, no… to Kazu torture was fun. But he was assumed dead, so the case had been closed. How wrong they had been, Shikamaru marveled.

And when Shikamaru noticed the terrified look in the dark brown eyes of his prior opponent, he knew that his uncle had only gotten worse ever since that day, all those years ago.

From the corner of his eye he saw that Hinata was quickly bandaging her own arms with the materials she had in her basic first aid kit. '_I need to stall the red-hair until Hinata can join in.'_

"I see my long lost uncle is working for Orochimaru too."

'_If that lunatic Kazu is here, the other will be nearby as well. If I don't kill you before they get back, I'm dead. No, worse than dead,' _Tayuya glared at him. "I was fine with just crippling you fools, but you heard him: I've got no option other than killing you now."

Once more, Shikamaru was horrified by what he saw. The girl's hair changed from red to a dark pink. She grew five oddly placed horns on her head, almost as if she wore a crown. Her skin grew dark. It was as if he was seeing a demon.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

Three hulking demonic beings emerged from the smoke. Each of them looked different, and each wielded a different weapon. All three were very large and muscular. On the left of Tayuya stood a demon with a dark-green full-body suit and hair which covered its entire head and face, and the creature wielded a giant metal mace. The one behind her was shirtless, but wore dark pants. It was bald, blindfolded, and scarred, but looked menacing due to the thorn-like weapons on its arms. The one on her right was the most disturbing though, with its armless upper body covered in bandages, and it held its head in a very awkward position. They all had one thing in common though: each demon had a purple, rope-like belt tied in an inverted bow around its waist, exactly like Tayuya and the rest of the Sound Four.

Controlling the three behemoths with the movements of her fingers, Tayuya steered them towards the mesmerized Nara. '_How on earth are Hinata and I going to fight this?'_

* * *

Tenten had barely dragged Neji back to where the others had been, when Choji and Akamaru achieved their victory over Jirobo. Ino looked at them with a worried expression, as she saw all the blood running down from Neji's shoulder. But she heard something from behind her. From the trees behind Choji, as Akamaru had already rushed towards a bleeding Kiba.

A huge man jumped down, impacting the ground with a loud bang. In his wake, seven other men followed, although these seven barely looked like humans. Through the countless experiments Orochimaru had executed on them, they had transformed into something hideous, but undoubtedly physically strong- human-shaped animals.

The biggest, Immore, was the giant leader of the Swartas Skelthús, the northern tribe of warriors which had drifted off. His muscular body was covered with scars beyond counting, both from combat and experiment. His long hair was something he had lost over the years, either due to age or the numerous drugs that Orochimaru had fed him. He wielded a long and thick slab of metal, roughly in the shape of a blade. But, it was not like any blade Ino had ever seen. It was as long as a nodachi, but much more massive. It was straight, rather than curved, and the man merely used one hand to wield it.

The blade ignited, and clad in flames it swung down.

For a moment, the world seemed to stop turning. Time froze. Ino could not fathom it. She could not understand, did not want to understand. This could not be happening, could it?

With a wet thud, Choji's head hit the ground. Followed by the softer sound of his headless body slumping down.

"_No."_

"_No, this could not be true. It couldn't be."_

"_NO."_

"NO!" Ino screamed. From the top of her lungs, she screamed as hard as she could. even that could barely express the horror she felt. The anguish. The pain which seemed to tear her apart. The torment she had faced while entering the mind of the deranged Sakon was nothing compared to pain she felt now. Not physically, but emotionally… she could not deal with this. Choji, Shikamaru, and she, they had practically grown up together. He couldn't be dead. She could not believe it. She did not want to believe it.

But all that blood…

Immore merely laughed when he saw the despairing Yamanaka faint. "Kill them all, boys! But spare the women. You know the drill: you can have them once I have had my fun with them!"

Howling like wild animals, the men leapt forward. The prospect of death, of tearing the boys apart, it incited them just as always. Blood was all these men needed to shift into a state of frenzy. Their twisted minds had long lost their sanity. Although they were failed experiments, they were still useful puppets. They lived only to satisfy their animalistic instincts, to feed. Even when it meant that they would feast on the flesh of the living, if they were in the mood. It wouldn't be the first time that they would feast on the organs of their living victims. If they got the chance, they would rape every woman they could get their hands on, until their minds were broken, and they were reduced to the same level as these demi-humans. If they stopped screaming, they would be discarded. At that point, they would become trophies, the flesh they enjoyed eating the most, providing more skulls to adorn the walls of their hideout.

They were Orochimaru's most vile creations.

His was one of the only two voices they listened to. Orochimaru, with his malicious aura, was a man that even these mindless beasts respected. Whether it was instinctual or because he engineered them that way during the experiments was something that only Orochimaru himself knew. They were also loyal to their tribe leader Immore, a loyalty dating back from the times they left their original homes.

Never before had they obeyed anyone else. While not particularly strong, they were savage and notoriously unpredictable. It was to the point where even Kazu and Kenta rather stayed out of their way, as they were not able to predict how these beasts would act towards them. Never had these creatures, these _former humans_, even paused for a second as they did they did the dirtiest jobs Orochimaru could give them. Never would they halt. Never would the stop, once their masters had unleashed them.

Until now.

All seven froze. Even Immore himself froze. Their bestial instincts cried out. They couldn't breathe, couldn't move. Something dreadful was up there, looking at them, from up in the trees. There was this smothering murderous aura, this bottomless hatred… even if they lacked their sanity, they still had their primordial instincts. Those instincts cried out with fear. They warned them, filled them with terror, told them to flee, run for their miserable lives. They felt horror, and if there even was a chance for them to get away, that they should run as far from this place as they could, flee, escape from their past crimes. They felt fear…

…because death was staring down at them.

* * *

**Bonus: Precious!**

* * *

It was definitely not easy, but Suto finally gained some respect for the newest prank Chie had conjured up. Describing it as not easy was a huge understatement though.

*I'm dying… I'm dying… Please, some water,* Sakana mewed in the most woeful tone he could come up with.

*Those traps were really something else,* Siro wasn't fairing much better. He was covered in dirt. Not completely, of course, as the white tip of his tail as immaculate as ever.

*He will notice it soon,* Tora chuckled. *He deserves far worse. I have lost count how often he and his minions chased me…*

*Those genin-two-legs hardly ever catch you these days though,* Chie smirked. *Suto's training surely does its work. Two months ago, none of you three would have been able to pull this off.*

*But why the book?* Suto wondered. *Sure, I enjoyed peeing over all the mess that man made of his apartment, but why would he be punished most of all by taking this from him?*

*You helped me trail him, right?*

Suto nodded.

*What did he always have with him?*

*Ahhh… I see, it is his addiction!* Suto grinned. *I wonder how he will react.*

*I bet he will be furious. I never saw someone put up such a ridiculous amount of traps to guard his bookshelves.*

* * *

"My… My signed super special edition of Icha Icha Pooltime! How can it be missing?" Kakashi gasped right at that very moment, back in the apartment.

* * *

*Oh, he is furious alright,* Tora roared with laughter. All five cats could clearly hear him crying out "nooooooooooo", despite the distance.

*I wonder when he will find the hint we planted in his-* Suto was cut off when a murderous intent suddenly waved over the area.

*He found it, he found it,* Tora hopped around like a little kitten. For a moment, she forgot about her dignity as a nobleman's cat. *Shall we take a look?*

*Let's,* Chie smirked.

* * *

"What on earth happened here?" Anko frowned. Her clothing was all over her bedroom. It was an outright mess. Despite the image most people had of her, Anko did not like a messy bedroom- at all. A kitchen covered in a layer of grease was no problem. A living room looking like a dust bomb exploded was no problem either. But nobody messed with her bedroom. It was her holy place, the one place where she could be at ease- her sanctum.

She had just came by to pick some clothes, as the ones she had in her room at the Uzumaki grounds were dirty, only to find chaos.

"Kakashi?" she did not bother to look at the jonin who just appeared in her window opening. "If you created this fucking mess, I'm going to gut you. Slowly…"

Her sickeningly sweet smile did nothing to hide her anger. The half-masked jonin wasn't bothered to notice. He had more pressing matters to worry about. "Where is my book, Anko. Where is my precious?"

"Why the fuck am I supposed to give a shit where your stupid books are?" Anko growled. "Did you create this mess?"

Kakashi coldly stared at the tokubetsu jonin. "Dango sticks." Well, he had also tracked the scent that was in his room. And cat pee. Why on earth did Anko have anything to do with cats? She was a snake summoner, wasn't she? No, the argument of dango sticks made more sense to the infuriated jonin.

"Eh?"

"There were dango sticks in my room. You were there."

"Sure, Genma died and now I'm the only one with those bloody sticks?" Anko snapped. "Get the fuck out of here!"

"Not before I get my Icha Icha Pooltime back. I want my precious! Give it to me!"

* * *

Not too far away, five cats laughed until they got out of breath.

*Why.. Why always that… woman, Chie-sama?* Siro panted. The mud-covered brown cat wondered what kind of grudge a honorable bakeneko like her could have against the snake-mistress.

*Wait till they find the book,* Chie smirked.

*You actually put it in _that_ drawer?* Suto looked at her with wide eyes. *Tell me you didn't. They'd destroy the entire-"

"WHAT IS THAT THING DOING BETWEEN MY UNDERWEAR?!"

"MY PRECIOUS!"

"GET YOUR HAND OUT OF MY PANTIES!"

*Too late, they found it,* Chie gave the black cat a smug grin. *I guess we should run away now. And fast...*

* * *

**A/N**: Not the kind of reinforcements we were expecting, I take it? Poor Choji though... But after Shino, you already know that I don't like the 'plot shield' that Kishimoto gave to the rookies. Rushing out, defying orders to stay put, was obviously a mistake, and mistakes have consequences. Perhaps I should rename myself to 'George R.R. Ziltoid'? I do apologize to the one(!) person who voted for Choji, though.

Today's recommendation is a long one: **A Growing Affection** by **Xavon Wrentaile**. S'TarKan's Team 8 might have been the first fic I've ever read, but AGA was the first one I have read which really developed the NaruHina pairing. The first couple of chapters may be a little hard to get through, but I really liked how the author developed himself over time. Give it a chance, and I know you'll like it!

The idea behind the swapping spree bonus is based on the idea of **DarkMagister06**. And as always I am grateful to any of you who encourage me through your reviews. Even though I've received less of those for the last two chapters. Perhaps it is due to the lack of Naruto? Or is my writing getting worse? I'm no big fan of writing blow by blow descriptions in battle, perhaps that's my flaw? I'd like to know, constructive criticism is always appreciated!

Anyway, I thank **Illuminated** for beta-ing this chapter. And to those who skipped it: Kazu and Immore are original characters who were introduced during the **Chie chronicles, chapters 35, 36, and 37 of this fic**. Reading those chapters would be highly advisable, for those who didn't read them already. I didn't just write those chapters without connecting them to the main plot. But that's for next time. As said, please let me know what you think of this chapter! **Review**! Or does someone want me to write a red wedding?

Illuminated wants an orange wedding. Should I listen? ;)

-G.R.R. Ziltoid-


	56. Old kin

**Sasuke retrieval arc**

**Old kin**

* * *

Crimson eyes watched, slit, like those of an animal. They glared at the creatures that dared to attack his friends, who had killed one of his friends. Clad in a dark green short shirt kimono and matching pants, with an oddly-modeled flak jacket on top, he stood there and struggled to contain his anger. Unlike the usual flak jackets, which had several pockets in front, the blond boy had a custom-made flak jacket. Underneath it, he wore a utility belt with multiple scrolls in watertight casings. Where Immore and his minions could not see, the boy had the swirling symbol of his clan on his back, with matching ones sewn on his shoulders- displaying his clan, his pride.

He was Uzumaki Naruto.

He had rushed forward, feeling several vile chakra signatures approach. He had hoped to arrive in time, in time to interfere with whomever these dark emotions belonged to. Darker and less humane than Naruto had ever sensed before. Even Orochimaru or Gaara, when he had been deranged, had not felt this vile. So, he had tapped deeper into his chakra, and boosted his speed as much as he could- only to arrive in time to see Choji, the kind Choji, fall. In their times at the academy, only Shikamaru and Choji had seemed to interact with Naruto without the reluctance which practically everyone else showed. Aside from Hinata, only those two boys had not looked at him with disgust. Even if he had preferred solitude at the time, he had seen both the Akamichi and the Nara as a sort of friend.

Now this big disfigured giant with his flaming sword had ended the life of the kindhearted, rotund Choji. Even though Naruto's seal had been restored, the rage that boiled inside him nevertheless made the Kyuubi respond. It did not affect him as it used to, but the chakra flowed through him, filling him with strength, making him radiate the Kyuubi's hatred. The smothering murderous aura that he radiated had paralyzed everyone. Even Karin, being woken from her catatonic state by the horrified screams of Ino, trembled in fear as she looked up towards her 'brother'.

She blinked when Naruto suddenly vanished. But with a spray of blood, he reappeared. Only a short distance from her, she saw the man fall. Only now did she realize how close one of those seven underlings had been to her. Naruto's futon: Renkudan (Drilling Air Bullet) had left a huge hole in the man's chest.

"Na-Naruto?"

"Neechan, are you okay?" his voice was grim, and anger was clearly heard, but he was still sane. He had not been consumed by the Kyuubi, as she had seen him before. He did not speak with its voice. She could feel it was still her brother.

Naruto was furious. '_How could this be happening? Why would… this was the logical consequence of child soldiers meeting their adult counterparts, wasn__'__t it?' _It disgusted Naruto to think that this was their life, and filled him with a worry that made him want to rush out into the forests. Because, even while he wanted to exterminate every monster Orochimaru sent for them, he was more worried about those who were not at the scene right now. The others of his group would soon arrive, and were capable of easily disposing of this scum. '_My sister and friends will be safe. No, with them secure, I have to find and protect the other people who were precious to me.'_ His friends, his family, his… well, he did not know how to think about Hinata anymore. Seeing Choji tore his heart apart. How could this happen to them? Why? Why was their world like _this_?

"I am… Kiba-kun, he..."

"I screwed up," Kiba grumbled weakly. "But I'll be fine. Stop worrying, Karin, okay?"

Ignoring the whining pup, Naruto just stared at Kiba's injuries for a moment. "Neechan, take Kiba back to the village. Baachan will fix him."

"But you-"

"You should not have run off like that, Naruto," a gravelly voice interrupted her.

"I'm sorry Gaara, but I felt something was off."

"Well, you weren't going here on your own, you know," Temari panted. She did not have jonin-level stamina like Anko or Raido, nor was she a jinchuriki with a virtually endless supply of energy like Naruto or Gaara. "Even that bloody cat of yours kept nagging that I should go faster. How could you expect that we… Oh, damn," she suddenly gasped when she saw Choji's corpse. "Damn… damn it!"

"I told you something was wrong, Four-tail-two-leg," said cat added sadly.

"Ah fuck, so we were still too late," Anko grimaced. "Poor kid..."

Naruto ignored them all. He saw Neji approach, supported by Tenten, but did not see Neji's cousin. Neji was covered with his own blood. Why wasn't Hinata with him? He was supposed to watch her! "Neechan, where is Hinata?"

"She and Shikamaru went after the fourth and last of the Oto nin who took Sasuke away," Kiba answered, considering how the stressed-out Uzumaki could barely stammer a reply. Naruto being made like this didn't exactly help her either.

"You guys split up?" Naruto mumbled in disbelief. "Against Orochimaru's elites?!"

"I'll take you to her, two-leg," Chie spoke up. "But I think we should hurry. The huge painted-two-leg didn't come here on his own."

"Then I'll leave these idiots to you guys," Naruto said, looking at the others. "Wipe them out."

"Wait a moment, two-leg," Chie hesitated. "Scarface-two-leg, you should know that I was the one who left Huge-eyebrow-two-leg's weird clothes in Crazy-snakes-two-leg's bedroom. I think you deserve to know. I tried to tell you before, but… Ah well, after what I did earlier it isn't surprising you tried to stay away from me," Chie confessed. She then jumped onto Naruto's shoulder, before the baffled Raido could react. Her long tail wrapped around Naruto so that she would not lose her footing, and jumped into the treeline.

"Not so fast," Jirobo growled. While barely able to stand, as he was almost out of chakra, he launched himself at Naruto. The Uzumaki felt how the larger boy grabbed him by his wrist, and sensed a strange pull at his chakra. "I'm almost out of chakra, and you have so much of it," the large orange-haired boy laughed, starting to greedily absorb Naruto's chakra. "So be a good little moron and let me drain you until-"

_Splash_.

"I don't have time to waste on a worthless idiot like you," Naruto said coldly as he pulled his hand out of Jirobo's chest. Coughing up blood, Jirobo looked in disbelief as Naruto tore the flesh out of his body. "That is for Kiba," Naruto hissed. "And this for Choji…"

Jirobo whimpered when Naruto put a hand against his forehead. "Gisei no Fuin," (Immolation seal) it was barely more than a whisper to Jirobo's ears, but it was the last thing he would ever hear. Jirobo would never avenge the death of his parents, nor would he ever find out what happened to his sister. Know for sure if she had died that fateful day. The ones who ruined his village would never be punished, not by him. His painful life had ended. The immolation seal ignited, and his head went up in flames.

The hand which held Naruto's wrist lost its power, and the body fell aside- but Naruto did not waste another look on his fallen adversary. Perhaps if Jirobo had not been altered so much by Orochimaru's experiments, Naruto would have realized that Jirobo's chakra was oddly familiar. Perhaps if his chakra hadn't been deformed this much, perhaps if his body had not been mutated to such an extent, perhaps Naruto or Karin would have realized who he was. But it was too late for those things now. Orochimaru had corrupted him too much. Bonds were not defined by blood. Jirobo was nothing more than another fallen opponent. The seal Naruto applied would not stop until Jirobo was burnt to ashes anyway, even if Naruto had realized.

Right now, Uzumaki Naruto had only one concern: Hyuga Hinata. Was she okay? Was she still alive? Seeing Choji's corpse had terrified him. He had seen many corpses, but never of his friends- not when slain in battle, at least. His darkest fear was that Hinata would lie on the ground like that, in a puddle of her own blood. Was this the life their world promoted, with the glorification of missions for the sake of their villages, of sacrifices they had to make for the greater good… that resulted in corpses of children? Was this what Konohagakure defined as a 'hero'?

With bitterness and disgust, Naruto for the first time came to understand why Jiraiya had such an aversion to common rules of the shinobi world, why he wanted to end this 'cycle of hatred' he perceived. Because this pain… this insanity… Naruto could not bear to see it again, never again. Now that he was freed from the Kyuubi's hatred, he finally saw the insanity of his world. Part of his mind even considered whether it was mankind which had driven the Kyuubi into becoming the 'mass of hatred' it now was, rather than it always having been one.

First Shino, now Choji… when was this going to end?

Rushing off without a word to the others, Naruto headed in the direction Chie pointed out to him. He did not notice the odd mood the Bakeneko was in. Nor would he have realized that despite the removal of the Kyuubi's influence, he still was capable of ruthlessly killing enemies. Sure, the demon amplified those emotions, silencing his conscience, but it was not the only trigger for his anger. Naruto was nowhere near the wrathful person he was before Hiruzen mended the seal.

Observing the seven remaining assailants, as well as the state of the other rookies, Gaara turned to his sister. "Temari, help the others. They all have to get back to Konohagakure."

"Gaara?" Temari never seized to be surprised by how much her little brother had changed in this short time. He suddenly acted like a leader, something which he had never really done before.

"Raido-san, Anko-san, can I ask you to deal with this group?"

"What about you, kiddo?" Anko still had that peculiar frown on her face.

"I'll follow Naruto," Gaara said, before vanishing in a sandy shunshin. '_You can sense the hatred in others, but not in yourself, can you, Naruto? Whenever Hinata is involved, you get reckless. Why?__'_ he could not find an answer. '_Although… Temari risked the outcome of the entire invasion for my sake. She was willing to put aside the interests of the village, just for me. She could have been branded a traitor, had Suna come to understand her role in the failure of the invasion. And Konoha would not be safe for her either. What makes them so reckless?__'_

The answer was, in his case, literally branded on his face, and still he did not understand: Love. It was so important to people, yet so foreign to Gaara.

Anko looked at Raido, and shrugged. "I guess the both of them lost their bloodlust after their seals were mended. What a pity, they were much more entertaining before. Though I guess they'll still be haunted by their past reputations," she spoke, the latter comment half about herself, half about the two young jinchuriki.

"You… You did see what Naruto just did, did you?" Raido frowned, pointing at the smoldering remains of Jirobo. Sticking out her tongue to mock Raido, Anko threw him a coin. "What are you planning now, you crazy woman?"

'_Gheh, he doesn__'__t know what to say now, so he returns to acting towards me like he did before he thought that I was a slut. Ah well, I__'__d rather take his jibes than deal with the silent treatment any longer,__'_ Anko smirked. "Heads, I get the big guy and you deal with his minions. Tails, you get him and I'll deal with the trash." For once, she gambled that the Daimyo's ugly old mug would show up.

"This isn't a joke. He is a swordsman, so I'll deal with him. The others are unarmed, probably too stupid to know how to distinguish the blunt and sharp ends of a kunai," Raido sighed. "So why do you have to gamble about it?"

"Hey, it's not like everything is a game to me, and I meant to tell you that-"

"That cat planted Gai's suit, I already knew," Raido remained focused on their enemies, though he felt some satisfaction when Anko pouted.

"Why didn't you say so before?! Why did you keep up the silent treatment? I wanted to tell you before, but-" Anko was rudely interrupted when Immore's blade crashed into the ground where she just stood. "Hey, the big one picked me!" before she could utter that she won the toss, however, Raido used his shunshin no jutsu to move in front of her. His black blade, the Kokuto, blocked Immore's massive blade with no visible effort.

"Hey! He's my prey!"

"You two morons should not underestimate me this much," Immore growled. "Though I love it how you show off those titties! Men, grab her and those little girls, kill the rest!" Six pairs of eyes, still numbed by fear, turned to him. "Oi, the one with the monster chakra is gone, so snap out of it, you bunch of retards! Let's go catch some pussy!"

"Temari-san, get the injured out of here," Raido ordered. "Doton: Domu!" (Earth Spear)

The wind was knocked out of Immore's lungs when the earth-clad fist of Raido slammed in his chest. Meanwhile, Anko just sighed in disappointment. "He hogs all the fun, and I am left with these ugly idiots. Ah well, at least there are six of them. And I kinda owe him after I blackmailed him, so I can't even get mad at him. Hey, you guys are Orochimaru's test subjects aren't you?"

Seeing her as their main threat, two of the six lashed out at her. This was slightly pointless though. Kawarimi no jutsu was all it took for Anko to outsmart the mindless grunts. The two crushed a poor wooden log, while Anko reappeared behind another of the brutes. Four kunai flew, and hit their intended targets.

"Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)" four dragon-like fiery projectiles passed through the wire which was connected to each of the four kunai. Howling, growling, shouting, and eventually crying, four of the brutes were turned to ashes. Anko knew all too well that Orochimaru would create this type of foot soldier as something hard to stop using regular means, so she did things thoroughly.

"Really, I usually capture my prey and ask them a few questions. It is always fun to break them to the point where they will answer any question I ask them," Anko smirked. "But you two… you two are brainless. Interrogation would be a waste of time. I can't break you any further than that bastard already did. Besides, Raido-kun just pissed me off. Keeping silent, even if he knew, for four freaking days," she muttered.

One snake and one tiger hand seal later, Anko rushed forward. "Sen'eijashu (hidden shadow snake hands)," Anko found it rather fitting to murder her former sensei's trash with his own jutsu. Snakes came out of the left sleeve of her overcoat, leaving a multitude of bites in the nearest of the two. While he and his brethren were designed to resist virtually anything, the combination of deadly poisons was just too much.

To be sure, Anko added a kunai to his throat. However, the watching genin did not know whether the woman did it to make sure he was dead, or for aesthetic reasons. After all, they all knew that Anko held weird opinions on what was beauty, and after the Chunin Exams they all knew about her (literal) taste for blood.

Doubtless the last of the beast-like warriors would not realize any of this. Understanding that the tokubetsu jonin was too dangerous as an opponent, he turned towards Karin, who was nearest to him…

Whether it were the countless senbon that Anko tossed, the kunai Kiba flung at his throat, or the two last kunai with explosive tags which Karin threw, Karin did not know what killed the creature. Its red eyes rolled up, and his black-painted body slumped down. Well, apart from his right arm, as it was blasted to the other end of the clearing. Karin's tags were not as effective as Tenten's, but they surely did the job.

Shell-shocked by the grizzly sight, it would take Karin months before she would come to understand how Anko could merely shrug when looking at the scattered remains of their fallen adversary.

The tokubetsu jonin, however, had other things to worry about. She knew Naruto left this battle to them, as he prioritized Hinata's wellbeing. But she had clearly felt his desire to avenge Choji. Looking at her fellow tokubetsu jonin, she saw Raido would be capable enough to handle the big guy.

Even though many people assumed tokubetsu jonin were inferior to actual jonin, Anko knew better. She was denied the rank because of the cursed seal Orochimaru had left on her. The examiners had deemed it too dangerous to entrust someone carrying that burden with such great responsibilities. But in terms of fighting abilities, Anko knew better than most that there were only few in Konoha who were capable of beating her. Skill mattered little though while the opinions were against her.

As for Namiashi Raido, the reasons for not being promoted to jonin were completely different. He had been given the opportunity, but had instead turned the promotion down. He and Genma had both chosen the position in the Hokage Guard Platoon, the goei shotai. The position would conflict with the demands placed on a jonin. Long-term missions, which comprised the bulk of A or S-ranked missions, could not be taken, as their duties as bodyguard took precedence. As bodyguards, they could also not act as military captains, which jonin did under normal circumstances. They had to stick to the Hokage, whose safety was necessarily their singular objective.

But did his lower rank fool anyone in Konoha? No. When it came to assassination, there wasn't anyone in Konoha who would boast to be better at it than Namiashi Raido. '_Just as it is with his sake_,' Anko smiled.

So, Anko turned her attention to the rookies. "Oi, Blondie, is that Hyuga fit for travel?"

"I've bandaged him as best I could," Temari replied, wiping Neji's blood from her hands. Tenten had helped, but Tenten did not have as much medical knowledge as the kunoichi from Sunagakure. "Tenten can carry him home. I'll take that green-clad kid. Ino should be able to move on her own, even though her chakra is completely scrambled. She won't be able to fight, nor will she be able to jump through trees the usual way, but she can run."

Ino heard none of it. She was just sitting there, staring at Choji's corpse. Only when Karin laid a scroll on top of him, did the Yamanaka turn her gaze away from him.

"I'll s-seal Choji-san in my scroll... We can't leave him here, we need to take him home, so that… so that we can bury him properly," Karin swallowed away her tears.

"Good thinking," Anko smiled. '_The timid girl actually has the balls to get close to her friend__'__s corpse. I__'__ve seen a lot of genin who would back off from this, when they saw a friend die for the first time. Kure-chan has some interesting students indeed. Perhaps… Perhaps I shouldn__'__t instantly fail my candidates the next time they try to put a genin team on my watch. I could give them a fair test. The whole sensei thing seems to be more fun than I expected.__'_

"I'll give you some hemostatic drugs to stop the bleeding," Anko turned to Kiba. "Your girlfriend can carry you back home."

"Wh-what? Karin isn't… She's not… I did not…"

"Shut it, I saw how quickly you drew that kunai, even in your wounded condition. Don't try to lie to Anko-neesan!"

"You are even crazier than Hana, aren't you?"

"Yup!" the snake mistress smiled widely.

If she had listened to the completely out-of-place discussion, Karin perhaps could have felt happiness. Kiba being highly embarrassed by Anko's teasing was, after all, the most emotional response that Kiba had ever given to her less-than-subtle show of emotions. In fact, she didn't know how to hide how she felt. It was simply because no one ever cared about how she felt, added to the fact that she had not been happy like this for most of her life. She went from a refugee to an orphan, from an orphan to a piece of cattle bought for the children she could bear- and then this freedom, this happiness came along. But as much as that meant to her, seeing the gentle boy who fought side by side with her, dead on the ground, had paralyzed her mind.

'_Those stupid dreams or memories or whatever they were… I froze. I saw Kiba-kun bleed, and I just froze. If only I had been able to help him. If I had known medical ninjutsu like Tsunade-sama or Shizune-san, I could have patched up Kiba-kun and we could have aided Choji. If only… if only I were as skilled as they are. If I was as skilled as Shizune-neesan I could have beaten the orange guy by myself! If I… if I had been a medic,_' Karin solemnly looked at the scroll which now contained both Choji's body and his head. '_He still looked so surprised… as if he didn__'__t even notice it. I don__'__t think he felt anything- not that it is much of a comfort, but at least he did not suffer.__'_

Looking down at her trembling hands, Karin bit her bottom lip and forced herself not to burst out in tears. She did not want to be weak any longer. She hated her uselessness. She would never whine again, no matter how hard Kurenai made her train. In fact, she intended to ask Shizune for additional training. That young woman was one of the few people whom she looked up to, yet trusted at the same time. Tsunade was more powerful, that was a given, but her behavior was… well, Karin did not think the sennin would make a very good teacher.

Besides, she wanted to be a healer. She did not need that inhuman strength. When it came to combat, Karin would follow her brother. Perhaps she would never be as skilled as Naruto when it came to fuinjutsu, but they were jutsu that belonged to her clan. So, she would master them, or die trying.

Hesitantly, Karin reached down and picked up Choji's scroll. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'll get stronger. I promise. I'm sorry…"

* * *

"Dammit. Annoyingly troublesome woman, why can't you just give up, like a sensible person would?" Shikamaru grumbled. "Recall those hulking freaks, and surrender."

"You seem to be pretty clever, but that does not matter much," Tayuya chuckled. "With the chakra I have at my disposal, it is only a matter of time before I break your hold. Though, I must admit that your little deceit was very cunning. Perhaps not everyone in Konoha was trash."

"Ugh, why are the pretty ones always the most troublesome," Shikamaru sighed in exasperation.

"W-what? Shut up, you stupid piece of trash!"

Seeing her flustered state, Shikamaru smirked. '_She__'__s skilled, but her pride and overly emotional behavior make her rather easy to bait. Good. I need to buy some time before Hinata is finished with those summons. Ah well, whatever distracts her goes… and she seems to drag power from her anger. I was lucky that I still had enough chakra to complete the binding. Had Hinata not been here, I would have been forced to fight those giant summons. But I will not be able to keep it up that much longer. I hope Hinata manages to beat them soon.__'_

Not able to pay any attention to Shikamaru's "fight", Hinata was busy evading attacks like her life depended on it. Which… well, it kind of did. The Doki were not summoned to this place to drink a cup of tea with her, after all. Besides, Hinata had no ryokucha (green tea) with her, so they would have gone mad anyway.

The Doki were much faster than Hinata had initially assumed. The hulking forms made it obvious that they were monstrously strong, but their speed… Hinata needed every bit of training she ever received to just keep dodging all three of them. Perhaps, if she had not been injured, the fight would have gone easier, but unfortunately that renegade Nara had pierced her arms in several places with his shadow tendrils.

But Suzaku had already taught her a few useful tricks. Even with her bandaged arms, Hinata was able to hit her opponents every now and then, simply because the demons lost track of her. '_I know I have a long way to go, but Suzaku-sama was right. Hiding my chakra signature in battle makes it more difficult for opponents to keep track of me. I never knew that everyone had, in even the slightest way, the ability to sense another__'s chakra. I don'__t know what she meant by saying that chakra was meant to connect, though. But at the speed with which we do battle, not being able to sense the opponent is a huge weakness. After all, only the sharingan seems to be fast enough for an Uchiha to purely rely on eyesight. Too bad I can only do this for short moments.__'_

Still, the ability Suzaku was teaching her was very useful. Far more useful than Hinata had initially thought. '_Suppressing my own chakra isn__'__t as difficult as this, but to hide completely I have to use her chakra. At least, what Suzaku-sama gave me seems to be more like a sliver of her own chakra. Only… I can only use it when not using any of my own. It is odd that she is able to do something like that. And how does the source of chakra refill every time? It can__'__t be gathering chakra from the thin air itself, can it?__'_

Of course, not using her own chakra at all was like stopping to breathe: she could only do it in short bursts. But those bursts did their work, even in her wounded condition. The punctures that littered her arms were severely inhibiting her in close combat. She simply lacked the power to strike properly. However, it certainly was no disadvantage that Tayuya was currently unable to control the trio of ogres. Without the now pink-haired kunoichi steering them, the Doki were running wild. Had they been able to fight coordinatedly…

"Now," Hinata grit her teeth as she made a short burst of movement. For a second, the club-wielding ogre lost track of her. Only when Hinata showed up right next to him, the creature noticed her. But her chakra-clad palm had already hit its head when it started to swing the club at her.

In the cloud of smoke, Hinata allowed herself to smile for a moment. '_I did it! Now, I need to get past the two remaining giants quickly, and help Shikamaru-san before he runs out of chakra to keep a hold of her. I think getting past them is more sensible than beating them. I can do it, now that there are only two left. I don__'__t think I would have enough chakra to fight these monsters _and_ take her down.__'_

Her little moment of celebration was cut short, however, when something grabbed hold of her. Although she squirmed to escape, it held her too firmly for her to break free, and the pressure on her wounded arms made her nauseous from the pain.

* * *

Unlike Anko, Namiashi Raido was not the kind of person to play around with his opponents. With a screeching sound, Raido drew his black blade. His blade 'Kokuto' was covered in a mixture of lethal poisons. It fitted Raido's preferred way of fighting, silent and efficient. One strike to finish an opponent. Although none of that mattered right now. While he would rather strike from the shadows, this was not that sort of fight. So he instead chose for intimidation.

Yet, with all the finesse the scarred man showed, his hulking (and even more scarred) opponent was a brute in the truest meaning of the word. The situation had some irony, as the man with the black-painted body was facing a man with a black sword, but Raido didn't care much. His nose twitched. '_Wow, that man smells… Is it body paint, or is he just black because he did not take a bath in the last decade?__'_

Impassively, Immore noted how the scantily-clad woman dispatched four of his man. These were the last remnants of his tribe, but even Immore knew that the men had died a long time ago. As Kenta had once promised him, Immore had received power from Orochimaru. Over and over, the sannin had modified his body, though he had been careful to keep Immore's mind intact. Unlike his tribesmen, who had all fallen, lower than any animal on the surface of the earth for the sake of perfecting the cursed seal.

Once, the black paint had been a proud symbol of his tribe. It showed that he was the leader of the second strongest group of warriors his remote island knew. But these days… These days the black paint just hid the majority of his scars. He had lost his men, he had lost his hair, both things he had held a lot of pride in, but in return he had gotten powerful. '_Kenta shall bleed for what he did. Because of his deception, my men suffered a fate worse than even a captured narwhal. That fucking bastard… Orochimaru-sama offered me more power if we succeeded in the mission. After today, I will get my vengeance. After I kill that bastard, I__'__ll return to the north once again. The entire island will be mine! Even the Herthaganautoz will be powerless in front of me! But first I gotta kill this puny tree-hugging maggot.__'_

"I don't know who or what those kids were, but I'm glad they left," Immore unveiled his dirty teeth. "Their chakra was unnerving to say the least. But with only you two, it will all be far too easy."

"So even you and your beasts have enough sense to fear Naruto," Raido smiled calmly.

"What, are you loyal to a little kid? Was he the one who gave you that ugly scar?"

"All my life, people have made fun of my scar," Raido sighed. "But never have I seen someone as ugly as you comment about it. Hell, even Ibiki is a beauty compared to you…"

Scratching his chin, Immore leaned heavily on his long sword. "Ugly? I bet that big-titted whore over there won't mind that once I ram my cock up her-"

With a loud clang, Immore deflected the black blade. Sure, he had gotten a scratch on his chest, but what did it matter? "What, is she your woman? Odd, I expected a woman dressed like her would prefer someone with a bigger 'sword'," the tall man chuckled.

"I doubt Anko-san would even look at something as filthy as you," Raido shook his head. He reprimanded himself for losing his calm like that, even if it had only been a moment. "And after all she went through after your boss discarded her, she deserves better than either of us can offer," he ignored his opponent's last remark, even though the innuendo wasn't lost on Raido.

Channelling his chakra, Immore ignited his blade once again. "Whatever. I killed that little piglet, and now you will be next, little man!"

Uncaring about any injury he might receive, Immore rushed forward. Swinging his blade wildly, he seemed to have a total disregard for any physical harm Raido might cause him. But wounding him was what Raido did. Now littered with wounds, Immore just laughed at the smaller man. "Do you think I even feel those puny scratches? Orochimaru-sama made me immune to pain. I won't stop fighting, ever!"

"Who cares," Raido shrugged. "I don't need you to feel pain. Though, I must admit that it is taking much longer than usual before the poison kicks in. I suppose it makes sense that that traitor would give his most trusted minions a large resistance to poisons."

Immore's flaming sword came down, and Raido berated himself for wasting time on talking. Even if the man was a rather awkward swordsman compared to a shinobi like Raido, Immore did have a monstrous amount of physical power. Instinct kicked in, and his Kokuto caught Immore's massive blade. But with so much power behind that single swing, Raido was forced down to his knees.

"Poison?" Immore laughed at it. "Only cowards fight with poison! A brave warrior like me would never fall due to some cowardly tactic like-"

"We are shinobi, you idiot," Raido mumbled from behind Immore. A black dagger pierced the giant's chest. "We are supposed to do our job, regardless of how we win our fights. Whatever we need to do, we do it for the sake of our mission."

"What?"

"Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique). Even the greenest of genin is supposed to know that little trick. But morons like you, who only can swing their blades, who only believe in brute strength… Morons like you would fall for such a simple trick as this," Raido pulled his blade out of the painted man's chest, and jumped back. "You may have physical strength and speed near the level of a jonin, but your lack of real skills is what broke you up. But I commend you for your endurance. I haven't taken out that dagger in years."

In his anger, Immore swung his blade at the evasive Raido. '_Why? Why is my blade so heavy? Why am I so damn slow?__'_

"The poison on that dagger is expensive, but it works extremely well. And with such a deep wound, it already entered your lungs," Raido waited patiently, just one step out of Immore's reach. "Of course, I could have decapitated you just now, but that would not be right. People like you, who treat women like garbage, should die slowly. And for what you did to Choji-san, you deserve to suffer even more."

"Coward…"

In a dash, Raido's blade cut through Immore's pants. And while the monstrous swordsman could not feel any pain, Immore still roared- in horror, in anger. In frustration, powerless as he was, the poison was starting to spread through his veins. He roared because he realized what Raido had just cut off.

"And after what you previously said, it seems right that you lose that particular appendage before your death as well. Nothing disgusts me more than rapists." The tokubetsu jonin, even though he was as calm and collected as ever, had a voice as cold as ice. "Every warrior should abide by a code of honor. You are just trash, and you will die as such. You don't deserve to die as a man."

Blood ran from his nose, and Immore slowly collapsed. His mighty legs lost their power. His arms were incapable of holding his blade any longer. He had been beaten and he knew it. He did not need to see the black sword swinging towards his throat to know what his fate would be. Immore's final grace was that his inability to feel pain also meant that he never felt the cold steel enter his flesh to separate head from torso.

"I think Naruto-san will appreciate that his friend was avenged," Raido mumbled to himself after sealing away the corpses of Immore and the two beast-like subordinates who weren't completely burnt to ashes. After all, who knew what kinds of foul secrets these bodies could contain? "Now, should I follow Anko-san and escort the genin, or should I track down Naruto and Gaara-san?"

"The others are fine," a voice startled him. "Follow me."

* * *

Her arms were covered in blood-soaked bandages. The fair skin on her face featured a large bruise. The anger he felt nearly made him break his jutsu. The Kakusa no Fuin (Stealth Seal) had always been a jutsu that was highly sensitive to his chakra control. Naruto knew that if he got too angry, the Kyuubi would push its chakra into his system. Such an act which would disrupt the seal and remove his element of surprise.

Despite her injuries, Hinata still managed to take down one of the three ogres. Naruto couldn't help but feel proud. '_You doubted your abilities for so long, but even you should acknowledge that you have grown considerably. Cheh, if only those rotten bastards at the clan would see it. But as long as you are a threat to their wealth, they will remain blind to your martial prowess, I__'__m afraid. And if Neji was right and your grandfather really is involved… Perhaps it was stupid not to kill Hideo. Even if he is directly related to Hinata, it does not mean he would care more about her than about his own greed.__'_

Naruto grimaced as he realized how foolish he had been. It had always been so easy for him to sense the negative emotions in others that he always failed to comprehend the positive ones. Blood bonds, a thing he always desired to have, had been one of the things he never really understood. Why did Hiashi treat Hinata in such a way, even when she was his daughter? Why did Hideo try to thwart Hinata at every turn, even when she was his eldest granddaughter? Wasn't family supposed to protect each other?

"Two-leg..."

"I know, Chie, but I am waiting for the right moment to strike."

"You just don't want to interrupt her fight," the cat saw through his (partial) lie.

In all his years at the orphanage, he had believed that family was meant to protect each other. Parents should love their children. But in reality, he had seen many parents who cared more about themselves than about their children.

'_Then again, if parents really gave a damn, would they send their children off to fight their battles for them? Kakashi said he was six when he made it to chunin… what kind of insane society would send six year olds off to a chunin exam?__'_ he wondered, as he could see the relief on Hinata's face. '_Ah well, what could I expect from a village that elects a Hokage who seals a demon within his son?__'_

Ever since he had started to watch her fight, Naruto had thought to let her win it on her own. He believed that it would be good for her self-confidence. He believed she could do it. But in her moment of carelessness, the ogre that had those odd thorn-like weapons wrapped to its arms had appeared behind her.

In truth, Naruto had forgotten that Sasuke was missing. He had just gone out of the village to retrieve his friends, but was mostly indifferent to the Uchiha. Karin and Kiba had been relatively healthy, but after seeing what happened to Choji… Seeing how he died had filled Naruto with horror. The death of Haruki had hurt him a lot: even though Naruto had never told him, and he would regret that for the rest of his life, Haruki had been like a father to Naruto. Similarly, Hiruzen had been much like a grandfather. But both Haruki and Hiruzen had been gravely ill. Their deaths, though they heavily affected Naruto, were somewhat natural, understandable. They were already dying. They were prepared for it, made peace with it. But Choji… Choji had been slain in battle. Naruto knew it was the reality shinobi had to face. He had probably seen more death than any of the other rookies, except for Sasuke, who had witnessed his clan's massacre, of course. But to see a friend die, it had been something new for Naruto; something frightening.

He had always had that strange naïve kind of confidence that his friends would be okay, no matter what. It was like some sort of higher power would protect them, simply because they were his friends. But he was wrong… like any other, they too could perish; so Naruto had chased down Hinata. He had moved so fast that poor Chie had been forced to extend her nails in order for her not to fall off. As fast as he could, Naruto had tracked Hinata down, and after his initial anger at seeing her injuries had died down a little, he had been relieved. He was so very much relieved that it frightened him. '_If Hinata died__\- even the very thought frightens me. Why? It isn__'__t rational at all.__' _Somewhere deep down, behind the reinforced barricades, Naruto had sensed the Kyuubi's amusement. '_It would seem that Fuzzball has finally stopped sulking. Well, after Jiisan undid a decade of the fox__'__s hard work, I can understand its frustration.__'_

But all that mattered little to Naruto now. When the ogre's hand closed around Hinata, and her efforts to break free were fruitless, Naruto unleashed his own rage. It would be foolish to let Hinata suffer, only if it meant that she would gain more confidence. She had already beaten one of them, in spite of in her wounded condition. Had she been able to freely move her arms, Naruto was certain that she could have dispelled those monsters on her own. "Chie, you help Shikamaru while I dispose of these ugly things."

"Y-yes."

Had Naruto not been worried about Hinata, he would have been surprised by the hesitant tone of Chie's reply, not to mention how quiet she had become.

Before the bandaged Doki could attack Hinata, Naruto had popped up behind the one who held her. The brutes had no time to react to his sudden appearance, though, as Naruto already slammed his palm against the Doki's forehead. With its eyes wrapped, it had never seen Naruto. Only a short surprise growl sounded, before it roared out in pain.

"Gisei no Fuin (Immolation seal)," Naruto said to a very surprised Hinata. With wide eyes, she looked at Naruto, as if she barely believed if he was really there.

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"Hinata?"

"I-is that really… Naruto-kun?"

"Last time I checked I was, yes," Naruto frowned. He completely ignored the howling monster behind him. He was far too relieved to see her alive to be worried about that creature. However, the creature did have the audacity to interrupt him. Holding her in his arms, princess-style, Naruto jumped back to avoid the charge of the bandaged Doki. Annoyed, he looked at his clone, who just watched him dumbly. "I thought you were supposed to take care of him."

"Is she okay?"

"Of course she isn't, you moron! Can't you see the blood? Now go and kill that big-ass freak show!"

"Aye aye boss," the clone saluted.

"Damn moronic clones… I swear, it has to be the Kyuubi's chakra that messes with their brains," Naruto grumbled. "Dumbasses."

"Don't you know I am you, and you are me?" the clone shouted back. "You are insulting yourself, idiot!" Yes, the clone had the same kind of accurate hearing as the original himself. And… well, the clone didn't realize he was insulting himself either.

Despite the entire situation, despite her pain, Hinata could not resist giggling at seeing Naruto's frustration with his own clone. At least, she giggled until she saw the worried look in his eyes. "Are you okay? No broken bones? How are your arms? And-"

"I'll be fine," Hinata stopped him mid-rant. "Please, help Shikamaru-san, he is fighting the one who summoned these demons."

"Chie will help him. I'll first-"

"C-can't you let me down now?" Hinata asked shyly, while blushing. "I'll be fine, so we should help Shikamaru-san and Chie together. Their opponent is strong."

"Eh, okay," Naruto answered a bit sheepishly. He had completely forgotten that he held Hinata like that. "How strong is he?"

"He?"

"The sound nin."

"_She_ is strong. Shikamaru held her down, but he can't hold her for that much longer."

"Ah well, it won't be much of a problem now, will it?" Naruto looked up.

"You really have a bad habit of rushing off on your own," Gaara remained calm, yet Naruto could hear some annoyance. Gaara was not much slower than he was, but it had probably dismayed him a bit to have to track down his fellow jinchuriki after the blond had disappeared from Gaara's sight. Unnoticed by Naruto, Gaara slipped some of his chakra-infused sand in his pockets. Next time, tracking Naruto would not take this much time and effort.

"Sorry," Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "But after Choji…"

"I know," Gaara sighed. "Where is the Uchiha?"

"What happened to Choji-san?" Hinata asked, but she got scared when she saw Naruto's expression change.

* * *

A heavily-sweating Shikamaru nearly lost his grasp on Tayuya when Chie startled him. He became more freaked out by her silent attitude. "Oi, if you are here, does it mean Naruto is here as well?"

"…he is."

"Are you okay? How are the others?"

"…"

"Troublesome creature," Shikamaru grumbled. "Always talking, and when I ask something you refuse to talk."

"Silence is better sometimes, two-leg," Chie sighed. "How long can you hold her?"

"Not much longer… Hell, if I had been worn down before this even started, she would have broken free long ago. So Naruto better hurry…"

"Not everyone is as lazy as you are," a most welcome voice sounded.

"You took your sweet time," Shikamaru smiled weakly. "Dammit Naruto, you're looking like that as well? What got into… Something went wrong, didn't it?"

"Hinata, where is that Sasuke-teme? I don't see that horn-girl holding him," Naruto had abruptly changed the subject.

"My uncle took him away," the young Nara was annoyed at being ignored. Though, the harsh tone in Naruto's voice surprised him. '_Wasn__'__t his seal strengthened?__'_he wondered.

"Your nncle?"

"Yeah, my uncle whom we all thought had died, but who actually turned traitor," Shikamaru sighed. "Apparently, he turned crazy after his team died, and decided it was more amusing to serve Orochimaru."

"…" Naruto was at a loss for words at that statement. He paled, knowing what news he still had to tell Shikamaru…

"He went in that direction," Shikamaru pointed, when Gaara looked at him and Naruto remained silent. Though, he misunderstood why Gaara was looking at him like that.

"…I suppose I will track him down," Gaara turned to Naruto. They exchanged looks, and the unspoken conversation that followed came down to one conclusion: not now. Now was not the time to tell Shikamaru about Choji's death. Neither Naruto nor Gaara knew how to tell him, and having him freak out in the middle of a battlefield was not something Naruto wanted.

"Okay, I'll take care of business here, I'll catch up to you soon."

"You stupid shitheads don't think you can face Kazu all by yourself, do you?" Tayuya smirked. "You must have a death wish. And what is this about 'catching up soon', are you as retarded as you look, blondie?"

Gaara shrugged, and simply left in his sandy version of the shunshin no jutsu. "Just release her, Shikamaru," Naruto said to the exhausted Nara.

"But-"

"It won't make much of a difference, whether she can move or not. She is dead. She and her miserable friends will all die," Shikamaru was slightly shocked at the pure and unrefined hatred that resounded in Naruto's voice. Even Hinata took a step back. So, he obeyed. He had seen Naruto fight Gaara, so even though the girl's abilities worried him, he had no doubt in his mind that Naruto would win.

When her restraints vanished, Tayuya did not waste any time. Moving her flute to her lips, she played the deathly melody which ensnared her opponents. To her relief, she saw Hinata and Shikamaru buckle over when they experienced the horrible torment within her illusions. "I got you!"

"Kai," Tayuya frowned when she saw a talking cat. But the creature broke the illusions which held the two. Her last opponent, however, the blond boy clad in green, just looked at the girl with the dark blue hair.

"I was so relieved to see her alive, I would nearly forget my oath," the blond mumbled. A dense, massive, and ominous chakra began to radiate from him. Tayuya shuddered when she noticed his crimson eyes, with the slit pupils of an animal.

"You! You're that little piece of shit who managed to beat that demon from Suna!" the reddish-pink-haired girl exclaimed.

"Gaara is not a demon," Naruto snarled. "You insult my friends, kidnap that sorry piece of crap of an Uchiha, and you injure Hinata… I've had enough!"

Shikamaru stepped towards Naruto, but was halted by Hinata. "Don't. Naruto-kun is still in control. He is just very angry," she said somberly. Gaara and Naruto had told her; she knew what enraged Naruto to this degree, but she didn't know how to break it to Shikamaru. How could she tell him his best friend had died?

"But the Kyuubi…"

"Fluffy can't do a thing now that the seal is fixed," Naruto cut them off. "Chie, get them back to Konoha. I'll kill this idiot and then track down Gaara on my own."

"Two-leg, you shouldn't-"

"Mateki: Mugen Onsa (Demonic Flute: Phantom Sound Chains)." No longer holding anything back, Tayuya put in all her chakra in an effort to capture Naruto. '_The other two won__'__t be a problem, and the cat-summon arrived with him. So if I beat him, the cat disappears. Dammit, how did my Doki get their asses whipped that easily?__'_

Naruto heard the sound of Tayuya's flute, and noticed how her chakra was woven into the sound. It latched to him, affecting his senses. And the world around him changed. Immobilized, the world was filled with morbid hallucinations of pain. Of unspeakable suffering. For a moment, it felt like his skin was melting.

With wide eyes, Tayuya saw how the blond started to smirk.

"Impressive. Even Kurenai-sensei is barely able to capture me in her genjutsu. For someone like you to be near her level of skill… it is such a waste."

"How… How did you break free?" Tayuya gasped. "That's impossible. I caught you!"

"You seriously want to start a pissing contest on who has the most chakra, with the jinchuriki of the most powerful bijuu of them all?" Naruto laughed. But there was no actual mirth in his laugh. In fact, it terrified Tayuya that her strongest illusion was nothing but a joke to him. However, he didn't break it because of the Kyuubi. No, ever since he received the Gekihoko he had been nearly immune to illusions- but that wasn't something he was about to tell her. "Every time the Kyuubi tried to break free, I felt my skin boil. Do you really think a little pain would hamper me? Idiot. You are just as stupid as that fat moron whom I torched a little while ago."

"Jirobo… You killed them all?"

"There are two jonin back there, cleaning up those black-painted demon spawn."

"Immore," Tayuya took a step back. "Immore, that painted asshole, is there?"

"Who cares? Those mongrels are probably dead by now."

"Immore isn't killed that easily, he can't feel any-"

"Do you actually worry about that filthy piece of crap?" Naruto scowled. "I guess words are truly wasted on you. Ugh, and I just continued to ramble even after I said I had enough. I have wasted enough time now." In a blur of movement, Naruto grabbed Tayuya's flute. When she saw how her best weapon, one which could even be used to block kunai and swords, was snapped in two like twig, Tayuya knew she was beaten. She knew she would die. She had lost.

That realization made her mad. She hated losing more than anything else. But the fist she tried to plant in the blonde's stomach never hit. With a crude chopping movement, Naruto's first landed on her right clavicle. The bone snapped, and the sheer force behind the punch numbed her entire body. Tayuya fell over, and the power of her cursed seal receded.

However, before she could hit the ground, Naruto grabbed her by her hair. Lifting her up with his right, the index and middle fingers of his left hand touched her forehead.

Tayuya could feel the chakra gather in his fingers. '_This is it. I__'__m dead. And the most fucked up thing is that I don__'__t even know whether it is bad, or if I should be happy I can finally leave this piece-of-shit earth. Fuck it all!__'_

Facing death, Tayuya decided to at least preserve her dignity. So she smirked at him, surprising Naruto when he couldn't even sense any fear or hatred from her. "Do it."

* * *

It confused her. Ever since she had entered the forest, Chie had constantly felt this weird tingling sensation. '_I should know it. It feels so familiar. But it… No, it is gone now.__'_

But every now and then, she felt it faintly, distantly. It was as if it was covered by something else, something dark, something vile. '_But where does it come from? I can__'__t feel the source of that chakra signal.__'_

Latched on Naruto's shoulder, the black-and-white cat had witnessed the entire battlefield. It had not been the Fat-two-leg, whom ended up being burnt to ashes by Naruto's fuinjutsu. She could feel the disappearing chakra signals of the two dead opponents, but those were not the source either. It had not been the painted-two-legs either, even though Chie remembered those men very clearly. They were the ones who had killed… she wanted revenge, but her curiosity had led her away from the path before she fully realized who those painted creatures had been. Rather than returning to that battlefield, Chie wanted to know the origins of that signal. It was still somewhere else, but where? As strongly as she could feel it now, Chie couldn't locate it at all. Here, Naruto was facing some weird kind of demon. '_This horned-dark-skin-two-leg is not the source either, is she?__'_

"Chie, get them back to Konoha. I'll kill this idiot and then track down Gaara on my own."

'_Whisker-two-leg still has that stupid habit of wanting to do everything by himself. I thought he would learn his lesson by now,__'_ Chie mentally sighed. "Two-leg, you shouldn't-"

"Mateki: Mugen Onsa (Demonic Flute: Phantom Sound Chains)," the pink-haired girl interrupted her before Chie could warn Naruto. Not that the illusion did her any good, as Naruto easily snapped out of it. _'Though, the fact that he was even caught by it is impressive. That strange source of chakra in his right hand usually disrupts whatever genjutsu is cast on him, so for him to be caught... Ah well, not that it helps. He took her down with one hit. Stupid Horned-two-leg, didn__'__t she realize sooner that it was futile to fight Whisker-two-leg? After seeing how Tubby-two-leg was killed, Whisker is really mad.__'_

Chie was mildly curious when the horned girl suddenly changed. Being beaten, her chakra levels dropped drastically. But that wasn't all. Her light pink hair darkened. Though it did not become as red as Karin's hair, the Horned-two-leg came close. '_I suppose I shouldn__'__t call her Horned-two-leg now.. Her horns disappeared as well. Weird. Not that it really matters. Whisker-two-leg seems to be preparing his Futon: Renkudan.__'_

But when Naruto lifted the girl up, and placed two fingers to her forehead, Chie noticed something. Something that made her feel like the world collapsed on top of her.

"Do it," the defeated two-leg muttered.

'_No… It can__'__t be... this girl? B-but… The color of her fur is right. Her voice... did she really change into that hideous form? But the mark is there. It is her. It must be. It has to be. The paw mark cannot be transferred, so there is no other way!__' _Chie realized who the girl was. And Naruto was about to kill her.

"Suzume?"

* * *

**Bonus: Cheating?**

* * *

Whistling a happy tune, Kurenai went into Asuma's home. No, their home, it was now theirs together. Asuma had been scared ever since they started their relationship, scared that someone would try to hurt her because of him. He couldn't help but be scared by what happened to his brother, assassinated because of their father's fame.

So, Kurenai had proposed a bet. If her student would outperform Asuma's, she would prove to him that she was the better sensei, and thus the better shinobi. She proposed this oblique contest because the two of them were completely different types of shinobi. She was a genjutsu mistress, attacking from the shadows and defeating an opponent before he or she ever realized Kurenai was there. Sure, she had her skill in ninjutsu and taijutsu too; she would not have made it to her position as jonin if she hadn't been an all-rounder.

Asuma, in contrast, preferred fighting at close range. So, he too had agreed with the bet. He knew better than anyone how fearsome her skill with weaving illusions was. Well, not that they were only horrible… Kurenai blushed slightly when she recalled some of the illusions she had created for him.

Still, Asuma had assumed that at least Shikamaru would be capable of figuring out a way to trap Naruto in the second part of the exam. It had even been his reason for agreeing with that little sparring match, even though that one had another bet attached. No, Asuma knew that if Shikamaru was properly warned about Naruto's prowess, he would think of some way on how to beat the jinchuriki. Moreover, while Naruto considered team ten as friendly, he would also hold back on the usage of that accursed chakra.

Sadly, things had gone rather differently.

Choji losing the preliminaries had not particularly surprised Asuma. But Ino and Shikamaru had done as expected. Ino had been unfortunate to face Temari, but she had come further than Hinata and Kiba. But then Naruto had crushed Neji and Gaara, while Shikamaru had not even gotten his chance to show his abilities- not in the arena, at least. Asuma had no choice but to accept defeat, something which he had done happily, despite the concerns he had about her safety. So he had to make the first move.

Looking down at her ring, Kurenai smiled at the memory of him asking to marry her. Blunt as he always was, if only to hide his embarrassment. She knew better than anyone how caring he actually was. Even though he tried to hide it behind his laid-back attitude, she had always had a knack for seeing through his façade… Still whistling her song, Kurenai entered their bedroom. The room which she had cleared of Asuma's collection of Marked Man Sake bottles, although Asuma had saved them all, and were now stored in a secret compartment underneath the dining table. As much as Kurenai loved her genin team, she was glad to be home. As for not having seen Asuma in three days… she berated herself for acting like a silly, lovesick little girl. But she couldn't help it.

She was so preoccupied that she did not even notice the fluffy long tail that vanished around the corner, the moment Kurenai stepped in. Chie had been so caught up in her mischief that she nearly made a fatal mistake.

The unsuspecting Kurenai walked in, and froze…

* * *

Sarutobi Asuma frowned as he heard his wife sob.

"Kurenai? What's going on?" he called out, hurrying to where she was. Still in the bedroom. Surrounded by some pretty neat pieces of lingerie. Of the luxurious and seductive kind. Had he not seen his sobbing wife, the good man would have had another nosebleed.

He had way too many nosebleeds anyway, a thing that Kakashi found rather amusing. Since the silver-haired jonin heard of their marriage, he kept pestering Asuma with his collection of perverted books. '_I bet that is why he always wears those masks, so that no one sees his perpetual nosebleed.' _Asuma pondered.

"What got you like this, darling?"

"D-darling?!" Kurenai suddenly snapped. "What were you thinking? And with Anko of all people! With my best friend? How dare you!"

"Anko? What is… Wait, what?" he suddenly paled when he realized what she was saying. Her pointing at the lingerie and talking about Anko, he was not completely dense. "I thought you bought those!"

"They're Anko's! She bought them together with me, when we went shopping a few weeks ago!"

"Y-you think I had an affair? With Anko?" Asuma was completely flabbergasted. "If you weren't crying like that, I would say you were joking."

"Then… You didn't?"

"Even when I served the Daimyo, I had plenty of opportunities… But ever since the academy, I only had one girl I loved- and I married her," he grabbed her by her shoulders. "I would never ever do something like that."

"I… I'm sorry," Kurenai sniffed. "I just… I was tired. Your father. The whole mess with Naruto. Our marriage. I was just…"

"Stressed out," Asuma pulled her in a hug. "I know. I guess it is my duty as a husband to make sure you relax, isn't it?"

Half crying, half laughing, Kurenai leaned in for a kiss.

* * *

"Wow, that plan backfired spectacularly," Chie frowned. She was watching for the mayhem would unfold. Her little band of merry cats had run off when she told them about her plan, not wanting to see a repeat of the Anko-disaster they had witnessed last time. But never did she expect this prank to result in such an enthusiastic version of that odd mating ritual the two-legs followed.

"So two-legs get rutted after resolving a quarrel like that? Two-legs are weird… Ah well, I guess I have to move on to my next target now!"

* * *

**A/N**: Suzume?

Yeah, I've had this in mind ever since I introduced Chie, and after the Chie Chronicles I suppose that no one can say that I don't plan things ahead. The amount of preparation is a bitch, you really don't want to see my files with notes for future chapters and timelines, but reaching these points when writing always feels so damn satisfying!

Considering that Tayuya was an important part of this chapter, I might as well recommend one of the Tayuya stories that gave me inspiration for her character. In fact, it also inspired me to give you a different take on the Sound Four in its entirety. Not the default evil bunch as I've always seen them in fics, but rather a very misguided group of youths. My recommendation for you guys is to read **Xeziel15**'s stories. **My Red Thread of Destiny** is a very nice NaruTayu story, but it becomes especially interesting after reading the 'prequel' **Lost Uzumaki**. After reading so many fics that all give variations of the same thing, reading a story which is both new and still fits nicely with the known plotlines was a welcome experience to me! Check it out, and leave some reviews. Every author can use the support! I know I do!

My thanks go to my beta and ((evil)) advisor **Illuminated**. The idea behind the swapping spree bonus is based on the idea of **DarkMagister06**, though I've added a bit of Kutenai x Asuma to it. But I also thank all of you who left reviews!

However, I'd like to say a few things about the remarks some made. The entire premise of this story is to write a more _realistic_ version of Kishimoto's manga. And considering how shinobi use kunai and not soft pillows, and the average jutsu don't result in a sweet hug, death is a part of the job. So the complaints about me killing characters are… well, to be honest I think that if you can't handle it you should not read an 'M' rated story in the first place. But were Choji's and Shino's deaths pointless? Hell no. Why on earth would I do such things randomly? If you can't see the possible consequences yourself, then wait and see how the plot will unfold. But know that I made Jiraiya the Godaime Hokage, with his ideas on the 'cycle of hatred', rather than Tsunade. This story isn't about keeping the world as it is.

It is about changing it.

-Z-


	57. Traitors

_Yo! I'm back! Yes, it's been a while since the last update, but real life interferes with this hobby of mine. But it is a sad fact that I have less time to write right now. I must admit that I even considered abandoning one of my stories, or putting them on hiatus, so that the other would progress faster, but I eventually decided against it. The downside is that I have to spread my limited supply of spare time over three stories, so don't expect me to update all three of them monthly. Check out my profile page if you want to see on which story I am working to release next._

_But that's enough about my life and my hobby as a amateur writer. The important part is that you guys have a new chapter! I hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

**Sasuke retrieval arc**

**Traitors**

* * *

"Suzume?" Chie whispered, then barked, "Whisker-two-leg, stop! Please stop!"

"Stop?" Naruto exclaimed. "What has gotten into you, Chie?"

"I know her! She is… She is the one who holds my summoning contract."

"…are you sure?" Naruto frowned. He eyed the cat, and then looked at the defeated kunoichi from Otogakure. With her collarbone broken, Tayuya felt nothing but pain from the neck down. Well, she did feel that her hair, by which Naruto held her up, began to hurt like hell.

'_The bastard must've damaged some nerves, or perhaps my spine. What is that silly creature babbling about, just kill me already,_' the red-haired girl thought to herself.

"Please, I will never ask for anything ever again, but please spare her life," Chie begged.

"Don't tell me you are really considering this?" Shikamaru interjected. "That girl is a loyal servant of Orochimaru, how could you think of setting her free?"

"Whisker-two-leg, Naruto, I told you how my life was before I found you. I was swept from my island, and taken in by a family of two-legs-"

"They were attacked, and their child was taken away. You made a contract with the father, but he ended up dying while the two of you were chasing the one who stole the child, leaving you trapped, an oath-breaker you called yourself," Naruto remembered. "If I'm not mistaken you said that the contract was passed to the child, but you never managed to find her. Wouldn't killing her set you free from that contract?"

"She's _family_," the hair on Chie's back stood up, enraged by the mere suggestion.

"But how could you know that she is-"

"Blah blah blah, just shut up and kill me already," Tayuya suddenly snapped. "Who cares about this nonsense? My parents were kind enough to sell me to Orochimaru when I was just a little kid. I don't know who you think I am, but it ain't me! My life isn't a fucking fairy tale."

"What is the first thing you can remember, Suzume?" the cat asked.

"I'm Tayuya, not Suzume, dammit!"

"Answer her," Naruto threatened.

"Or what?"

"She seemed rather scared when my uncle threatened her," Shikamaru suggested.

Tayuya glared at the Nara. "I don't know, okay? Fuck! I was raised in the dirty pits where the Snake keeps all the talented children he 'gathers', and all I know about my parents is what that fucktard Kenta told me. And he doesn't have any reason to lie to me about such things. Hell, he wouldn't even care about such things in the first place!"

"A tall black-haired two-leg?"

"…uhh, if you mean Kenta by that, yes?"

"He lied, because he was the one who killed Shiori-two-leg," Chie sighed. "Your mother," she clarified when she saw Tayuya's blank stare.

Naruto frowned, and looked at Hinata. She could see that he had already decided, and she happened to agree. So she nodded. "Wait, you aren't considering sparing someone of the group who killed Shino, right?" Shikamaru asked incredulously. "She's an enemy of Konoha!"

"I suppose she is..." Naruto released the girl. Not having any strength in her body, Tayuya just fell unceremoniously to the ground. "She is an enemy. Yet, she is a precious person to Chie… even though I think it is easier to annul Chie's contract by killing this girl, it would be a path that would hurt Chie. Tell me, Shikamaru: what do you want me to do? Should I let myself be consumed by the desire for vengeance, or should I remain loyal to my friends?" he thought about Neji, and about Sasuke. He thought about Jiraiya's words about the cycle of hatred. What would it mean if he just gave in to his own hatred? Who was he to decide over life and death? He had vowed that he wouldn't let anyone harm Hinata, and yet… was it right to harm Chie, because of his own desires?

"I… no, I guess…" Shikamaru sighed. "Why are you all being so damn troublesome all of a sudden?"

"Tell me, girl, did you kill our friend?"

"I've got a fucking name, okay? It's Tayuya," said girl snapped. "If you're going to off me, at least don't talk about me as 'girl' dammit."

"Does that even matter once you are dead?" Naruto deadpanned. "And why do you want me to kill you?" If he had to be honest to himself, he would admit that that desire had been the thing that had stopped him from ignoring Chie's pleas, the only thing that had stalled him long enough for him to get his enraged mind working again.

"If I fail this mission, I get killed. No, it's worse… I get sent to Immore, like Kazu said, and I would be raped and tortured until I lose my mind, and then I get killed. I've seen it happen before and… everything but that. But if you take me to Konoha, they'll just torture every bit of information out of me over there. And if I willingly betray the Snake..." Tayuya shuddered. "He loves treachery, but he does not treat traitors very kindly. At all."

"I suppose a quick and relatively painless death would be the easy way out," Naruto nodded, though sickened that the girl only had those options left to her.

"N-Naruto-kun, you aren't considering killing-"

"I won't let you, two-leg." Chie growled.

"Calm down, I won't do it. You three will take her back to the Uzumaki clan grounds. Don't let anyone else know who she is. While she's in the compound, no one who doesn't have my permission to enter the grounds can get to her. Lock her in Chie's room. Get Baachan to heal her, and Anko can test whether she is reliable or not."

"What the fuck are you planning? Didn't I just tell you? If Orochimaru-"

"I will seal your chakra for now. And with the paralyzing poison Anko gave me on my birthday, I'll make sure you are rendered immobile until I get the chance to lock away the influence of that cursed seal of yours," Naruto ignored the redhead's pleas. "I can feel the malice radiating from that thing, corrupting you. If it is for Chie, I will attempt to free you from that curse. You guys take Tayuya along, while I go and free Sasuke and-"

Naruto paused when Tayuya started to chuckle. "You really think that we kidnapped the Uchiha 'princess'? That we keep him as a prisoner? That maggot chose to go with us!" She tried to goad Naruto into killing her by insulting the person he apparently cared for.

"What? But w-why would Sasuke-san do something like that?"

"Power… Orochimaru offered him power, didn't he?" Naruto guessed the answer to Hinata's question, and correctly, he realized when he saw Tayuya nod. "That damn idiot!" Naruto slammed a fist in the tree next to him, leaving a large dent in it.

"So Shino died because of his stupid desire for power?" Shikamaru felt tired, and the sense of defeat was audible in his voice. "We all went out and risked our lives for _nothing_?"

"Pretty much," Tayuya nodded once more. "If the 'princess' had resisted, Kidomaru would not have been able to shoot down the guy I was fighting. Your buddy was caught off guard, probably trusting the Uchiha to take care of Kidomaru, when… well, I'd say you're all gullible fools. I don't think the Uchiha wants to be 'saved' right now. We are charged with escorting the princess back to Otogakure."

"Fuck that," Naruto spat. "Chie, you guide Hinata and Shikamaru back to Konoha. I'll go out and drag Sasuke's traitorous ass back to Konoha."

"That's stupid," Shikamaru growled. "He is a traitor, let the hunter nin track him down."

"I would rather do it myself, or at least back up Gaara. Shikamaru, don't be mistaken… These guys do exactly the same things as we do. They get orders, and follow them. While Orochimaru's stench is all over them, this girl at least doesn't seems to revel in it in the same way as those painted idiots I saw while running to this place. Sasuke let Shino die for his petty desires, he chose to do it. But the others, how is it different from the missions that we execute for Konoha, or these fools for Oto?"

"Huh, I guess not every treehugger is a complete idiot," Tayuya scoffed. "It is all about power**.** A few ryo, some acres of land, trade rights, or other shit: that is what we all bleed and die for. You just as well as we. You're just conceited enough to claim that you treehuggers are the 'good guys'. Hypocrites."

"Yeah, but you are beaten, so you're going to our conceited side now."

"Thank you, Naruto," Chie bowed her head to him. "I'll make sure Suzume doesn't do something stupid in the meantime."

"Yeah, but you're forgetting about another aspect of your great, fucked-up plan," Tayuya added sarcastically. "What do you think those other treehugging retards will do once they'll see me?"

Naruto looked at her and ruffled a hand through her hair, much to Tayuya's annoyance. Not in the least because her unruly hair now got dirtied by all blood and sand that was sticking to his hand. She might be foul-mouthed, but she wasn't a pig, and she hated it if her hair was all sticky. "With that hair of yours, I can claim that you are an Uzumaki."

"You _what_?" Shikamaru fell from one surprise to the other, but this one was particularly shocking. "Are you completely nuts?"

"Clan laws, Shikamaru, clan laws. If I can get Erokage to agree, and Baachan can add some scientific proof that her blood is all messed up due to Orochimaru's experiments, then Tayuya would fall under Uzumaki authority," Naruto proposed. "Though, that does mean that you two keep your mouths shut about this."

"And of course you suddenly know about that stuff as well," Shikamaru sweat-dropped. How could he have known that Naruto interested himself in that subject ever since he found out Karin was family? Naruto had hypothesized that if Karin had been out there, there could be a chance that there were other Uzumaki as well. And he had wanted to know how he could get them into Konoha in a legally sound way. "Do you insist on continuing to surprise me, or is that it?"

While it was clearly meant as a joke, Naruto grimaced sadly.

"Oi, don't I get a fucking say in all this?" Tayuya interrupted. "I'm fucking dead once Orochimaru believes I betrayed him, and-"

"Shut up," Naruto casually threw a senbon at her. "Don't mistake my actions for kindness. If not for Chie, I would've killed you. You hurt Hinata-chan, so by all rights you should've died. You are a precious person to Chie, so that is why I will drag you back and do whatever I can to help her convince you to join our side. And I don't give a damn what you feel about it."

"Damn… you… flying… fuck…tard.."

"That'll keep her snoring for a few hours," Naruto grunted when he saw Tayuya drift off in a deep sleep. Rummaging through his pockets, he finally found the small vial he was looking for. Taking the senbon out of her leg, Naruto dipped the tip of it in the vial before he made a shallow stab in her neck in order to inject the poison to her blood. "And that should keep her immobilized for the rest of the day," he explained. "Shikamaru… Do you agree to the things I just said? Can you swear to me that you will help Chie and Hinata to take Tayuya back to the compound, and not give in to any feelings of anger towards her?"

"Even though I think you are completely nuts, I'll trust you on it," the Nara shrugged, eying the Uzumaki suspiciously as he did not understand why everyone acted so on edge. "Why would you even ask, after the invasion and all?"

"Do I have your word on it?" Naruto remained unusually serious, urging Shikamaru to make the promise he asked for.

"Yeah, of course."

Naruto shut his eyes, and Hinata moved a bit closer. "Shikamaru-san, i-it is hard to tell you this now, b-but-"

"But you'll hear about this as soon as you get back to Konoha," Naruto finished for her. "You deserve to know the truth. I shouldn't… I don't have the right to keep it from you any longer. You, of all people, deserve to know the truth. I didn't want to tell you while we were in a combat situation, as your reaction could've put you in danger. And I didn't…" Naruto gulped, and Hinata's sorrowful expression filled Shikamaru with dread. "Shikamaru, Choji... Choji was killed."

Shikamaru blinked, and stared at Naruto. But neither Hinata nor Chie denied his statement, both having fallen in a saddened silence. "That… It can't…"

Naruto grabbed him by the shoulder, surprisingly gentle. "I'm sorry Shikamaru. I'm so, so sorry… I noticed someone approaching, someone evil, and I moved as fast as I could, but still… They were ambushed by some tall asshole with a blade. Your uncle wasn't the only reinforcement that Orochimaru sent. Choji… he never felt any of it, but... I was too late…"

Tears fell from the Nara's wide open brown eyes. Gone were his usual lazy and irritated expressions. He was shattered. Devastated by the realization that it was true. Shikamaru cursed his own sharp mind, which told him that this admission fit with the tiny hints in the behavior of Hinata, Chie, Naruto, and even Gaara. Shikamaru squeezed his eyes shut, wanting to close out the entire world, wanting to shut down his mind. He hated himself. How could he keep analyzing everything? His best friend died! Choji was dead. Why couldn't he stop thinking?!

Seeing Shikamaru's grief, Naruto knew he could do nothing for his friend. He wished he could take the time to properly mourn for Choji as well, but he knew he had to hurry. "Stay here for a bit, and take it slowly," he said to Hinata as gently as he could. "I can't sense anyone nearby. Chie?"

Curled up on top of the knocked-out Tayuya, Chie gave him a sad nod. "There isn't a single two-leg nearby. Dusty-two-leg has gone north, you should hurry… I am sorry for causing such a delay."

"No, it is okay Chie, it really is. No matter what Orochimaru turned her in to, this girl is your family. I understand that you wanted to save her. I would probably have done the same thing if I were you. Please look after them, okay?"

Naruto took one last look at the still motionless Shikamaru, before he turned around. Much to his surprise though, he was stopped before he could jump to the nearest tree branch. Teary white eyes stared into his blue ones. "P-please... Be careful. I couldn't bear it… Please don't die," Hinata said with a quivering voice. "Please..."

Seeing how lost she was, Naruto did the boldest thing he had done the entire day, before his mind could even process that he was doing it. With an awkward hug, as he did not want to hurt her already injured arms, Naruto drew Hinata close. "Don't worry about me, Hinata-chan. I'll return, promise of a lifetime," he whispered in her ear.

Before the startled Hyuga could react to the brief contact they made, he let go and turned away, but not before casting one last look at her. His gentle smile and faint blush on his cheeks surprised the Hyuga, and made her heart flutter in spite of all the chaos.

* * *

A lone figure dashed through the treetops. Nara Kazu carried the large casket in which Uchiha Sasuke was locked until he would be able to sustain the cursed seal. '_Hmm… I think I may have made a miscalculation. While Danzo's interference made sure that the jonin were following other tracks, somehow this team of genin was able to track the Sound Four. Too bad Kenta is still out in Mizu no Kuni, looking for a way to cure Kimimaro. Just why did that moron Kabuto die right now?'_ the Nara sighed in annoyance. '_The failed invasion isn__'__t even that bad, but Kabuto__'__s death is definitely a setback to our plans.__'_

'_Ah well. Even without Kimimaro, the plan will succeed. That moron Immore and his dogs will take care of the kids who managed to escape the Sound Four, and act as a meat shield for any possible serious opponent who might follow the kids,__' _Kazu smirked when he leapt out of the last tree, and continued running across the grass plains. '_Almost there. It is rather ironic that the last Uchiha who stayed in Konoha would leave through the valley which was created by his most iconic ancestor.__'_

"Though I suppose we are not lucky enough to assume that you the same insane potential as Uchiha Madara," Kazu sneered against the coffin. '_Too bad Itachi was always out of our reach. If Orochimaru-sama could have stolen his body… well, in that case even those fools from Akatsuki would not have posed a problem. I still think it was a mistake from Orochimaru-sama to inject Itachi with that poison. He won__'__t want to hear it, but that defeat made Orochimaru-sama vindictive. If he had thought things through, he would have left Itachi unscathed, and used this weaker Uchiha to capture the body of the stronger one. Ah well, anger is never the best adviser. The most interesting one, yes, but not the best.__'_

Noticing some faint black smoke coming from the casket, Kazu decided to halt. "I might as well wait for him to be able to move on his own," he remarked lazily. As a true Nara, even Kazu hated to do things inefficiently. However, It didn't take that long until he started to get annoyed. Not because Sasuke was taking so long, though that annoyed him as well, but rather because someone was approaching- and that someone was not Tayuya.

"Fucking morons. I hope that little bitch is dead, otherwise I'm going to slowly torture her before I let Immore and his dogs knock her up," he scowled. He started tying his long messy black hair in a tail, so that it would not hinder him during combat. '_If someone was able to kill her, I should assume the other three are gone as well. Ah well, they were disposable anyway. Why else would Orochimaru-sama send them on this mission? After all, they had served their time. The damage of the seal was going to show soon enough anyway. I bet they don__'__t have many transformations left in them anyway.__'_

Kazu looked at the smoking barrel, and decided to make some distance. It would be troublesome if the hatching was disrupted. And considering how that often ended up in the target becoming mentally unstable… '_We have done too much to screw it up now.__'_

Besides, Orochimaru needed the sharingan in the best possible condition. It would be the first step on the path towards immortality, and toward the overthrow of the current shinobi system. Kazu agreed with his master that the current world was far too stable. In fact, it was his reason for joining Orochimaru: Kazu desired a world of war and violence, a world where he could manipulate, torture, and murder. Such would be a world where he would belong, and be accepted. Perhaps, after he killed Shikaku and Yoshino, he would also consider a position within his clan again. Of course, they would have to change in his image.

He got a mad grin from merely thinking about the pain he could inflict when he could subjugate his clan. '_No woman screams like a Nara woman,__'_ he recalled his blissful years of marriage. That foolish woman had tried to hide his growing insanity for so long, thinking she could cure him- until the day he decided to kill her. That day he had faked his own death and joined Orochimaru.

Pale blue-green eyes stared into the mad black eyes of Kazu, who immediately started to laugh. "It is you! Haha, it makes sense that a creature like you would get past that little whore!"

"…"

"Oh, I see you lost your insanity... What a bummer. And here I thought your behavior was so cute when I last saw you. How happy your father was that he could finally aim the little bomb he raised."

"…"

"Hmm, I'm rambling again, am I not?"

"Quite," Gaara remained stoically.

"It's just excitement. This was supposed to be another regular boring day, but instead you and the other brats managed to track down the Sound Four squad, and even dispose of them. Sure, only one of you made it through, but still… It is a lovely surprise!"

"Hand over the Uchiha."

"Ah, sorry but that is a no-no," Kazu smirked, waggling his finger at the no no. "He's nearly hatched. Perhaps you want to relax for a moment, and see the result of my lord's seal?"

Deliberating whether or not to switch over to the offensive, Gaara noticed the smoking coffin-like construct up ahead. '_That must be where the Uchiha is. Odd. Why would he leave him all alone, when he just said that the Uchiha is about to break free from it,__'_ Gaara frowned. Not that many could see, considering his lack of eyebrows, but still. "The Uchiha was not taken against his will, was he?"

"And another surprise," Kazu's grin grew even wider. "You are no longer a mindless killer anymore!"

"…"

"Well no, there's no need to be so quiet. To answer your question: our little group contacted Sasuke-kun a while ago. After Orochimaru-sama granted him the cursed seal, we knew it was only a matter of time until the boy would seek us out. You didn't think my lord would hand out power without a safety measure? We learned enough from the earlier experiments to know the importance of integrating a mechanism in the seal that ensures that the targets always seek out Orochimaru-sama," Kazu laughed. "I must even add that I am surprised the brat managed to linger here for that long. Then again, the stronger the target is, the longer he or she will be able to resist the seal's corruption."

"So he is not here out of his free will," Gaara concluded. '_I wonder why he is talking this much. This man is clearly not an idiot. He appears to be the typical Nara: too smart for their own good. But unlike the other Nara I have seen up till now, this man does not seem lethargic at all. Though, his energy seems to be derived from his deranged mind. He is dangerously unbalanced.__'_

"Free will?" Kazu stopped laughing and eyed the jinchuriki curiously. "I thought you were a smart kid… Ah well, I might as well spoil the brat's secret. You see, the seal cannot change a person's will. It can only affect certain elements of it. Lust, greed, wrath, envy, pride, etcetera. The true brilliance of the seal is that it does not have to introduce anything 'new'. It can simply affect existing emotions. It does not matter whether a person is strong or weak, those darker emotions always exist."

"Yet you said Uchiha managed to resist for a longer period than usual."

"Ah yes, even if the desire is there… A strong person is able to pursue his desires with his own powers, don't you agree? The stronger a person would be, the longer it would take for him to bend his knee to Orochimaru-sama."

"This sounds quite different from the seal placed on Anko-san," Gaara decided to ask. If this lunatic was blurting out everything, he might as well ask about her seal as well. Perhaps it might lead to a way to properly seal it, or even remove it. Gaara had been there when Naruto attempted, and failed, to isolate Anko's seal.

"Anko... Yes, that bitch is still alive, isn't she? She was among the first 'generations' of the cursed seal. The sole survivor of that batch even, if I'm not mistaken. There are elements in that seal which have proven to be inefficient or even unnecessary, while Orochimaru-sama introduced new elements to it every time. Considering how you met them, you must have noticed the differences between the Sound Four. That fat moron, for instance, has the oldest version of the cursed seal among the four. So naturally, he is the weakest as well. Though, that was also a matter of his yang chakra not properly responding to the seal's yin chakra."

"All his servants are experiments?"

"Of course! Did you think that any of the marked ones really meant anything to my master? Hah! Only the potential bodies would be an exception, but apart from that they are all expendable."

"And yet you serve him?"

"Did you see a seal on me? No kiddo, people like Kabuto, Kenta, and me… we are loyal servants to our lord. We are capable enough in our own right, and have proven our loyalties. So we do not require such a stupid seal, neither to bind us nor to improve us."

"So you do not have a hidden power like the others. Good," Gaara nodded. His gourd started to disintegrate, and sand flowed around him as if it were weightless.

Yet, before Gaara could move to attack, the coffin which held Sasuke suddenly exploded.

With grey skin and lighter hair, Uchiha Sasuke arose from the smoke. Gaara blinked in surprise, not expecting the boy to change as much as he apparently had. Yet along with the dark smoke, Sasuke's transformation also wore off.

"Ahh, Sasuke-kun… I see you finally hatched," Kazu chuckled. "Good, because my fun was just about to start, so why don't you-"

In a flash of movement, Sasuke lurched towards Gaara. Not that his fist would have made it through the barrier of sand, but that… That barrier was not even necessary. Sasuke froze, mere inches before he would reach the sand.

"Playing with the opponent of another… My, my, such bad manners ask for re-education," Kazu hissed. It was barely audible, but if Kazu's shadows had not frozen Sasuke, the sound would have. Even Gaara felt the hairs in his neck rise. This man was dangerous, and the insanity was clearly heard.

"Who are you," the Uchiha demanded. Though, his voice carried little of his usual conceit.

"Does that matter? I am here to make sure you get to Orochimaru-sama. So I would suggest that you get to him as fast as you can, or I will make sure you understand the consequences of not following a direct order. After all, my lord only needs your eyes to be unscathed…"

For all the power he now felt flowing through his body, he still believed the 'promise' the Nara just made. He could see it with his sharingan. '_What chakra.. This man is definitely a jonin. Perhaps even near Kakashi's level. But unlike him, this lunatic is not going to hold back. Even the shadows that he used to stop me felt like they could have easily crushed my legs,_' Sasuke thought. '_And I doubt he is sane enough to control his jutsu well enough.'_

"Hn, fine."

"That's a good boy," Kazu glared at the Uchiha. "Now, scram!"

Gaara saw Sasuke turn and run, and attempted to halt him. Before he could grab him, though, tendrils of shadows surrounded the jinchuriki.

"Kids these days... halfway-developed chakra coils and muscles, and yet none of you kids ever have proper manners in front of your elders. Though, you at least have that monster inside you to boost your strength to a level where you can actually put up a fight, I'll give you that. But you were about to attack me, so don't go after the Uchiha. It's rude. I don't like people with bad manners."

"Someone like you talks about rudeness?" even the stoic Gaara could not help but show some surprise. "Ah well," not that that it really mattered to him. "Sabaku Kyu (Sand Binding Coffin)."

Gaara controlled the sand underneath Kazu's feet. With no way out, the sand enveloped Kazu and… Gaara's expression did not change a bit. "It would have been too easy if that had been enough to kill you."

"Sabaku no Gaara… A little jinchuriki, one that was so powerful that only the late Kazekage could stop you. This is indeed a very interesting day. Kage Nui no Jutsu (Shadow Sewing Technique)."

The shadow around Kazu's feet spread, and several threads with shard points attacked Gaara simultaneously.

"Impressive defense," Kazu smirked when he saw his shadows being blocked by Gaara's automatic defense. "It seems that I w-" the words froze in his throat, and Kazu threw himself aside.

"Damn, this guy really is good."

"Naruto."

"Gaara."

"Another rat pops up? What have those four morons been doing? And where the fuck is Immore," the Nara was getting annoyed. For the second time, someone tried to interrupt his battle. Unacceptable. This is… "Unacceptable!"

And thick spear of shadow pierced the blonde's chest.

"You really are good," the same brat's voice suddenly sounded up from behind Kazu. '_What? But he… Damn it! It was a kage bunshin!' _Kazu evaded, just in time. Naruto could only touch his back for a moment. "What idiot talks just before he attacks?"

"I thought all Nara were smart," Naruto frowned. "You do look like one, but your actions… Wait, Shikamaru said you were nuts. You're his insane uncle. Or should is say 'were'?"

'_Were? Crap, my back! His files indicated that he was adept at fuinjutsu!'_

"Jigoku no fuin," Naruto calmly activated the Infernal Seal which he had placed between Kazu's shoulders.

"That will not be enough," Gaara softly spoke from Naruto's side, indifferent about the explosion in front of him. "I will handle him."

"But…"

"Naruto, Sasuke is cooperating with Orochimaru. His seal-"

"I know. He chose to join them. They offered him power. But I'm still going to drag him back."

"He went towards the northern border, through the Valley of the End," Gaara continued. "So, go."

"Are you sure you can handle this guy? He seems to be rather strong. Not to mention that he feels really evil…" Gaara remained silent, and just looked at Naruto. Who just answered the silence with a sigh. "Just don't overdo it, okay? Jonin are still a threat to us."

Gaara nodded, and Naruto took off, chasing Sasuke once more.

"Smart move," a voice sounded from the smoke which the explosive seal had left. Gaara could see that Kazu's flak jacket and shirt had turned to ashes, but the seal had done less damage than he had anticipated. "I could have attacked him just now, but fighting two jinchuriki at the same time… It would not be healthy."

'_He is slippery, if he managed to partially escape the blast of Naruto's seal he would truly be a jonin level shinobi. I doubt that even Baki would have been able to escape it like that,'_ Gaara pondered as he looked around. '_I suppose that it is a good moment to use some of the chakra which Shukaku bottled up behind the new seal. Now that Naruto has passed by, there should not be anyone nearby. Releasing that chakra, even though my control is still lacking, would not pose a threat to anyone but this lunatic.'_

"Kage Nui no Jutsu." Nine tendrils of shadow twisted and turned around each other, until they merged into a single one.

Gaara saw the jutsu, but he did not worry. Those shadow tendrils had been unable to pierce his defenses. Or so he thought. This thick black spear pierced right through his automatic defense.

"A secondary defense. I guess I should use twelve tendrils next," Kazu laughed. Gaara's Suna no Yoroi (Armor of Sand) had been cracked. But it had still been strong enough to halt Kazu's attack.

'_That thing could have pierced my heart if not for my armor. But how? It is just shadow…'_

Seeing twelve tendrils form one even bigger spear, Gaara saw only one way out. A huge wall of sand formed, thick and strong enough to stop any possible attack, as it was made from the hardest minerals Gaara could find in this short span of time.

"Critical error," Kazu laughed hysterically. "Now you're done!"

Gaara could have hit himself if he had still been able to. '_The wall casts a shadow… of course. He was simply aiming for that from the start.__'_

"I wonder how Orochimaru-sama would respond if I caught him a jinchuriki," Kazu scratched his chin. Gaara was now firmly within his grip, and to be on the safe side he had even pierced the jinchuriki's shoulders with several tendrils, tying him down. "Our intel indicated that the Uzumaki brat messed with this brat's seal, so we should be able to twist him in our image. Without the Ichibi's chakra this guy isn't even that difficult to… wait, what is he-"

The wall of sand had suddenly collapsed, pushing up clouds of dust and sand into the air. Kazu could still feel that he had Gaara bound by his shadow. Kazu had been forced to adapt when his Yamanaka teammate died and he had eventually developed such sensitivity when it came to his Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Possession Technique) that he could _feel_ if someone stepped into his shadows. As if the shadows were literally an extension of his senses. As such, he had been able to feel Naruto's stealth attack, as the blond had stepped onto Kazu's shadow.

But even though he could sense Gaara, Kazu was annoyed that he could not see him. Why would the jinchuriki block his vision with these dust clouds? Surely he knew that the clouds only casted more shadows, thus rendering Kazu's grip even more firm than it already was.

"I have been training for this... Naruto gave me the ability to control myself. To control how much of Shukaku's power I can push through," Kazu heard Gaara whisper. Though, his voice seemed to be coming from all directions, as if he spoke through the dust cloud. A deeper voice began to laugh, and while laughing the voice seemed to go several octaves higher. It actually freaked the insane Nara out. "But it is so much!"

"You… It was sealed!"

"He gave us the key," Gaara's now twisted voice resounded. "He gave us the key, to vanquish thee. That rhymed! You made me bleed, and now I shall make sure it is your final deed! No, no, that doesn't rhyme as well as the previous one... but I like the word 'blood'…"

"What the fuck?" Kazu grumbled. He poured more and more chakra into the shadows, but somehow the jinchuriki was still able to cast some kind of jutsu. The density of the dust cloud lessened. Now Kazu could see where all the sand had gone.

Gaara's prior sand armor seemed brittle in comparison to _this_. His entire body was covered with a thin yet extremely dense layer of sand, and this sand was covered by peculiar black markings.

"Thanks to Naruto… Thanks to him I can now transform properly. Unlike before, when I became a monster, I now retain my sanity," Gaara laughed. "Well, some of it!"

There were no claws. No tail. No monstrous tanuki-like head. No, Gaara was still human. Or at least shaped as one. But Kazu could sense the surge of power, as Gaara's chakra had increased drastically.

"As Naruto covers up with his shroud of boiling chakra, I do with sand," Gaara grinned. He took one step forward, and though Kazu tried to prevent it, he was unable to halt the jinchuriki.

'_His power now easily exceeds mine. I could try other methods, but if I die I would be unable to enjoy torturing other people… and that would be a real bummer. Besides, at this time it is not in our best interest to permanently harm either of the jinchuriki. At least, as long as we are unable to capture them, that is. As long as they are out of our control, they should remain as strong as possible, or Akatsuki will capture them,__' _Kazu knew he had only one way out: withdrawal. "Too bad Kimimaro-kun is still incapacitated… I think a fight between the two of you could have been among the best that I could ever witness."

"You think you can get away like that?" Gaara glared at the Nara. Hands made out sand sprung up from the ground, and Kazu was forced to use all of his speed to avoid them. "Did you think freezing me with that jutsu of yours would be enough to stop me? The sands obey my command, whether I order them by hand seals or not," the bloodlust was clearly heard within Gaara's voice. Then again, this was the reason why he was never able to train without supervision: his control was still far from perfect.

The influence of Shukaku still slipped through whenever Gaara opened the seal a little. And while it gave a lot of power, it also posed a great risk. Then again, right now no one important was around- only one traitorous Nara- a Nara who now was royally fed up with the situation.

"Screw this! I stalled you long enough. That little Uchiha bitch should be at the hideout by now," Kazu growled. Shadows swirled around him, but he could disappear in the shadows, the hands grabbed him, dragging him into the ground.

Into the darkness.

That was the sole thing which prevented Gaara from grinding Kazu's body to dust, this version of the Shunshin no Jutsu. Gaara may have had the raw power to defeat Kazu, but he still lacked when comparing ability and experience. Still, Kazu would feel his right leg for the time being, as his bones had been very close to snapping under the immense pressure.

Gaara screamed out in frustration, but it did not bring his opponent any closer to him. Still, he had a lot of chakra at his disposal. Too much. So much that he needed it gone, before the Ichibi would try to take over his mind. "Sabaku Taiso! (Giant Sand Burial)" slamming his hands in the ground, a massive wave of sand destroyed the entire vicinity. Every tree, bush, or animal caught in the onslaught was buried deep underneath, and crushed.

"My, my, such senseless and excessive violence," a voice from behind Gaara startled him.

* * *

"Sasuke!" Even with the waterfall roaring, Sasuke could hear his voice: Uzumaki Naruto, his rival, his enemy.

For all of those years in the academy, Naruto had possessed that rare ability to irritate Sasuke. It was a feat that even the horde of fangirls that chased him usually could not achieve. But Uzumaki Naruto had always been an enigma. Usually, he was just a lazy and distracted fool, a distant and uncaring figure, but on rare occasions he had been able to beat Sasuke. It was not because Naruto was stronger in one particular field, no: Naruto could lose ten taijutsu spars on a row, and then suddenly overpower Sasuke. Not that the teachers really cared, considering that it was Naruto. Most others just saw it as a coincidence, or fluke. But Sasuke felt the annoying ease with which Naruto could beat him. And if it would happen once, Sasuke could indeed call it a fluke, just like the others did, but it happened too often for that. It was not just at taijutsu, either; the only classes where Naruto had never shown him a glimpse of his true abilities were those of bukijutsu and genjutsu. Perhaps the areas of weaponry and illusions had simply never been Naruto's strong points, Sasuke did not know.

The fact remained that this boy had been the only one of their class able to pummel him. Sure, Shikamaru had a sharp mind, but he was too lazy to even try to win. Sure, Kiba had always been strong when it came to taijutsu, but he was too unfocused to come close to victory. The same went for Choji, who simply was too gentle. And Shino… well, Shino was never too noticeable during their years at the academy. Meanwhile, Sasuke noticed that the kunoichi of his class were far too busy with their looks and diets to take their training seriously.

Thinking about his former teammate still made him ache, though it was now a dull sensation, both of pain and disappointment, rather than the vicious pain he felt prior his 'rebirth'. His anger had priority now. Shino's death was unfortunate, but to Sasuke it had been unavoidable. Sasuke couldn't have gone against the people who offered him power, the power he needed to defeat Itachi. And if what Itachi had told him all those years ago was true, then witnessing the deaths of those closest to him would… It angered him that it had been for naught.

The roaring waterfall was flanked by two of the largest statues Sasuke had ever seen. They were two figures he remembered from the history books: the first Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and his eternal rival and Sasuke's ancestor: Uchiha Madara. Madara, was the first and worst traitor in the history of Konohagakure. Sasuke could remember the talks amongst his clan members about whether or not Madara had been right. Apparently the man had warned the clan of their inevitable demise. Ironically, Sasuke could clearly remember how annoyed Itachi had been whenever they heard those talks.

'_Madara should have warned us against our own clan members, not that Konoha would act against us,'_ Sasuke mused. The pain of his loss, the despair of seeing all those he loved dead, the torment of knowing that it had been his beloved brother who had done it all… And why? Why had Itachi killed everyone? Their parents, their kin, even Itachi's girlfriend was found with a slit throat. '_Why did he kill everyone, and leave me behind? Why?'_

For a long time, he had regretted that Itachi had let him live. Only his rage prevented him from choosing suicide. But how many times had Sasuke considered killing himself? He had lost count. He knew he would never have endured if not for that deeply-rooted hatred of his older brother. It kept him alive, made him stronger, even… those petty rivalries, his pursuit of becoming the strongest. As amusing as it seemed right now, those things had brought some light to his life as well. They had been entertaining distractions from the hatred which constantly gnawed at his heart.

But the power he now felt flowing through him rendered that rivalry pointless.

Sasuke looked back, and from his position on top of Madara, he saw Naruto on top of Hashirama's head. With his sharingan, Sasuke could see it clearly. Right now, he was stronger. With the Kyuubi now more restricted by the strengthened seal, Naruto had less chakra at his disposal than before, while Sasuke knew that his newfound power granted him a strength that was greater than the current Naruto. He had felt it when he completely submerged himself in the cursed seal. And the Uchiha even suspected that he still didn't know the true amount of chakra which the cursed seal could grant him. That short burst when he stepped out of that coffin had only been an appetizer. '_This fight serves no purpose anymore, I should head back,'_ Sasuke thought. He turned and started to walk away from his former rival. Sasuke had proven his superiority to himself, so fighting Naruto now would only be a pointless delay.

"What, are you gonna run away now!?"

Sasuke halted. When he turned around, he could see Naruto's shock. Sasuke knew that the seal's chakra was still affecting him. The left side of his face burned and itched as it was covered with the seal's markings, and his left eye… Sasuke smirked when he saw Naruto shudder. He was the one to feel fear, for a change.

"Hey… dumbass, why are you trying to stop me? Don't bother me anymore," Sasuke laughed maliciously. Even to his own ears, it was eerily similar to Orochimaru's way of laughing. But with the influence from the seal, he found that he could not care. Naruto's grim expression was far more entertaining.

"Why, Sasuke," Naruto demanded. "Why did you do it? Why did you choose _this_?"

"What does any of this have to do with you?" Sasuke replied coldly. "I had to make a decision. I made my own path. I won't let anyone lead me the other way… My childish games with you 'leafs' are over."

"Childish games?" Naruto gritted his teeth. "Is that what you think this is?! Everyone risked their lives for you. Shino is dead, Sasuke. Choji was killed! They are dead because of YOU!"

"That was their decision, not mine."

Hearing Sasuke's cold reply made something snap inside Naruto. He remembered Shino's concerns. He recalled all the times that Sakura, Ino, and all those others had fawned on Sasuke, how half the village practically revered Sasuke, simply because of his Uchiha blood. He still heard Chie's words, telling him that Shino had been murdered. He still saw Choji's lifeless body. To see Sasuke dismiss all of that with such indifference…

In a flash of movement that took Sasuke by surprise, even though he had activated his sharingan, Naruto leapt forward. Sasuke flinched when he felt Naruto's fist connect to his face, and yet… '_Am I that more powerful? I would have expected it to hurt much more, but this is nothing.'_

Naruto felt the Kyuubi calling out for him, demanding that he kill the Uchiha. Seeing the Uchiha underneath him, spitting out blood after he had hit him, Naruto was frustrated that Sasuke remained so indifferent. Had the demon been right? Did Sasuke really deserve no consideration at all? '_Neji changed. Could Sasuke change too?'_

Said demon disagreed. **"You have never hesitated with finishing off your opponent, why do you treat this Uchiha-scum differently? Stop overthinking everything. Ever since that seal was improved, you've certainly become more pitiful, human."**

'_There is something different about Sasuke. I don't know why. I never knew. But from the day I first met him, we had this stupid rivalry. On one end, we were so similar, and at the same time, we were complete opposites. I just couldn't stand his behavior. When I was a kid, all I wanted was to be acknowledged. But outside the Hyuga clan, only Iruka-sensei, Jiisan and the Ichiraku's did not refuse me. But… everyone noticed him. Admired him. He had everything I desired. But instead of appreciating it, he ignored them all. Where I needed to work my ass off in order to get stronger, he just seemed to do things so casually. I had to spend countless hours with my Kage Bushin, and he seemed to learn skills instantly. Even before he awakened those eyes of his.'_

"**You humans and your pride," **the fox scoffed.

'_Look who is talking,'_ Naruto felt slightly amused by the annoyance the Bijuu now radiated. '_Besides, why are we suddenly talking again? I thought you were too busy sulking around.'_

"**You're not paying attention, focus on killing the Uchiha."**

'_Ah, of course. Your hatred against the Uchiha supersedes your hatred towards me,' _Naruto smiled.

Seeing Naruto pause for a moment, Sasuke looked up at Naruto's face. One eye bright blue, the other red and slit.

'_Hatred… why does he have that stupid fixation on power, when it is the love for his lost ones that drives him?'_

"Are you getting stronger with those 'comrades'?"

"…!?"

"I'm going to Orochimaru!"

"I warned you, Sasuke. That guy cannot be trusted. Do you really think he is just going to give you power for free? Did you sink so low?"

"I don't care," Sasuke snapped. "I don't care if he wants my body as a container or not. If that will lead to Itachi's death, I will gladly pay that price!"

"Even when it means killing Shino?"

"All I care about is that I accomplish my objective. As long as my clan is avenged, I will pay any price. And I can't help it if anyone else is stupid enough to get in my way."

Naruto stared at his former teammate with disbelief. "Are you insane?"

"Itachi made me experience EVERYTHING!" Sasuke hissed. "I saw him murder my family, as if I were the one who did it. You were born with nothing, so you don't know what it is to lose all you have. You don't know what it is to see your entire family getting slaughtered right in front of you!"

"So you decide to betray the very village they lived in? Do you think that would make your family proud? The two last sons of the Uchiha clan, Konoha's police force, both being the worst criminals the village produced since Orochimaru himself? Do you think that will satisfy them? You spit on their legacy! Dammit, even the idiots who serve Orochimaru knew some sort of twisted loyalty!"

"What do you know about it?!" Sasuke shouted.

"You think I never lost people whom I cared for?" Naruto growled. The memories of Haruki still hurt, and the way Sarutobi Hiruzen died would be something he could never forget. Even if they weren't really related by blood, Haruki had practically been a father to Naruto, while Hiruzen had been a grandfather. Hell, the old man had even allowed Naruto to call him Jiisan… "Forget it. You can only see your own grief. That cycle of hatred can stuff it, you won't listen. You really are a lost cause."

* * *

**Bonus: A visit to the bathhouse**

* * *

*Errr, Chie-sama, why are we here?* Siro, the brown cat with his white-tipped tail, wondered.

*We are here for our next theft!*

*Why is a cat of your pedigree bothering with such silly pranks?* Suto shook his head. The long-haired grey-black cat seemed to be disappointed at the location their leader had chosen for today's plans. Then again, he had been living with the Uchiha for as long as he could remember, and Chie often reproached him for this, as the reason that this was why he had no sense of humor.

*What do two-legs value most?*

*Food!* Sakana automatically replied.

*Good looks,* Siro disagreed with his brother. *Ino-sama said so!*

*Isn't it obvious that nobility is even more important?* Tora wondered if her 'teammates' were actually stupid.

*Yet none of it means anything if you don't have order,* Suto sighed. Chie's plans usually involved the creation of chaos, one of the things Suto actually disliked. *But what does that all have to do with this place?*

*You're all wrong. It is money. Two-legs wage wars to satisfy their greed for it. Money gives you status, provides you food, makes you attractive… two-legs measure all things by wealth. And right here, there is a way to get a lot of it. And if we do it right, nobody will notice we took it!*

* * *

"Ugh, stupid paperwork... After a long day like this, a nice hot bath like this was just what I needed," Jiraiya stretched himself. "Sarutobi-sensei was really a control freak… Damn, why on earth did he want to get every little thing on his desk? I mean, if it is about a mission, fine, I'll have to know that stuff. But the grades of each academy class, _weekly_? That's really pushing it. If I didn't put a stop to it, I would even be ordering headbands myself. I'm not a freaking secretary, I'm the Hokage!"

Still soaking, Jiraiya wore nothing but a towel when he went into the dressing room of the hot spring. He had been so tired that he didn't even peak at the women's section this time. Well, he wanted to, but he knew he didn't have the energy to run away from the usual angered mob afterwards. Besides, a man of his position should act like it. And this loosely translated to him wanting the do all the peeping through the crystal ball.

'_I don't understand it, where did Sarutobi-sensei hide that thing? Perhaps Tsunade stashed it away while she was looking after sensei? She must have feared the moment I would get my hands on that thing. Now, all I need to do is figure out where she hid it! Who would be cruel enough to help her keep that precious item from me?'_

* * *

"Nii-san?"

"Sorry Karin-neechan, I didn't mean to startle you."

"You aren't getting sick, are you?" Karin looked at her 'brother' who had just startled her by sneezing loudly.

"I never get sick, it's one of the advantages of being what I am," Naruto grinned. "Someone must be talking about me, saying how awesome I am. Now, shall we continue?"

"Yeah, thanks for helping me understand these sealing patterns," Karin gave him a grateful smile.

* * *

"But I guess I'll never find that crystal ball…" Jiraiya sobbed. "Imagine the peeping I could do with that item! No one would ever be able to catch me red-handed ever again!"

In such a state of mind, he walked to where he had left his clothes before entering the bath. And… "The hell? A green haori? With 'gamble' on it? Why is Tsunade's stuff in the men's dressing room?" Jiraiya wondered. Though, his confusion quickly made way for something way more important. With a lecherous grin, he looked over if _all_ her clothes were there.

The very moment he held up the sizeable bra of Senju Tsunade, the latter kicked in the door.

Jiraiya had been caught peeping before, but never while having her bra in his hands. Never with only a towel covering his lower parts. Lower parts which, by the way, did not particularly hide the _enthusiasm_ which he had felt when finding her underwear. "Eh… Hi Hime, but what are you doing in the men's dressing room?"

The vein on Tsunade's forehead seemed close to exploding. Red, from the nice hot bath she just took, but also from the anger and embarrassment she now felt, Tsunade mustered the control to form a sickly sweet smile. One which actually terrified the brand new Hokage far more than anything else she could have done or said. "Why were your clothes in the women's dressing room, Godaime-sama?"

The venom with which she spoke left Jiraiya with only one primordial instinct: flee. Run for his life!

* * *

Across the street, five cats were looking with interest as the buildings near the hot spring suddenly exploded. A lone, white-haired, two-leg flew away, launched by a force Chie had quickly learned to avoid. *Was it successful?* she asked her minions.

*The woman carried little to no money,* Suto reported. *She was quite messy though, so I hope my countermeasures will be enough to make it clear to her that she has to properly fold up her clothes next time.*

Chie could barely contain her laughter. Tsunade would not like the smell of cat-pee on her clothes, Suto's usual 'punishment' when he deemed humans to be too messy. '_Though it will also reveal to her who was actually behind this situation,'_ the bakeneko frowned. '_Good thing I bribed Crazy-snakes-two-leg into covering for me by providing an alibi. That two-leg really would do anything for a bottle of that fiery water.'_

*The man had quite a lot of money with him,* Siro reported with no small amount of pride. He loved it when he could out-perform Suto.

*Good. Now, all we need is a phone, and with this money we can order whatever food we like,* Chie once again ensured herself of Sakana's life-long loyalty. '_Even after ordering food, there would still be enough left to buy something nice for Ako-sama. And I might as well buy something for Whisker-two-leg as well, after the death of the Old-two-leg he will need something to cheer him up!'_

* * *

**A/N**: Tayuya, Kazu, and Sasuke: three people who betrayed the village they came from. Each had their own reasons. But why was Naruto hesitating? What is good and evil at this point? Why are some people surprised that fanfiction isn't an exact repeat of the stuff that happened in the manga? Why am I talking to myself? (+1 for those who get that reference)

My recommendation for today! Did anyone read **Legacy of Uzushiogakure** by: **Marquis Black**? It is a story in which scattered remains of the Uzumaki clan find a certain little blond boy in Konohagakure. It results in a very enjoyable read, and for once the 'crossoverish' traits are well executed: the group which encountered Naruto is based on characters from the manga Fairy Tail. But I like it a lot, in spite of the crossover allergy I usually have. But Marquis actually managed to integrate the non-Naruto characters properly, which is a refreshing change.

Can I find a new and original way to describe my thanks to **Illuminated** for beta-ing my chapter? No? Then I leave it like this. I'm sure he'll get the message! I hope you've enjoyed the chapter enough to leave a **review**! If not, also leave a review: constructive criticism is the best way to improve! Not to mention that reviews are a good way to keep me motivated.

-Z-


	58. Animosity

**Sasuke retrieval arc**

**Animosity**

* * *

"_Itachi made me experience EVERYTHING!" Sasuke hissed. "I saw him murder my family, as if I were the one who did it. You were born with nothing, so you don't know what it is to lose all you have. You don't know what it is to see your entire family getting slaughtered right in front of you!" _

"_So you decide to betray the very village they lived in? Do you think that would make your family proud? The two last sons of the Uchiha clan, Konoha's police force, both being the worst criminals the village produced since Orochimaru himself? Do you think that will satisfy them? Dammit, even the idiots who serve Orochimaru knew some sort of twisted loyalty!"_

"_What do you know about it?!" Sasuke shouted. _

"_You think I never lost people whom I cared for?" Naruto growled. "Forget it. You can only see your own grief. That cycle of hatred can stuff it, you won't listen. You really are a lost cause."_

* * *

"Lost cause?" Sasuke mocked Naruto with a rather poor impression of the blond's voice. "You won't even lay a finger on me now. I will crush you with my new power. And when I go to Orochimaru, I will grow even stronger!"

"You won't. I will drag you back, whether it is as a corpse or not," Naruto growled, with one eye as blue as the summer skies, and one eye crimson as the fires of hell. Still, the reinforced seal kept the influence of the Kyuubi to a minimum. If he had been calmer, Naruto might have wondered where this rage came from, if not from the demon sealed within. Then again, much as the Kyuubi had long been blind to its own darkness, so was Naruto. There was no simple matter of looking in a mirror in order to see oneself, not with this ability to sense the darkness within people. In contrast, he could clearly sense the negative emotions in Sasuke's heart.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was glaring at Naruto. From the custom-made flak jacket to the utility belt, Sasuke detested everything about the green-clad Uzumaki. "You look down at me for using another's power, yet look at who you are… _jinchuriki_," he hissed. He had so much rage bottled up. There was the humiliation of defeat, as Naruto had given him the feeling that Sasuke was too weak. Worse, because of their fights, Sasuke had been reprimanded, and even held back. '_Kakashi refused to teach me after that day,_' Sasuke knew.

Yes, in the eyes of the Uchiha, in his twisted state of mind, it was actually Naruto who had driven him out of the village. It was because of Naruto that he had been unable to grow in Konoha, and he _had_ to grow in order to let his clan rest in peace, and to be free from the ever-returning nightmares that haunted his nights. '_It is because of Naruto that Shino died!'_

Naruto did not fully realize how deluded his opponent was. All he saw was the Uchiha rushing towards him, covered with those black markings which Orochimaru's seal spread, and radiating a malice that was worse than Sasuke ever had. Naruto didn't realize that he unknowingly pushed Sasuke even further down his dark path by beating him in their previous encounters. No, Naruto had just wanted to protect those dear to him. And while the young Uzumaki understood that Sasuke lost those who had been dear to him, Naruto could not say a good word about his aimless desire for vengeance. Regardless of what happened to him, Sasuke was the one who _chose_ to do this. If he had targeted those responsible for the massacre, Naruto could've understood, but Sasuke was only making people suffer who had nothing to do with it.

On vengeance… whenever Sasuke had spoken about Uchiha Itachi, or the fate of his clan, Naruto had felt the darkness within Sasuke spike. While Naruto had long thought that punishing someone for their deeds was the right course of action, Hinata had shown him another path. If not for her, Naruto would have killed Neji. If not for her, Naruto would have kept believing that a person's evil nature was unchangeable. But now that he had spared Neji's life, after she requested him not to kill Neji, Naruto had seen Neji change. He had felt it. Sure, the Hyuga had still had a lot of anger within him, but it was different. Neji wasn't governed by that anger anymore.

Unfortunately, gaining the knowledge that a person could change their way also made Naruto second-guess his past decisions. How many people had he killed needlessly, people who could have gone through changes like Neji did?

'_Could Sasuke change like Neji? Could those guys I killed today have bettered their lives? I just killed them without thinking, because of Choji… and because I was worried about Hinata after I saw what happened to Choji. But what right did I have to kill them, why do I have the arrogance to judge them when I am just as bad myself? I let myself be led by my rage. I couldn't even see if someone was able to change or not. It is sad that I do not have her eyes, or her mind… I am merely a fool tumbling around, compared to her. I am tainted. But… what Sasuke has done is too much for forgiveness. The Kyuubi is right. This time, Sasuke must face the consequences of his actions.'_

With Naruto hesitating, it was Sasuke who took the initiative. The Uchiha felt the power of the cursed seal synchronizing with his body. It hurt him a lot, but the increase of power more than made up for it. The best part was that this wasn't even the end to his growth. No, the power he had felt after he had emerged from that coffin had been far greater. Sasuke felt thrilled, his enemy was able to evade now, but what would happen if he fully released the seal? How strong would he become, for Shino, for Sakura, for the life he had been forced to throw away, for his vengeance. His nemesis, the jinchuriki, would fall today, never to stand in his way again. Naruto would perish, by his hands, by his kunai, by his jutsu!

Today, Sasuke would prove once and for all that he was the strongest!

* * *

"**Oh, this is just great…" **a certain giant, nine-tailed fox slumped down behind his prison bars. **"That puny fool has once again started to doubt himself and what he does, could, or should do. I liked him better when he mindlessly gave in to the hatred. He was a lot easier to control back then. Now he thinks I'm trying to control him, every time he gets angry… moron."**

It was a petty movement, and he knew it better than anyone, but still… he flicked a claw against these imperishable bars he hated so much, but nothing happened. He had been so close, so damned close.

All the cracks in his prison were gone ever since that old geezer had mended the damage he had caused over the last decade. Now that his boiling anger had settled down a little, he even felt some begrudging respect for the sacrifice that the feeble old man had made. The man had surrendered his life for the sake of his host, an act which the mighty creature found noble. If only it hadn't been such a nuisance to him. But that was in the past, now. Although the fox could definitely hold a grudge, in this case… well, Hiruzen was no Madara to him. That was exactly the reason of the demon's frustrations right now: Uchiha.

"**He should know by now that once an Uchiha begins to walk this path, it is nigh impossible to change them. Their very nature doesn****'****t allow it,"** he sighed, although, Naruto wouldn't hear him. It was annoying how difficult it had become to talk with the boy. **"When will he accept that they draw power from their hatred, and have to plunge deeper into that hatred to become stronger? Not everything I say is**** deceitful, dammit.****"**

But regardless of how foolish he thought his host was, the Kyuubi could sense the power of the Uchiha boy. The power that the boy was still hiding worried him.

"**The brat will inevitably have no choice but to rely on my power- that would give me some space for negotiations. Then again, he is more foolish than Chomei and at least as stubborn as Gyuki and Son together. He might just die before he would ask me for help," **the fox sighed. **"And dying right now would be quite a hassle. With the seal in this condition, I can****'****t gamble that I would escape the seal before the brat draws his last breath."**

Restlessly, the Bijuu tried to find a more comfortable position. At the very least, this kid was quite the improvement over Kushina and Mito, who had just chained him down. On the other hand, those two had more brains in their heads than this impetuous young fool. **"****Damn humans.****"**

* * *

Grumpy as he may have been, the monster's growl went unnoticed by Naruto. With the chakra granted by the cursed seal, Sasuke was now able to enhance his speed to a level where he could react properly against Naruto. With the annoying ability of the sharingan to predict his movements, Naruto became the one who was pushed into defense, even though he still had the edge in terms of raw speed.

Still, he doubted that Sasuke had much control over this borrowed power. So instead of going for an all-out offense, Naruto chose to remain patient. It was a lesson which Haruki and Hizashi had beaten into him when he had just begun training at taijutsu after moving into the Hyuga compound.

"_Rushing into battle without thinking is equal to granting your opponent victory. It might work when you are stronger and have chakra to waste, but when fighting an opponent who is either equal to you or stronger, is more prudent to remain cautious,"_ was what Haruki had told him. Hizashi had always beaten him thoroughly, often without even breaking a sweat. Naruto had quickly been forced to watch his step, as having several tenketsu closed was not a fun feeling. However, it formed a good motivation to change his habits. and had given him the ideas he needed for his countermeasure against the Juken.

So, he waited and paid attention, no matter how it went against his instincts. After all, this was not training. This was not a mere spar. No, Sasuke was definitely not kidding around. He'd kill Naruto when he got the chance- that seal really had driven the Uchiha over the proverbial edge.

"For a demon, you show quite some restraint," Sasuke taunted after jumping back and creating some distance. "Why don't you show me that power of yours?"

"Why? For Konoha it would be better if I dragged you back alive. Last time I allowed the Kyuubi to take charge, you were lucky to have survived."

"Luck? You-"

"Wake up, teme. Because of you, Shino died. Choji died! All for your greed," Naruto still had one eye crimson from the minor traces of the Kyuubi's chakra that flowed through him. Even though he had access to a far smaller amount of it now that his seal was strengthened, it came with the benefit that it didn't affect his mind as much as previously. Still, that mental clarity would not last if he drew out more chakra.

"Right... Why don't you try to drag me back?" the Uchiha chuckled.

"Cut the crap, Sasuke," Naruto growled more than spoke. "For what happened to Shino, for what happened to Choji, you deserve death. In our previous little skirmishes, I didn't really care whether you lived or died. But now, things have changed. So stop this idiocy, and wake up! For the sake of Konoha, this is the last chance I'm willing to give."

"Wake up?" Sasuke began to laugh. "Wake up? I've been awake all this time… awake from a dream by my foolish self, who dreamed of a future with comrades, drunken with the assurance of peace- that's why I left the village, that's why I desired power! I am very much awake, dobe."

"Then so be it," Naruto sighed and accepted the inevitable. In a rapid series of hand seals, Naruto created a dozen clones. "Take him down."

"Aye, boss."

"Can we kill the bastard, boss?"

"I don't care what those morons from the council want anymore. His actions brought death to my friends, and he repents none of it. His life is forfeit," Naruto glared at Sasuke, who was arrogantly smirking at the Uzumaki.

"Big words, dobe. I'll make you swallow them all," Sasuke boasted. Still, he knew better than most that defeating Naruto was no simple task. So he tapped into the reservoir of his cursed seal, consuming more and more of its power than ever. He didn't care about the consequences anymore. He had to beat Naruto. He could never even think of facing his brother if he wasn't even able to do that. Even if it meant granting Orochimaru control to his mind and his body, Sasuke would never stop. '_Brother, no matter how deep I have to plunge myself into darkness, I will do it in order to kill you! Not matter what happens, I will get that power!__'_

The clones rushed forward, surrounding Sasuke. The latter was cautious; he had seen, felt, and heard, too much of Naruto's strategies with clones to rush in with his guard down. Were they aiming to blow him up, like in his battle against the Hyuga? Would they try to slow him down, like in Naruto's battle against Lee?

Sasuke was somewhat disappointed when they just tried to attack. It was a bit underwhelming, in his opinion, and felt more like an insult than anything else. As if Naruto was underestimating him.

Naruto, for his part, sent out his clones with three goals. Preparation, buying time, and checking out Sasuke's current strength and attack patterns. '_Even if he has that sharingan of his, evading twelve clones at the same time would be… wait, what is happening?'_ Naruto frowned when Sasuke took down the first clone. And when he saw the second clone being decapitated, Naruto realized he had made a mistake.

"Dang. Overwhelming him with numbers isn't going to work this time," Naruto scratched his chin. '_This is a first... I guess it is a side effect of having less chakra then during the time when the seal was busted. The clones are weaker because they split up my strength, and I have too little chakra now to create that many clones which as strong enough to fight him directly.'_

Naruto sighed as he watched how Sasuke took down a third clone, and made a gesture to the remaining clones to stop their assault and create some distance.

'_What a waste of chakra. They are simply too slow to catch Sasuke, now that I have divided my chakra among them. And while usually not a problem, Sasuke has gotten a significant boost from that seal, whereas my reserves have dwindled down quite a bit now that the Kyuubi had less influence. At least, I don't have twelve times more chakra than him. Every shinobi uses chakra to augment their speed, and it is pretty obvious that the clones were slower, considering that they possessed less chakra so they couldn't put as much of it on their feet. Stupid.'_

"Ah well, this might work too," Naruto shrugged as the remaining clones charged at Sasuke, but erupted in thunderous explosions when they were near.

Naruto ignored the waterfall, ignored the startled flocks of birds which were flying away, ignored the giant statues of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama. He only had eye for his opponent, and the environment was irrelevant. As long as it wasn't a part of their battle, he would just ignore it.

The flame-like pattern had disappeared, and instead… the silhouette standing amidst the smoke and dust was something worse- inhuman, demonic. When the clones exploded, Sasuke had removed the last subconscious barriers in his mind, and completely opened himself for the foul chakra which flooded his body. The cursed seal had changed him. His power had increased dramatically, but his appearance…

Looking down at his arms, Sasuke saw how his skin had turned dark gray. But what drew Naruto's attention more were the large webbed hand-shaped wings on Sasuke's back. The change in hair color was something he had seen with Tayuya already, but she had grown horns. Sasuke had some kind of black four-point star-mark between his eyes and across the bridge of his nose, and his eyes had changed color, white turning black. But those wings…

"I'm not even hurt," Sasuke laughed. "Naruto, you were 'special'… but I am more special than you!"

* * *

"You are looking rather worn out, Kazu-kun," the menacing voice of Orochimaru chuckled, making fun of the panting Nara.

"That damned kid was more of a pain than I had anticipated. Seriously, fighting that sand brat while having to be careful that I wasn't causing any permanent damage was unfair," Kazu spat. He was not amused that his master made fun of him, not one bit.

"The sweet people from Akatsuki want that boy too. If that child could take one or two of them down, which doesn't seem unlikely if he fights amidst the desert, it would only benefit us," Orochimaru smirked. "But you know that already."

"Why did you leave them, Orochimaru-sama? It never made sense to me. It couldn't just have been that little feud with the Uchiha."

"Sharp as always. Well, as I told you long ago, I joined them because they had information I needed. When I got what I needed, and realized that I would be unable to get more, I left them. You see, I have no intention of letting their plans succeed. Combining the bijuu as a means to stop all wars, as a weapon against all the chaos of our world… that would be boring, Kazu-kun," Orochimaru mused aloud. "Stagnant waters will rot. The gene pool would be diluted, and warriors would not improve and hone their skills to their absolute limits, as a world without wars would just mean endless boredom. Too much war would be a hindrance, as it would eradicate all the interesting test subjects, but a world without wars would be even more annoying."

"Tsk, why didn't you stop them already?"

"You never met their leader, Kazu-kun. If you did, you would know," Orochimaru looked a bit solemn. That was one test subject he would never be able to get his hands on, sadly. That man was far too powerful. But with the youngest Uchiha nearby, he knew he would have a fair shot at replicating those eyes- unless the hypothesis that he and Kabuto had formed was false, that is.

'_So many possibilities... So much fun. Show me, Sasuke-kun, show me your potential. Show me that you can gain the same beautiful eyes as him. Those rinnegan, I want them too.'_

* * *

Naruto spat out blood. Though numbed, he tried to climb out of the rubble as fast he could. '_Fast! Dammit, how much of a difference did that transformation make? Then again, that fat kid was out of chakra, so I could easily dispose of him. The girl was a mid- to long-range fighter, so I could easily overpower her. But Sasuke… he is a lot stronger than Tayuya. Is his seal different?'_

Even when the battle had seemed to be somewhat equal to the untrained eye, Naruto had not been able to land a single hit ever since Sasuke had transformed. Instead, he had been the one on the receiving end of the punches and kicks. Fast healer as he was, Naruto wasn't really that bothered by it, until Sasuke's last strike.

'_The bastard was holding back on me,' _Naruto grit his teeth. '_He saw with his sharingan the seal arrays that I had prepared, evaded them, and then he just used me to test his new power. Son of a bitch!'_ Still, he refused to give in to the temptation the Kyuubi offered. Sarutobi Hiruzen had given his soul for this, so Naruto wasn't willing to squander his sacrifice by tapping into the chakra of the treasonous demon. '_There has to be a way. There must be something I forgot.'_

Naruto was not aware, however, of the severe strain that the power put on Sasuke's body. Sasuke felt like both his body and mind were corroding, filling him with a rage and bloodlust that began to border on an animalistic insanity which even bothered the Uchiha prodigy. Knowing that he lacked control to fight perpetually like this, Sasuke decided to end this fight quickly. Though, he would have rather played around a bit longer, to humiliate Naruto like he once had humiliated Sasuke. But alas, one couldn't have everything.

When Naruto resurfaced from the rubble, as he was buried under rocks after crashing into the mountain wall, Sasuke immediately assaulted him.

Naruto could barely blink before a heavy fist underneath his chin made him fly. His mouth filled with the coppery taste of blood, Naruto tried to ignore the pain and take control over his body. But he could hardly stop mid-flight, and Sasuke was already behind him.

Something hard hit Naruto's back. The next thing he felt was water. He crashed into it, harshly. He must've been kicked into the river down the waterfall. At least, that explained the brief feeling of weightlessness as he fell down. He struggled to get to the surface, his lungs already beginning to urge him for oxygen, but the fast-flowing water was too rough and his body too weak.

When his head harshly made contact with the rocky bottom of the shallow riverside, Naruto felt himself drawn into darkness. Had he lost? Had Sasuke killed him? But why now? Why now, after he had been ready to die, before Sarutobi Hiruzen had granted him a new life? Why now, after he had made that promise to Hinata? He wanted to live. He saw the face of Hinata, Kiba, and Kurenai- his team. He saw Karin, his sister. He couldn't die, not now. He finally had friends, he had family. He had promised Hinata. Hinata…

He couldn't die, not now.

Even if it meant…

Not now.

No!

* * *

Floating. He found himself floating in stale waters. It wasn't rough and unrelenting like the river he remembered. '_Is this… afterlife?'_

"**When are you going to wake up, brat? You should know that we don't have that much time right now,"** a mighty voice sounded nearly bored, as it scolded him. **"Get up."**

"…I'm tired. Lemme sleep," Naruto mumbled.

"**Get up you little imbecile!"** the voice roared with more might then ever. It actually shocked Naruto enough to get him to look at the source of the voice.

"I thought I heard someone familiar. Why am I here, stupid fox? What are you yapping about this time?"

The Kyuubi grimaced, but for once in his long life, he decided to swallow his pride. **"This 'stupid fox' is trying to keep your sorry ass alive."** Who was he kidding when he was thinking about acting friendlier, when would he not hold a grudge? This brat was far too annoying to not hold a grudge against!

"I'm tired, just… What does it matter? I'm no different from him."

"**If you had been an Uchiha, I would have killed the both of us before you could have filled your first diaper," **the fox said without a moment of hesitation. **"There is no way I am going to let me be enslaved by another Madara. But as things are now, I have no intention of going through that pain-in-the-ass rebirth. So man up, you little idiot, and kill that accursed Uchiha brat before he grows even more despicable than he already is."**

"I have no intention of letting myself be tricked into using your power again. Jiisan didn't sacrifice himself for such foolishness. Whether he kills me, or you take over my body, both options suck."

"**Did the old man sacrifice himself for you to let yourself get killed?" **the Kyuubi scoffed. **"Little moron. He gave his life so that you could live, not so that you could die."**

"You know why Sasuke acts like this?"

"**Who cares? But knowing that he is an Uchiha, it's likely that he holds some kind of grudge against someone else."**

"His brother... His brother killed their entire clan. His parents, friends, and family, Sasuke lost everyone on a single day. All by the hands of his own brother. When I see Sasuke, I can understand his rage. I know it is wrong to feel such anger, but I understand what drove him insane like this," Naruto admitted. "Because, if someone killed my friends, my family… I'd tear down the entire village if something happened to them. The idea that someone would hurt Hinata, Karin, Kiba, Ako, or any of my friends, I'd never ever forgive that. I know he is wrong, but it makes me realize that I'm no better than him."

"**Tsk. Who cares about his motivations? It doesn't make his actions any less despicable," **the humongous fox sneered. "**Even when his brother did all that, it didn't mean the kid had the right to inflict pain to other people. Though, if anything, I'd say that this brother of his might be the first Uchiha which I like. Regardless of his past, regardless of his motivations, it is his actions that set him apart from you."**

"Still, his actions aren't that different from the way how I killed all those people from the Hyuga clan who tried to hurt Hinata… Hinata…"

"**Why did you ever consider yourself to be 'good', moron?" **the fox shook its head in disbelief. **"You are truly a runt. You and all of your kind, you're all filth! But none of that self-righteous nonsense matters right now. The flow of time in here might be different from the outside, but still time is of the essence. Decide. Life or death. If you stall any longer, you will never return to those precious friends of yours."**

"I made a promise to Hinata," Naruto mumbled. "I promised I would return."

"**Then use some of my power and crush that repulsive Uchiha!"**

Naruto looked up at the creature. The difference in size was simply ridiculous, as the creature was just that huge compared to him, but for some reason, Naruto didn't feel threatened. It always hated him. It always wanted to hurt him. But now the Kyuubi seemed serious. Even when fighting the Ichibi, the Kyuubi had not been like this. "You're really trapped right now, aren't you?" he realized.

"**So your brain finally starts functioning? Yes, I am trapped. Before, I knew that there was a chance that I could escape from this shithole, just before you would die. After all, the seal would be weak when you would be on the border of death. But because that old geezer fixed this damnable seal, I know that there is no way out for me."**

"But my death would not mean that you would really die," Naruto frowned. "I mean, I heard that bijuu reform after some time."

"**I have my pride,"** the fox huffed. **"I have never died, not in all my thousand years. And I do not plan to grant **_**anyone**_** the satisfaction of thinking that he is stronger than me."**

"…you're scared."

The massive claw struck the prison bars with such force that Naruto buckled over from the sheer air pressure. This small taste of raw power… what kind of havoc could this creature cause if it would be unleashed upon the world?

"I take that as a yes," despite the creature's power, Naruto knew he was safe as long as the seal was intact. "I guess that in order to live and fulfill my promise, I will have to damage the seal, despite everything Jiisan did. I have to break my word in order to keep it…"

"**Ugh, that was because I had to cram my chakra through the tiny hole which that blond bastard left in the seal. But with your puny body, you could easily walk through these bars. I'll grant you some charka, just for this one time."**

"Not bad, for a temporary alliance of convenience. Unless you intend to gobble me up," Naruto chuckled. "Then again, if you wanted to kill me, you wouldn't even offer your help," he shrugged, knowing that he would die if he refused anyway, so he stepped through the massive iron bars.

The feeble little fist of Naruto touched the Kyuubi's massive claw, and for a moment, he felt the creature's disgust. Then again, the fox felt the same thing coming from Naruto. But with no way out, no matter how much they hated each other, no matter how little respect that they had for each other, they still had to cooperate if they wanted to survive. But for some reason, Naruto realized that the Kyuubi was honest, just as it was obvious to the Bijuu how much Naruto distrusted him. "But I'll kill us both if you ever try to hurt my friends."

"**Distrustful little brat."**

"Murderous demon," the blond replied as a farewell.

"**Don't screw this up, brat,"** the demon grumbled after Naruto disappeared. **"My brethren all needed a long time to regain their complete powers. I have no intention of losing any of mine. I've lost enough as it is."**

* * *

He moaned when he woke up. Water splashed against his face, making him cough when it entered his nose. He felt how his head ached, and noticed that the stone shore on which he washed on was quite a bloody mess. Literally. '_Must've hit the bottom of the river harder than I thought,_' not that it worried him much. He already felt the effects of the chakra which he drew from the Kyuubi. _'It feels different. Perhaps he was right and this is the difference between us cooperating and him forcing his chakra through the seal. Rotten bastard, if he had done this when I had to battle Gaara, the seal wouldn't have suffered that much damage.'_

Naruto just hoped that the Kyuubi had no ulterior motives this time. Because, in spite of everything, Naruto had no choice but to admit that the creature was cunning.

"I knew it would be too much to ask for you to just die after that, dobe,"

Naruto groaned when he heard the Uchiha speak up. His voice jagged with all the pent-up rage, but also an audible exhaustion. "Why don't you just stop this foolishness, teme?"

"It won't last that much longer," Sasuke gloated. "I have proven that I am stronger than you."

"Moron," Naruto shook his head, but also to get rid of the mud sticking in his blond hair. He even felt some pebbles in the leg of his pants. Annoying. Not as annoying as the soaked fabric of his flak jacket, though this piece of armor had certainly prevented some damage. Naruto was sure that his ribs would be broken, rather than bruised, if he had not worn this thick flak jacket. The last hit which Sasuke had dealt had been quite vicious. "Think for one second. You've got that itty bitty reserve of the snake's chakra. Do you really want a pissing contest with me?"

But Sasuke didn't want to exchange words. Unfortunately for Naruto, who would have rather stalled a little so that his injured body could heal a little, Sasuke had to hurry. He felt as if the power the seal granted was consuming him, rather than the other way around. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Great fireball jutsu)," was the only warning Naruto got.

Even if it was a basic jutsu for the Uchiha clan, with all the power Sasuke now had, it was quite an impressive attack- much too great for Naruto to dodge, at this short range. Pushing all the chakra he had to his skin, Naruto tried to block the attack as well as he could. It would have failed miserably, if not for the Kyuubi butting in. He might have granted Naruto some chakra, but the creature still had some control over it.

Suffice it to say that Sasuke was not happy to see Naruto stepping out of the flames unscathed. A cloak of dense orange chakra floating around Naruto was what had soaked up all the damage.

"As I was saying," Naruto continued. "Do you really think the power of your seal compares to the might of the Kyuubi?" Sasuke was a bit unnerved by the sudden calmness that Naruto now showcased. Before, there had been irritation, shock, and every other kind of emotion on his face, but now... it was as if the Uzumaki had resigned himself to his fate.

'_He didn't want to use it,'_ Sasuke realized."It seems I forced you into using that thing's power again. Surprising. I thought the old fool had permanently closed it off."

Calm? Did Naruto really look that calm? Well, Sasuke was no Hyuga, so how could he have seen that Naruto was straining to contain his anger? This fight had forced him to risk the peace which Sarutobi Hiruzen had bought by selling his very soul. He had been close to dying just a moment ago, and his head hurt like someone swung a hammer against it. But to insult the man who gave him a second life?

Unacceptable.

* * *

The Kyuubi was happy that Naruto finally got over his foolish doubts. To him, subjects like good and evil didn't really matter. Strength was what mattered. Everything else was merely a matter of perspective. Right or wrong, it just depended on which side someone stood. The strong acted like they pleased, and the weak suffered what they must. There were hunters and prey. This was how the world worked.

However, mankind had added a plethora of ways of changing the harsh yet fair natural balance into a cruel abomination. Under the pretense of fairness and other hypocritical nonsense, the worst crimes were committed, evil that no animal would even think of committing. It had been centuries since he had met a human he tolerated, but that drifter had told him that mankind had made itself a path to its own doom, all paved with good intentions- and he had agreed with her. She had told him a truth which his creator, his father, had never found. The Kyuubi had found a new path. Sensing the vile nature of others had always been a curse, but now it was a gift- a gift he'd use to cleanse the worst places of the earth.

'_**Perhaps I was too early when I judged the brat. Perhaps he can still open his eyes,'**_ the Kyuubi mused. **'**_**Show me, Uzumaki Naruto. Are you human or can you elevate yourself to something better, and let your animalistic instincts speak? Will you join me in eradicating vile pests like this Uchiha, or will you remain a lowly human?'**_

Now that the Kyuubi had grown over his frustration, his boredom made him wonder if the brat couldn't be converted. He couldn't escape, so why not find other ways to pester the brat?

* * *

How was this happening? He was winning. He had proven to be stronger, and still Naruto came back. Sasuke spit out a mouthful of blood. He could've sworn one of his molars had knocked loose with that last hit.

On instinct, he rolled over. Just in time, as Naruto created a small hole in the ground when he landed his knee on the spot where Sasuke had just been. Unfortunately, the fox-like boy wasn't trying to use Fuinjutsu anymore, which had been hilariously easy to dodge.

Fire jutsu had not worked, he had run out of kunai, and taijutsu… well, he was dodging for his life right now. Angered, Naruto had become an unstoppable juggernaut. Dealing damage to a person covered by that shroud of chakra was hard. Doing it without becoming the target of a counterattack was even harder. At first, Sasuke had been able to predict Naruto's movements through the use of his sharingan, but that didn't turn out to be reliable either.

It was not just Naruto's chakra, it was the Kyuubi's that caused the majority of the problems. The chakra shroud moved and reshaped itself by its will, making it impossible to anticipate. '_And this is just one tail? How can he be this dangerous with only one tail? Kakashi said that the number of tails was an equivalent of the amount of power Naruto used. But unlike before, he seems much more controlled and collected than before.'_

If only he had the mangekyo sharingan, like Itachi. But to kill a close friend… he had seen Shino die. Sakura was left for dead, but nothing had happened. His power had not grown, his eyes had not evolved. Still, he had increased his power so much by using the cursed seal. But he was using as much as he could without losing himself, and still it wasn't enough. He was sure that he could land a blow on Naruto. But to pierce that shroud… there was only one jutsu strong enough.

* * *

'_That bastard… Those wings of his are a sturdy defense. Too sturdy. And with his sharingan, he sees every seal I made before I could trigger them. Trapping him is impossible. And with this shroud hampering my control, I can't use the quick method of applying seals. Ugh, futon sucks against katon, and my bojutsu isn't at a level where I could use it against an opponent of his level either. What else…'_

"**Why not **_**that**_** jutsu,"** the Kyuubi suggested.

'_That jutsu?_' Naruto frowned. '_I never managed to stabilize it. It kept exploding in my hands.' _Naruto heard a loud sigh, apparently from the middle of his head. Talking to himself, it gave him the feeling that he was crazy.

"**Well, you are crazy, I'll give you that,"** the fox dealt him a blow under the girdle. **"Don't worry about those things. I know you are a doofus, and lack any sort of basic skill-"**

'_Hey_!'

"**-but I will make sure the orb remains stable. You just do the rest."**

He observed lightning sparking around Sasuke. It was not normal lightning, no, it darkened: black lightning. It was fitting that the orb of fast-spinning chakra in his hand darkened too, when the Kyuubi influenced it: rasengan. It was the jutsu invented by Namikaze Minato, passed on by Jiraiya. But up till now, Naruto never had been able to stabilize it. He knew it was a strong jutsu, better than most, as it always erupted.

"Chidori!"

"Rasengan!"

The orb of chakra was surrounded by the Kyuubi's orange chakra, and clashed into Sasuke's black Chidori. Their ultimate weapons clashed. Naruto just prayed that his rasengan would hold. Even with his shroud, Sasuke's jutsu seemed powerful enough to tear off his arm.

Chakra met chakra. Will met will. Anger met anger. The two chakras merged into a black sphere, swallowing them, and expanding until it reached out to the waterfall. The water clashed on top of it, flowing over it as it couldn't pass. Crackling, a white light began to shine from the center of the sphere, expanding until it turned the entire black sphere white.

Amidst the white, the two boys could see each other, their true selves, the odd nature of their bond. It was a relationship beyond blood, even if neither fully realized it; it was an animosity that would last to the end of time, yet it brought a deep sense of understanding at the same time. It was only a moment, and then the sphere dissolved.

A loud crash resounded. Naruto fell to the ground, only able to regain his balance and land on his feet at the last second. The crash, though, came from Sasuke. His chidori had been weaker than Naruto's rasengan. Or was it because there had been doubts in Sasuke's heart? None would know. But he crashed harshly into the rocky ground, rendered unconscious, while his cursed seal receded to its source. Blood spread, as his hand was torn apart after losing the clash between their jutsu.

Smiling grimly, Naruto realized that he had won. Even though it did not feel like a victory. He had promised Hinata that he would return, and despite the scare he had had earlier, it seemed that he would keep his word.

"You try to break all your bonds, yet you don't understand how much strength those bonds give you," Naruto sighed. If not for those bonds, he would have fallen to darkness long ago, giving in to the temptations the Kyuubi offered. While bonds could cause pain, as he had experienced when Haruki, and later Hiruzen died, Naruto still was convinced that this pain was better than the empty void he had resided in earlier.

He recalled that strange dream he once had, where he had to choose between day and night, light and darkness. It seemed ages ago since he had that dream. In additiion, though it was painful at times, Naruto knew he was a shinobi because he had to endure. Those who'd walk in the light had to endure the shadows it would cast. But not Sasuke- Sasuke had collapsed under the vast amount of pain inflicted on him, and tried to seek a way out, to escape from the pain, to seek the darkness, the nothingness, running away from his shadows.

'_But wasn't running away the same as denouncing the love you once felt for those you lost?'_

"**Uchiha draw power from loss, as it fuels a hatred which no other human can fathom,"** the Kyuubi butted in. **"You felt it. The worse he feels, the further he developed those eyes. He craves for power, and there is only one way for him to go in order to get stronger: deeper into that darkness."**

'_I could drag him back, but Konoha would just pamper him again. Perhaps his status as shinobi would be revoked, but his position as Uchiha guarantees his survival. But to what end? Were all the Uchiha like this? If he was used to breed a new generation of Uchihas, would that cause these troubles all over again?'_

"**All Uchiha were filth,"** the Bijuu spat. **"The lowest kind of human trash."**

Knowing only Sasuke, and by reputation his brother Itachi as well, Naruto could see why the creature made such a claim. On top of it, the history books weren't exactly friendly to the clan either: Uchiha Madara was practically the boogeyman that scared all the little children into listening to what their parents told them.

"**Do you know that the Uchiha need to lose the closest people to them, in order for their eyes to evolve to a next level?"** the fox knew he only needed to give Naruto a little push in the right direction. **"I guess that is why those friends of yours died. So that he could become stronger. That Uchiha brat just sacrificed the Aburame for his own goals, and left that loud girl for dead too."**

That realization hit Naruto as if it had been a physical slap to his face. "There's no way a stupid coward like this is the Sasuke I knew," he drew a kunai from his belt and held it over Sasuke's throat. He didn't really like this. He wasn't protecting anyone right now. This felt more like execution, an unnecessary murder, than anything else. And yet… "The Kyuubi is right: you are too dangerous to let-"

The kunai fell from his hand. Blood splattered, and his arm turned numb. A vicious burning sensation started to spread from his shoulder, giving him the feeling as if he was both burning and freezing at the same time. As if his chakra had been turned against him.

"You didn't think I would let you kill my precious Sasuke-kun, do you?" a voice hissed from behind him. Naruto realized that he had been caught off guard. So engrossed with his fight against Sasuke, he failed to notice that others were approaching.

"Kazu-kun," the same sickeningly sweet voice continued. "Take my sharingan to the hideout."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama. And the Kyuubi brat?" Kazu looked eagerly. "I suppose it would take several years before the demon would reform, should I..."

* * *

**Bonus: Not just any ribbon**

* * *

"Scarfy-two-leg?" Chie hopped down, sitting herself next to a silent Konohamaru. "I thought Scarfy-two-leg was loud and obnoxious, why is the two-leg so quiet?"

"Go away. I'm not in the mood for games."

Chie tilted her head a little. '_Water on the face, if I remember it right, that is a sign of sadness for the two-legs... Wait, was this not a kitten from the Old-boss-two-leg? Perhaps I should do something to cheer Scarfy up. Normally I would fetch Whisker-two-leg, but he__'__s out training with Dusty-two-leg. I suppose there is only one option left, because I do not know where Scarfy__'s little minions live.'_

* * *

Tired of training, Hyuga Hanabi finally was alone in her room. "Father can take training a little bit too far at times," she grumbled to no one in particular. A wide and very unladylike yawn followed soon after. Then again, she was very tired- too tired to think about stupid manners. She was still wearing her sleeveless blue v-neck shirt, even though it was soaked with sweat and dirt. But she couldn't bring herself to get up and take a shower. There was still time before dinner- time for some shut-eye.

"White-eye-chibi-two-leg is unusually lazy."

'_No... not her,__'_ Hanabi could smack herself for not closing the window properly. "Wait! I did close it! How did you get in?"

"Because I was already here?" the bakeneko answered cheekily.

"Why you… Hey, that's my ribbon!" Hanabi exclaimed when she saw the ribbon tied to the cat's long and fluffy tail. It was a ribbon which was special to her, because her mother had given it to her. Hitomi had even told her that the two pink ribbons, they were a set, were something she had been given by _her_ mother. Sure, it was a bit too girlish to Hanabi's tastes, but nonetheless it was something she treasured. Chie had really hit the jackpot.

"Well, if you want it…" Chie jumped out of the window.

* * *

Tired of chasing that far-too-nimble cat, and not to mention tired from the entire day of training, it was needless to say that Hanabi was cranky- very cranky. So, she was less than pleased when she ran into her classmate. Especially when he had her ribbon stuffed into the back pocket of his pants.

"So you're working with her," she snarled. "Give me my ribbon back!"

Konohamaru just sighed. "What's got into you this time?"

"What got into me?! You were the one who-"

"Just leave me alone," Konohamaru grimaced. He didn't even look at her, but just ran away. And tired as she was, Hanabi quickly lost sight of him.

"Dammit," she screamed, making everyone in the street wonder what got the usually stoic daughter of the Hyuga clan upset like this.

* * *

Almost an hour later, the sun was already setting, she finally found him. Her byakugan active during short bursts, she spotted him from a distance. "Now I have you!" Every thought of exacting vengeance, however, vanished when she came near. "Why are you crying?" she frowned.

"I'm… I'm not crying," Konohamaru practically destroyed his own counterargument by wiping away the tears with his sleeve. She had not thought deeply on it, but recalled that he had made an unusually demoralized and dejected impression earlier. It was nothing like the usual Konohamaru at all. In Hanabi's view, he was just another knucklehead who constantly acted out because he was the grandson of…

"Oh," she realized why he acted like that. "That is why you were-"

"I wasn't crying, okay?"

"Hey, don't snap at me, you were the one who started this all by working together with that cat!"

"Cat? You mean the boss' cat, Chie? She gave me this silk ribbon, saying that it was meant to cheer me up."

"Oh..."

"But I guess she stole it from you," Konohamaru shrugged. "Here," he handed her the ribbon.

"Thanks."

"Great, can I have some peace now?"

"No."

"No?"

"Nope, I'm not leaving you here to grieve all on your own. It wouldn't be fair. Even if Sandaime-sama was destined to die, you are still hurt by it. But they say that talking helps easing the pain."

Grimacing, Konohamaru turned towards her. "Why would _you_ help me? Didn't you declare me your rival?"

"You were the one who did that. But rivals don't have to be enemies," Hanabi said sagely. "So whether you want to talk or not, I'm staying. I owe you that much, after all, if not for you, I could've lost my grandmother's ribbon."

"Your grandmother's?"

* * *

Watching over the two chattering children, Chie felt warm and content. '_She could make Scarfy-two-leg smile, I knew it! Hopefully Scarfy will be less sad now that he has someone he can talk to.__'_

She felt proud of herself that she had done a good deed, after all the pranks she pulled, she finally did something right. Or did she? A certain compound in Konoha was in a ruckus, as all the servants were seeking in every nook and cranny where the youngest daughter of their clan leader had gone to. Unknowingly, Chie had still honoued her title as 'queen of pranks'. Serves them right. The rule of not activating their rather intrusive and privacy-violating dojutsu within their clan's compound, unless for juken training, now came to bite them in the ass.

All that was left for Chie to decide was where she would leave Konohamaru's purse…

* * *

**A/N**: Naruto versus Sasuke… these scenes were among the most difficult I have written to date. Sasuke is 'evil', but at the same time I can understand his actions. He's wrong, yet a victim at the same time. To balance it all is difficult. I do hope I succeeded. In a matter of speaking, you could say that Naruto was tempted by hatred, but chose for love. Sasuke, on the other hand, gave in to hatred, even though he was tempted by love. Then again, where Naruto protects his precious people, Sasuke has already lost all those who were dear to him. All that is left to Sasuke is the act of revenge, at least in his mind. As twisted as the boy's perception is, I do think that Sasuke was mostly a victim during the pre-timeskip part of the manga. Still, Sasuke made his decisions, and should be held accountable for them. To be honest, it wasn't until Sasuke learned the truth about Itachi that I really began to dislike where Kishimoto was taking his character.

Today's recommendation is a rather unusual story called **Tis Femina** by the writer **Sythe**. Though it is a genre which I usually doesn't attract me, Tis Femina is written so well that it actually is the first, and to date the only, story which I've liked in that genre. Especially the earlier part of 'Tis' reached a level way above my humble level. All I can say is to give it a fair chance, and you'll be rewarded with a very good story.

And as always I thank the great **Illuminated**. Also **Bleis29 **and** angstyteenmuffin** for their feedback. Please leave me your thoughts, and I hope you look forward to the next chapter as much as I do! Review!

-Z-


	59. Sannin

**Sasuke retrieval arc**

**Sannin**

* * *

_The kunai fell from his hand, blood splattered, and his arm turned numb. A vicious burning sensation started to spread from his shoulder, giving him the feeling that he was both burning and freezing at the same time. It was as if his chakra had been turned against him._

"_You didn't think I would let you kill my precious Sasuke-kun, do you?" a voice hissed from behind him. Naruto realized that he had been caught off guard. He was so engrossed with his fight against Sasuke, he failed to notice that others were approaching._

"_Kazu-kun-" the same sickeningly sweet voice continued. "Take my sharingan to the hideout."_

"_Yes, Orochimaru-sama. And the Kyuubi brat?" Kazu looked eager. "I suppose it would take several years before the demon would reform, should I..."_

* * *

"I told you, Kazu-kun," Orochimaru smirked. "With Sasuke-kun wearing him down, we can easily capture the boy. Our young little jinchuriki will make an excellent card in the game which has yet to unfold."

"Akatsuki will need some time before they can start their operations," Kazu frowned. The renegade Nara was not too fond of the threat of Akatsuki looming over them.

"Yet they have captured one jinchuriki already, and made an attempt to capture the Ichibi and Kyuubi in one strike."

Kazu shrugged. As long as it would create chaos and pain, he was game. "Konoha won't be pleased, though."

"It doesn't matter. The other nations will gladly exploit Konoha's weakness, once they learn that their jinchuriki is missing. We both know that Iwagakure is merely waiting for a chance to wage another war against Konoha."

"Bastards," Naruto spat. Literally, as his mouth was filled with blood after a coughing fit. '_Not good. Not good at all. My lung is punctured, and my body… The bleeding won't stop. I must've been poisoned.'_

What worried him most, though, was that the chakra which the Kyuubi had granted him simply seemed to leak out. Petty wounds like these were usually no problem when Naruto enveloped himself in the creature's chakra. But this poison… How could there be a poison that countered something as potent as the chakra of the Kyuubi itself? It wasn't just that the chakra was slipping away from him, but it actually made the situation worse.

"How do you like this special poison I created for you, Naruto-kun?" Orochimaru asked, with that vile smirk that Naruto had quickly come to hate. "It is a nice creation, isn't it? It should be, considering the effort it took to create it. It is a special poison, one which reacts to the healing factor that all you jinchuriki have. Of course, it would be easy for me to capture him, regardless of your condition. But this field test was a good opportunity to see if my poison worked. It will be quite useful to keep you sedated, after all."

'_The Snake-bastard is right. Even if I was in perfect condition, it would be nigh impossible to win against one of the Sannin. I might be able to match them in raw chakra, but I lack skill and experience. But with my chakra exhausted, the access to the Kyuubi blocked, and my chest stabbed… what can I do?'_

"Kazu-kun," the sennin did not need to say a word more. His subordinate knew his orders.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama," the insane Nara picked up the unconscious Uchiha, after a slight pause when looking at Sasuke's torn-apart arm, and rushed away.

"Now then," the snake sage cracked his fingers. "Do you prefer doing this the easy way, or the easier way?" he saw the defiant look in Naruto's eyes, and decided to go for the easy way. One more scratch from the sword of Kusanagi, and the jinchuriki would be ripe for the taking. '_Or it will flush out those two little rats. Either way, it is my victory.'_

Naruto swallowed when he saw the blade draw near, yet he did not want to give the snake the satisfaction of showing any fear. Fortunately, the blade was stopped mere inches in front of him. "Gaara?" he realized. This barrier of sand could only come from his brother-in-burden. Sand gathered underneath him, and he felt himself being dragged away from Orochimaru.

"This is the third time I have had to catch up with you," Gaara remarked, as stoic as ever.

"And considering my current condition, it will also be the last time today," Naruto smiled weakly. "So you've caught up too, Raido?"

"It would seem that way. Though, if I had known that Orochimaru himself would be waiting for us…" He stepped in front of Naruto, confident that his black sword, Kokuto, would be able to stall the infamous sword of Kusanagi. '_That blade is superior to mine, but I should be able to buy enough time for Gaara to escape with Naruto.'_

"Two jinchuriki for the price of one," Orochimaru chuckled. "And if Gaara-kun disappeared, Sunagakure would surely blame Konoha. A most welcome development. Too bad Anko-chan isn't here to make this scene even better."

"Orochimaru," Gaara replied stiffly. The man might have murdered his father, but Gaara had held little love for the latter, so he couldn't really be bothered by it. He was glad, though, that Raido had asked Anko to stay with the others. The stoic tokubetsu jonin seemed to have anticipated the possibility of the sennin showing up when his underlings would be in trouble. Anko, with her history, would not be the right person to have around right now. So before they even met up with the others, he had asked her to be the one who escorted the injured and exhausted genin back to Konoha.

"Watch out. His sword is coated in a poison specifically designed to take down jinchuriki," Naruto warned.

"Don't worry," Gaara actually smiled a little. For some reason, today's battles felt far better than usual. He wasn't fighting for empty causes, nor purely for his own survival, but rather for the sake of others. It was a sensation that made him feel braver and stronger than usual. '_So this is what Naruto meant.'_

"What? That guy is probably stronger than the two of you combined. And I'm pretty much down for the count, so I'm useless," Naruto stared at his fellow jinchuriki. The Uzumaki was both bleeding and sweating profusely. He felt feverish, and only remained standing due to the sheer power of his will.

"I know, but we didn't just blindly charge in here."

A blur of green, red, and white descended upon the sennin. He had cloaked himself, so Orochimaru had only been able to sense him at the last moment, resulting in shattered bones in the arm he used to block the man's strike.

"Jiraiya…" one sannin hissed at the other.

"Raido, Gaara, do as ordered," the Godaime Hokage said brusquely. "Take Naruto back to Konoha. By the looks of it, he will need Tsunade's aid right away. Take him straight to her, do not stop for any reason, got it? I'll deal with my old friend."

"Yes, Godaime-sama," Raido bowed.

"Jiraiya… you just cost me two jinchuriki," Orochimaru had narrowed his eyes, one of the few signs which he gave away to showcase his anger.

"I knew a chance like this would draw you out to the surface," Jiraiya smiled, unusually relaxed. "Pa, Ma, this is the guy whom I told you about."

Fukasaku scratched his goatee, but Shima, the toad with the purple head, snapped. "So this is the youngster who caused all that grief!"

"Such interesting summons," Orochimaru felt a little relieved when the two tiny toads began to argue. Of course, with them stuck onto Jiraiya's shoulders, they were practically shouting in the man's ears. "You didn't get any better looking, Jiraiya."

"Meh, it is the downside of this jutsu. I suppose that is why I left my hat back home, because it just wouldn't look right if I wore it with this appearance. I'm glad Tsunade-hime isn't around to see me like this."

The large nose, the goatee, the wild spiky hair… Orochimaru had to agree that the mantle and hat of a Hokage wouldn't really look good with that. Though, with a pretzel on his back, one could argue that Orochimaru wasn't really gifted with a good sense for fashion. "I still find it amusing that you, of all people, would take Sensei's position."

The red lines on Jiraiya's face rippled as his expression changed into an angry grimace. "It would not have been necessary if you hadn't killed Sarutobi-sensei."

"We both knew it was inevitable," Orochimaru shrugged. His arm might be shattered, but he cared little about such trivial things. While Jiraiya's version of senjutsu gave him an unstoppable amount of raw power, Orochimaru was granted by an ever changing and evolving body-at the cost of a fair amount of chakra, of course. Injuries which would kill any other were nothing more than temporary nuisances to him.

"You were his favorite."

"A fact you never liked..."

"It is of no consequence," Jiraiya sighed. "But even before your betrayal, he realized that he had been wrong about you. Still, he couldn't kill you. And when he faced you again, he lacked the strength to finish you."

"Yes, you two share the same weakness."

"Not anymore, Orochimaru. Last time, I faced you as a friend, but this time I face you as the Hokage of Konohagakure," Jiraiya stated firmly. "I will tear the information out of you. The Uchiha will return, and I will get evidence as to who manipulated my informants. You and that bastard of a Shimura are collaborating, aren't you?"

"A friend?" Orochimaru chuckled, both at the statement that his last battle against Jiraiya had been a matter of friendship, and as an answer for the question regarding Danzo.

"Yer unusually serious, Jiraiya-chan," Shima remarked. "Perhaps leadership actually did some good for ya!"

"Don't ya realize that Jiraiya-chan's this serious because of that fellow, ya old woman?"

"Who're ya calling old, ya senile old fart!"

"Please… Could you two please not shout in my ears every time I summon you," Jiraiya sighed, a large sweat-drop forming on his forehead.

"There's the clown I know," Orochimaru taunted. '_I can feel the power he radiates. Since when has Jiraiya been this strong? Taunting him, making him lose his temper, seems the best course of actions right now. It was never too hard to do. Strong as he may be, he has always been an idiot._'

"Responsibilities, Orochimaru. You do not know what that means, but I do. I tried to run from them for a very long time, thinking that I wasn't worthy… But that darn kid was right. The world is a screwed up place, where one act of hatred inevitably causes the next. But trying to remove myself from the cycle doesn't relieve me from responsibilities I have. I'm inevitably part of this world. And as a Hokage, my actions have more meaning than ever before in my life."

"You want to be Hokage to bring peace?" Orochimaru chuckled. "Oh my, that is truly a good joke... Did you ever think of how much war the kages created? How many deaths each of the four have on their accounts?"

"I am not blind. But in this imperfect world, Sensei tried to bring an end to all the wars."

"Still waters only bring decay," Orochimaru countered. But he could see this argument was not enough to force Jiraiya into making hasty decisions. '_Seems like becoming Hokage really did change his heart. He is different from the last time we fought. Not to mention that he didn't change his looks like this back then.'_

Orochimaru knew he was at a disadvantage. The battle with Sarutobi Hiruzen had taken its toll on the body he had used, so Orochimaru had been forced to replace it. He would rather have used Sasuke's body, but considering how the Sound Four took so long before delivering the Uchiha… well, they were all dead now, so he wouldn't have to punish them anymore.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Jiraiya had never liked snakes. Slithering, cold-blooded little worms, he would rather not get near any of them. But when the huge cloud of smoke dissolved, he saw the snake he hated above all others. Manda was the strongest summon Orochimaru had, the largest of all snakes in the world. Towering over buildings and trees, this serpent could by all rights be called gigantic.

"Hmm, so this is ta kid whom Bunta-chan hates so much, eh?" Fukasaku mused, although his gaze remained rather disinterested from Jiraiya's shoulder. "Must say that I was expecting a bit… well, 'more', after all ta fuss Bunta was making."

Orochimaru looked down at the small figure of his former teammate down below, laughing. "I think this is an appropriate offering for you, Manda. Gobbling up the champion of the toads and those two senile old bugs should be a rather satisfying meal."

Jiraiya heard something snap. "Bugs?" Shima hissed. "BUGS?! That toddler dares to call us bugs?"

The giant snake stared down. "You blundering fool, what are you smoking when you summoned me in front of both the great toad sages?" the creature buckled, nearly throwing the surprised sennin from its head. "I know you are a fool when it comes to sensing nature chakra, but do you really want me to bite your sorry ass!?"

"Ma, calm down a bit," Fukasaku tried but failed to reason with his wife.

"Ta kid called us _bugs_, you deaf old fart!" Shima fumed. "That's it. That's all I can take today. First, you insult my cooking, and now I'm called a bug! Jiraiya-chan, provide oil dangit."

Jiraiya shrugged. Usually, getting the two elderly toads focused on the actual enemy instead of fighting each other was a taxing task. Orochimaru just saved him a lot of talking by comparing them to their food. "Senpo: Goemon!" Jiraiya clapped his hands together, and spit out a wave of oil.

Fukasaku had just sighed and followed his short-tempered wife's lead. If not, he'd never get her to shut up about it. So he supplied a massive gust of wind. Adding fire, Shima herself ignited the jutsu. Within an instant, the entire area was filled with boiling oil.

In this sea hotter than thousands of degrees, Manda didn't even have time to curse his summoner. He was hit and dispelled, and it would take a lot of time before the substantive damage to his scales would heal. But if Orochimaru would summon him again, Manda knew very well who he was going to eat. The summoning contract should not belong to idiots like this!

Without the support of the giant reptile, the sennin himself was also swallowed by the wave of boiling oil. For a moment, Jiraiya had hopes that this would be the end of things, but alas… slippery as always, the sennin jumped out of the oil. His mouth widened to inhuman levels, and a new Orochimaru climbed out, shedding his burnt skin.

Unharmed as he might appear, Jiraiya saw that his opponent was far from happy. The deep angry scowl was as much a pleasure to Jiraiya as sensing how much chakra Orochimaru just lost due to that stunt. "I guess that is the difference. The version you taught me grants me a massive increase in strength and speed, yet is only temporary. But the snakes' version of senjutsu must be more about permanently altering their bodies," Jiraiya said to both elder toads.

"They're all variations of ta same thing, Jiraiya-chan," Fukasaku sighed. "And yet there is always dispute over which version is ta best."

"Fools, they should know that us toads are right," Shima huffed. "That kid would've had ta upper hand against Jiraiya-chan, if Jiraiya-chan was fighting without us, but right now…"

"Yer right ma," the male toad agreed. "And that kid lost so much chakra by respawning himself after all that damage."

"It is due time that he faces his end," Jiraiya said with iron determination. "I always wanted to save him from his deluded path, but now that I am Hokage, I cannot afford to wait for that. He is a threat to my people, and he must be stopped." Especially because of what happened to Sarutobi Hiruzen, he would have liked to add, but he wanted to not make this sound too personal. Now that he had his responsibilities, he couldn't afford to do that anymore.

Orochimaru chuckled in a measly attempt to sound confident, but even to his own ears it sounded hollow. '_I never expected Jiraiya to be this strong. And Manda is right, it is difficult to sense, but those annoying toads latched to his shoulders are incredibly strong as well. This sort of strength is far beyond… Yes, that is it. Jiraiya might have a fair shot against _him.'

"It would seem that you have me backed into a corner," Orochimaru admitted. "Such a shame. And I was so close to capturing the Kyuubi."

"Were you really after the Uchiha, or were you targeting Naruto from the very start?"

"Oh, I wanted to get my hands on Sasuke-kun, you know that, but the Kyuubi… Tell me, Jiraiya, what do you know about the organization I recently left?"

Jiraiya narrowed his toad-like eyes. "Akatsuki."

"Ah, so you heard about them. I expected no less from Konoha's spymaster. And do you know what they are after?"

"You tried to capture Naruto, so you could get on their good side again, after the failure of the invasion plan."

"Wrong, Jiraiya, very wrong," Orochimaru's smirk grew. "I never intended to join them, I just wanted to get my hands on the bijuu to ensure that the plan of my former associates in Akatsuki would fail." The sennin laughed softly when he saw the newly appointed Hokage and his two toad summons frown. "And for once, I am serious… I do not want them to succeed. If they do, the world would become a most boring place."

"I never knew you were the type who would flee," Jiraiya doubted if his enemy was telling the truth. True, even to his spying network, Akatsuki was shrouded in mysteries, but this was likely a fact of which Orochimaru was aware as well. '_That would mean he could tell me anything he like, and I wouldn't know whether it is true or not. Still… even if it is just a small part, if some of what he tells is true, it might be valuable information. Attacking right now would mean that I won't hear what he is willing to tell. And I know him well enough to be sure that no form of torture or interrogation would ever work on him.'_

"Everyone has limits," Orochimaru said, surprisingly softly. "I hate to admit it, but even for me, fighting against the leader of the Akatsuki would mean certain death. But I suppose you should know that, even better than me. After all, you were the one who found and trained that child, weren't you? Yes… the rinnegan is truly a most remarkable dojutsu."

"Rinnegan?" Jiraiya gasped. His hidden source had reported that the leader of Akatsuki had an unknown dojutsu, but it was nigh impossible to get more information on the illustrious man. But to think it would be the rinnegan… it was a legend, known to only a rare few. Small wonder that his source hadn't known what kind of dojutsu it had been. But Jiraiya did know it, as he had seen it before. "Nagato?"

"The eyes rest in the head of the wrong orphan now," Orochimaru said snidely.

"Jiraiya-chan, didn't you say that those children died?" Shima questioned.

"He… I heard they all-"

Orochimaru sank into the ground, knowing that both toad and man were distracted. But a slice of water carved through his waist. "Ya didn't think I didn't sense that coming, did ya?" Fukasaku had remained vigilant.

Losing his legs, Orochimaru grew a long tail, and with a speed which Jiraiya had never expected, the human-snake hybrid rushed towards him. Spitting out his infamous sword of Kusanagi, Orochimaru gambled everything on his attack. The male toad had just executed his attack, and wouldn't be in time to cast another jutsu before Orochimaru could strike. Its female counterpart was taken aback despite her years, not having much recent experience with actually strong opponents. So, Orochimaru knew he would have a chance. A chance to…

With the speed of a cobra, the sword of Kusanagi lashed out. In all his haste, Orochimaru actually executed an attack that was more straightforward than Jiraiya had expected from his former friend.

Thanks to the hand guards he wore, Jiraiya was able to swat the poisonous blade aside by striking the side of the blade, altering its traction. In all his momentum, Orochimaru could not halt his forward movement. With a hastily formed rasengan, Jiraiya struck the arm which held the blade. And although it was formed hastily, as Jiraiya was overflowing with power, the rasengan far more powerful than usual.

With a pained grimace, Orochimaru managed to jump back. It was easy for him to stop the bleeding, but from the elbow down, he was now missing his arm. Losing the arm, however, was not what worried the sennin. "This truly is an exceptional katana," Jiraiya remarked, having picked the weapon up from the ground. Orochimaru's frustration only grew as the sword wouldn't respond to the mental commands he issued.

To make matters worse, the all-piercing katana was covered in the very poison Orochimaru had used to disable Naruto. '_If he gets his hands on that poison, it would be likely that it would never work again on that brat. Tsunade would develop an antidote and capturing the brat would become far more difficult… Then again, why should I still try to capture him?_' Orochimaru stopped to think about it. '_Jiraiya's power exceeds my expectations. While he is more vulnerable when not using senjutsu, in this state, his power exceeds my own. If anyone is to stop Pein…' _Still, he wanted to have his sword. But matters were not that simple anymore.

"I now understand why Kirigakure made those seven swords," Jiraiya chuckled. "They were made in the image of this one. I suppose that the one rule which those blades all obey is also derived from the sword of Kusanagi? Legend holds that this one is far older than the seven, after all."

Scowling, Orochimaru hated to admit it, but he had to cut his losses now. "It only obeys the victor," Orochimaru spat. "Use it wisely, Jiraiya. You will need it when the good people from Akatsuki will begin to move. Within three years, they will have finished their preparations. And when the wielder of the rinnegan leaves Ame, all the world shall perish in his wake."

"Oh no ya don't," Shima exclaimed, realizing what Orochimaru was doing. "Zessenbaku (Fighting Tongue Bind)," she muttered after forming a ram hand seal. But the tongue, covered with a corrosive chemical, missed its intended target. It only ensnared an empty husk.

"Seems like ta snake-child shed his skin, Jiraiya-chan," Fukasaku sighed.

"Slippery as always," Jiraiya felt a bit conflicted. He knew he had to stop his former teammate, and after Hiruzen's demise, this was a cause he easily mustered the resolution for. But when he realized Orochimaru had slipped away, Jiraiya felt an annoying spark of relief. Betrayed by his own conscience, the Hokage of Konohagakure was annoyed.

'_Former friend or no, I should have been able to finish him. Now that he knows the power of my sennin mode, imperfect as it may be, he will not show himself again. By now, he will be rushing towards his hideout. I suppose I could try to follow him, but jumping into his territory without making the proper preparation is suicide. Even while I'm like this. Besides, I can't keep this up indefinitely.'_

"What now, Jiraiya-chan?" Shima frowned.

"I will go back," Jiraiya sighed. "Back to Konoha. The Uchiha is out of our reach now, and hunting down Orochimaru will prove to be more dangerous than it is rewarding. Besides, he gave me a lot to think about."

"Do you think he spoke ta truth when he spoke 'bout ta rinnegan?" Fukasaku wondered.

"I don't see any reason for him to lie about it. It is quite some years ago when I first met those children, but Tsunade and Orochimaru were both there when I did. But several years after I left them, I heard that Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato all died at the hands of Sanshouo no Hanzo," Jiraiya said solemnly. "I honestly thought I had trained them well enough to survive, but they attracted too much attention."

"If ta kids died, how can ta rinnegan still be around?" Fukasaku didn't see the logic behind it. "Ya think Hanzo stole ta dojutsu for himself?"

"I honestly don't know," Jiraiya sighed. "Hanzo rules Amegakure with such a tight leash that it is almost impossible to get proper intel from the region. But, Orochimaru said that it was the other student that had the rinnegan… Yahiko? Could Hanzo have captured them?"

"So you think Akatsuki could work for Amegakure," Shima guessed. "That would make things a lot more complicated."

"If our assumption is true, then yes. But while Hanzo is powerful enough in his own right, I don't think he would be stupid enough to declare war on the six nations that hold the nine bijuu. Or why a good kid like Yahiko would help him in it."

"Perhaps he targets them in order to secure ta position of his country? Ya know, for after ta kid dies," Fukasaku theorized. "Hanzo isn't getting any younger, for a human at least."

"It wouldn't suit his beliefs," Jiraiya shook his head. "After we fought him, he talked about his beliefs. He told us that a strong faith would survive the death of its owner, living on by itself. He said that faith wasn't visible to the eyes, but could only be perceived through a fight. No, he would train his successors thoroughly, but not risk the entire world turning against Amegakure. By targeting the jinchuriki, he would achieve the opposite of what you suggest. Instead of securing his legacy, he would only endanger it. Besides, with the current balance of things, his nation is practically safe from any invaders. I mean, it borders Iwagakure, Sunakure, and Konoha, so if any of the three would wage war on Ame…"

"…ta other two would step up and stop a war that endangered their buffer zone," Fukasaku nodded in agreement. "A status quo."

"Exactly. I don't think Hanzo would recklessly cause a new shinobi world war. I need more time to figure out what is going on. Thank you both for your help, senseis."

"I'm sorry we weren't able ta help ya more, Jiraiya-chan." With tiny poofs of smoke, the two toads vanished from Jiraiya's shoulders, leaving him all alone amidst the chaos. The parts of the area left undestroyed by Sasuke and Naruto had been boiled and burnt by Jiraiya. It would take a few years before this region would be restored.

Releasing the last traces of senjutsu chakra, Jiraiya turned around and jumped away, still holding the sword of Kusanagi in his hand. He had something more important in his mind than either the rinnegan or Orochimaru: his godson was injured. '_I gotta hurry to Naruto. Now that I have the poison itself, Tsunade-hime should be able to heal him. Hang in there, gaki.'_

* * *

"_Raido, Gaara, do as ordered," the Godaime Hokage said brusquely. "Take Naruto back to Konoha. By the looks of it, he will need Tsunade's aid right away. Take him straight to her, do not stop for any reason, got it? I'll deal with my old friend."_

"_Yes, Godaime-sama," Raido bowed._

Raido and Gaara leaped from tree to tree, with the jinchuriki of the Ichibi carrying Naruto on a bed of sand. "Raido-san, how much knowledge do you have of antidotes?" There was some worry to be heard in that usually stoic voice.

"Enough to counter my own poisons, but I'm no medic," the scarred man replied. Calm and collected as he was, he focused on hurrying back to Konoha rather than making a futile attempt to examine Naruto. Knowing who poisoned the boy, Raido also knew that his knowledge would be insufficient by default. "I have no way of knowing what kind of poison Orochimaru used, nor how it can be countered. Naruto will have to hold on until we have reached Tsunade-sama."

"Yeah, Baa-chan will probably beat me up for getting injured again," Naruto said weakly. The bleeding still had not stopped, and the flesh around his chest wound gave of a smell which made even the young jinchuriki nauseous. Sweating and pale, both from the poison and the loss of blood, Naruto had no other option than to lay still on top of the floating sand. "How are the others doing?"

"Anko beat those grotesque beast-men, and escorted the others back to Konoha."

"I guess she would have wanted to rush onward, if she had known that Orochimaru would show up," Naruto chuckled weakly, though he immediately regretted it, as the movements sent waves of excruciating pain through his chest.

"It was why I asked her to stay back," Raido mumbled. "It seemed unlikely to me, but still… when it concerns Orochimaru, Anko is a bit unpredictable- which did not suit this mission."

"You know… In spite of all that logical-sounding stuff, I wonder why you just don't call her Anko-chan," Naruto muttered.

Nearly missing the branch on which he was supposed to land, Raido tried to protest, but too weakly, and Naruto knew it.

"I saw her look at you, and you weren't as subtle as you thought you were, either. Right, Gaara?" Naruto smirked. Looking curiously at his fellow jinchuriki, Gaara merely shrugged. "Ah, come on Gaara… you must've read something about it. Or zeen peoplez whoz love eachz other," both Raido and Gaara frowned as Naruto's voice changed a bit. Obviously, he became delirious. He sounded like someone who had several bottles of sake.

"Naruto, you should stop talking, and rest," Raido urged.

"Yeah, yeah, I bet ya'wanna takez a rezt too. With Anko-zhan," Naruto tried to chuckle, but coughed. "Erokage alwayz gave me that zmut of hiz, thinking I wouldn't read. Or waz it becauze he wanted to annoy Ako? I dunno... But… I know waddayalook at her like that."

"Naruto..." Gaara stopped jumping, and looked at the blond. "You're-"

Whatever Gaara wanted to say, it was cut off but Naruto who started to cough wildly. Spitting out blood, the excessive movement caused his chest to bleed more as well. Blackened, the flak jacket was now completely soaked with Naruto's blood. With one last delirious grin, Naruto buckled over and passed out.

"His fever is rising," Raido realized, even if he only touched Naruto's head for a second. "We have to hurry. This isn't good."

* * *

"Yo, Raido, finally made it back?" Anko shouted when the door of the Uzumaki house opened.

"For the moment. That cat said I had to get back here," he grumbled. "What is going on?"

"The gaki caught an Oto kunoichi," Anko shrugged. "What's with all the blood?" she eyed her fellow jonin. "You aren't hurt… are you?"

"We needed to know if she's secure down there," Shikamaru's voice sounded hollow, ignoring Anko's last remark. "We got her locked up in Chie's room, and activated the barriers which Naruto inscribed. But since we don't know for sure how good she is when it comes to fuinjutsu or barriers, we wanted to wait until the two of you are here. I suppose Hinata and I can leave now."

"I told her to go to the hospital. She needs to let those arms get checked," Anko shook her head. "But she's as stubborn as a mule."

"Has Naruto-kun returned?" the Hyuga looked expectantly at the door. "I thought you and Gaara-san would go after Naruto-kun."

"We did," Raido hesitated. This would be a sensitive topic to both women. "The Uchiha got away."

"What? How did he manage to do that?" Shikamaru glared. The knowledge that his best friend died in vain did not sit well with him, to say the least. "Naruto is far stronger than Sasuke, how could he-"

"Orochimaru showed up," Raido cut him off.

"That son of a bitch!" Anko began to curse violently.

"Yes, Anko, I know. We… We got in time to save Naruto, but he got hurt. Badly," he raised his hands in defense, forcing the others to remain silent. "Naruto is at the hospital. Orochimaru stabbed him in the chest."

"N-Naruto-kun," Hinata walked toward the door, but Anko knew that a simple stabbing wouldn't stop Naruto. No, that never hindered him for too long. The amount of blood she saw on Raido's clothes suggested something worse. Something which was typically her old sensei.

"He was poisoned, wasn't he?"

"Tsunade-sama is busy extracting the poison from him right now, and Gaara stayed with him."

"Hinata-sama," Ako stepped forward. "Please, I will walk with you."

"I can't, I have to-"

"Hinata-sama, I am sure that the elders would not approve if you openly showed such concern for Naruto," Ako argued.

"I don't care what the elders or father would-"

"Hinata," Ako said sharply. "You, Shikamaru-san, and the others, you all disobeyed direct orders from the Hokage and your sensei. It would be a perfect moment for those who do not want you to remain heir, to use this situation to urge Hiashi-sama to name Hanabi-sama as his heir and to brand you with the caged bird seal."

With wide eyes, Hinata looked at the member of the branch.

"And that's why I hate clan politics," Anko muttered. "But Ako has a point. Haste could cause more harm than good right now. You got to be careful."

* * *

"I am sorry Hinata-san, but Tsunade-sama is currently performing surgery. I cannot let you see Naruto-kun," Shizune apologized.

"But…"

"And look at those bloody rags," Shizune exclaimed, ignoring Hinata's protests. "Why didn't you come to the hospital sooner?"

"Ah, b-but I…"

"None of that," Shizune huffed. She grabbed Hinata by the shoulders and pushed her into another room. "First of all, I am going to heal those arms of yours."

Ako stood there, looking apologetic, but otherwise she couldn't do a thing for the Hyuga heiress. While Tsunade was trying her hardest to get Naruto back on his feet, no one else could interfere. In fact, Shizune had more or less admitted that even she didn't understand the things Tsunade had to do. The poison which Orochimaru had designed was more complex than Shizune had ever seen. Even Tsunade barely understood what he had done to Naruto.

If not for Jiraiya returning with the sword of Kusanagi, even Tsunade would have faced an impossible task. Although Ako was still wondering what this 'sword of Kusanagi' was, and how the Hokage had been involved in today's disaster.

"Ako-san?"

The Hyuga turned around, only to find a dirtied Uzumaki. "Karin," Ako smiled. "I'm glad you haven't gotten hurt."

"I suppose," Karin's smile faltered. "But Nii-san… he is hurt. Kiba-kun too, though Shizune-san managed to heal him in no time. He is just exhausted right now. Ino-san is also still being treated by her dad, because of the mental damage she suffered. Lee-san is heavily injured too, but he seems to be recovering quickly enough. And the surgery on Neji-san was also a success. I just… C-Choji-san, he didn't make it. Godaime-sama had to tell his p-parents that their son…"

Ako pulled the fragile looking Uzumaki into a hug, surprised that the girl started to shake like a leaf, and sob. "It must be hard on you. Why didn't you come home? You need some rest, Karin-chan."

"Perhaps," Karin tried to stop sniffling, but her leaking eyes betrayed her nonetheless. "But while I can be useful here, I will do my best to help Shizune-san," she regained some of her determination. "I can't afford to be weak any longer. I don't want to lose everything I have here. If Nii-san would…"

"Naruto is strong, Karin," Ako chided the redhead kindly. "It took a person as legendary as Orochimaru to even put him in the hospital, and that is just because of the poison. Otherwise, Naruto is unstoppable."

"I know, but still..." Karin sighed. "I'll worry about that later. Right now, I can sense Nii-san's chakra, even though I can feel that he is hurt. But now I've got to get this IV fluid to Neji-san before six, so I have to hurry!"

The brunette Hyuga smiled when she saw the Uzumaki scurry away. '_That child changed so much, compared to when I first saw her,'_ Ako mused. She sighed, and decided to do her duty. She would have to report her findings to Hitomi, and she was convinced that the matriarch of her clan would not like what she had to tell. After all, Ako's allegiance in Hyuga affairs was with Hitomi, not with the rest of the main house.

* * *

"Hokage-sama?"

"Gaara, you're still here?"

"I don't trust your Anbu, so while Naruto is injured, I will stay close."

"His paranoia is rubbing off on you, I see?" Jiraiya chuckled. "But rest assured. With Tsunade-hime nearby, no one will be foolish enough to try anything."

"Sandaime-sama once said the same thing about the previous Anbu guard we had."

"Point taken," Jiraiya sighed. He was too tired to get into a discussion with this boy. "Suit yourself, but I'd prefer it if you don't kill everyone who would get near. I got a letter from your sensei today, and he'll get here in a day or two. So, you and your sister should make preparations for going home. At least, I'm not intending to keep you here any longer. Unless Baki is going to do something very troublesome and break our previous agreements, of course."

Gaara nodded, but otherwise gave no indication that he was relieved or disappointed. In spite of his vast knowledge and experience of humans and their behavior, Jiraiya found the boy hard to understand. Only near his sister and near Naruto, did Gaara take the initiative in conversations.

'_But what can I expect. Until recently, he was tormented by the Ichibi at every moment of the day. I suppose we should all be grateful that he is even behaving this well, after all he suffered. With Naruto experiencing something similar, I guess both boys grew only closer in these last few weeks. 'Brother in burden' did Naruto call him,'_ Jiraiya sighed. As much as he wanted to help his godson, he knew that Gaara was in a position in which he'd be able to understand Naruto in ways that Jiraiya never would be able to comprehend.

But he had other things on his mind right now. He didn't doubt that the elders of the council were already pestering his secretary Iruka for a meeting with their Hokage. Which was one of the reasons why Jiraiya fled his office for the time being. No, he wanted to talk to someone else. Someone who had a hospital room in the same hallway as Naruto.

"Enter," the man had hastily put away a certain orange book, after Jiraiya knocked.

"Don't worry Kakashi, it's me and not Tsunade-hime. I take it she still hates my work of literary genius?" Jiraiya chuckled.

"How is Naruto?"

"I am certain Tsunade will get him back on his feet in no time. Orochimaru definitely developed a nasty poison. But he'll recover, I'm sure of it. That brat is too stubborn to be beaten by a mere little poisoning."

"It's in his blood," Kakashi gave one of his infamous eye-smiles. Still, he looked tired. Not just from the injuries he had sustained, but also mentally. "And Sasuke?"

"The Uchiha boy went to Orochimaru's side out of his own volition. From what I heard from Gaara, the cursed seal influenced Sasuke to some extent, but it only strengthened the desires which the boy already had. It would seem that all the remaining Uchiha are traitors now."

"Are you going to put him in the bingo book?" Kakashi asked hesitantly. "He is… It is my fault, Godaime-sama. If I had been a better sensei to him, this would not have-"

"Kakashi, shut it. That boy struggled with burdens which most of us would never be able to understand. And we should consider ourselves lucky for not understanding. You read the files, so you know what Itachi put him through. And with his blood, we could all see it coming that he would choose revenge over anything else."

"If I had seen it earlier, how deep he had fallen…"

"None of us knew that Orochimaru would be bold enough to snatch Sasuke away like that. And that is exactly why I've come to you, Kakashi."

"A mission?"

"Yes. Someone has messed around with my sources. And with the way that Sasuke was taken away, I can only conclude that it has been someone on the inside. Someone provided them with all the information regarding our defenses," Jiraiya grimaced. "So when you are fit for duty, I will hand you a certain list of names. You will be responsible for tracking down which of these sources has been compromised, and who did it. I need proof before I can act."

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. "Someone from the inside schemed to get rid of the last loyal Uchiha? Do you think _he_ cooperated with Orochimaru?"

"A dangerous conclusion," Jiraiya warned. "He has ears everywhere. I am sure you are aware of that division which was closed down years ago?" Kakashi nodded in response. The practices of the 'root' were something that the former Anbu captain would not soon forget. "But do not be mistaken. He holds that position because he has the support for it. Many clans would not appreciate it if he were to be accused of these matters. Moreover, if the accusations would turn out to be false… Well, it is a badly kept secret that he and I can barely tolerate each other. If I screw this up, I'm certain that I would be thrown out of sensei's office before I could even utter 'hot springs'."

"Are there any leads?"

"I know you are eager to get out of here, but you should focus on getting back to full health first," Jiraiya smiled gently. "If anything, I'd like you to attend the funeral of the Aburame boy. And the service for the Akimichi boy will likely be on the same day." Jiraiya hated it. He barely had taken the office, and already he had to bury two genin who had been barely more than children. '_Sarutobi-sensei always said that it was harder to send people on missions than it was to go on those missions himself. I suppose I finally understand him now.'_

Jiraiya left Kakashi's room, and slowly walked back, hoping he'd encounter Tsunade. '_I suppose it is worth the try, even though I know she'd never accept it, I could always try to get her so drunk that she'd agree to take over the hat. I should've known that I'm not suited for this job.'_

In spite of his thoughts though, Jiraiya had already made his preparation to find a successor for his post as spymaster of Konoha. After all, why else would he let Kakashi assess all his hidden informants? That said, Kakashi would first have to prove himself. His performance as a sensei had not exactly impressed Jiraiya. But his motivation to find Sasuke and Orochimaru, on the other hand, would likely shake the man from his lethargic state of mind. After all, skill had never been the issue for Hatake Kakashi. Motivation, on the other hand…

* * *

Shizune had been pushy, but Hinata had to admit that the young woman had done an excellent job at healing the injuries at Hinata's arms. She'd have to stay in the hospital first, as Shizune wanted to make sure that the damaged nerves and muscle tissue were all properly healed. And considering how everything in her combat style depended on her arms, Hinata knew she had no other option than to stay. Still, as hours passed by, Hinata grew impatient.

So, she decided to sneak out.

"Hello, Hinata-chan. I see you are already up and moving?"

"K-Kaa-san," Hinata blushed. "I-I wanted to-"

"Sneak out," Hitomi finished the sentence for her daughter. "I think Shizune-san would not be pleased if her patient were to run off on her own."

With a weary sigh, Hinata gave up and sauntered back to bed. "I didn't intend to run. I didn't want to leave the hospital."

"I saw that," Hitomi smiled gently. "But Naruto-kun is still resting, according to what Tsunade-sama just told me. I knew you'd be worried about him, so I decided to ask about his condition before I came here," the blue-haired woman explained. She knew very well that Hinata would ask about him anyway.

"Thank you," Hinata said the words, and they were sincere, but Hitomi knew her daughter was not satisfied. No, she wanted to see him for herself.

"You should be more careful, Hinata-chan," Hitomi sighed. "While your affections for Naruto-kun are a good thing, in my opinion, there are also many who disagree."

"W-why? Is it because Naruto-kun is a jinchuriki?"

"That too, but there is the matter of Hizashi's death as well. While I know that Naruto-kun had nothing to do with it, many still harbor suspicions. And I am afraid that includes your father. So with you still being the heiress, the situation with Naruto-kun would only become more sensitive," Hitomi explained. "Especially after today."

"I disobeyed orders, I know," Hinata sighed.

"There were several who cited your disobedience as a reason to banish you to the branch family," Hitomi said bluntly, making Hinata pale. "I managed to talk your father out of it, but only barely. He was almost ready to officially name Hanabi-chan as the new heiress."

"I didn't know…"

"You should have. Hinata, please tell me why you did this. I want to know why you chose to leave the village, even though Godaime-sama issued orders for your teams to stay put."

"I… Shino-kun was killed, and-"

"Hinata, you are a kunoichi of Konohagakure. For all shinobi, it should be obvious that the risk of dying is a part of the job," Hitomi interrupted. "If you want to lead the Hyuga clan to a better future, you cannot let yourself be governed by feelings of revenge and hatred."

"I didn't," Hinata protested weakly, not used to her mother being this strict. She knew Hitomi made a valid point, and she knew that there were a lot of expectations coming with her position as heiress, but Hitomi had never really made a point of it. Hitomi had never really pushed her like this. Then again, Hinata had never believed she would remain the heiress for this long. She had been the failure of the clan, a laughing-stock and not an heiress. But in these last few months, Hinata had realized how her mother had prepared her for something much greater than Hinata could ever have expected. Hitomi was preparing her to be not merely an heiress who would continue the path the clan was walking, but rather preparing her to become the heiress who would lead the clan back to its original path.

"I see that you have yet to understand how serious your position is, and how your every decision and action reflect on this." Hitomi paid close attention to Hinata's expression, in the way Suzaku had taught her.

"One of my friends was abducted. Sasuke-san was not the nicest person, but he was a person whose lineage was important to Konoha. And while everyone searched in the wrong directions, we knew where they took Sasuke-san."

"Why didn't you send word to the office of the Hokage, rather than tracking the group by yourselves?"

"They did something to Sasuke-san. A strange sealing," Hinata struggled to explain. "We thought that he would die, unless we saved him. And while we were with nine, they were only with four, of whom two were already injured. We thought that we had the perfect chance, and we all decided to take it. And we did send word. Before we left, Chie went to seek out Naruto-kun. Anko-san and Raido-san were with him, so we expected one of them to send word to Hokage-sama."

"So your decision to go to combat forced others to go against the orders which Hokage-sama issued?" Hitomi shook her head. "Hinata… you are a smart girl. But you should never forget the very nature of our village. We live in a militaristic society. Genin like you cannot just independently decide such matters. In fact, you should count yourself lucky that Hokage-sama did not choose to imprison all of you." Hinata paled. "You endangered the jinchuriki of Konoha, and from what I gathered from Tsunade-sama, Naruto-kun could have died if those wounds had been left untreated. The loss of a jinchuriki could have triggered war."

"B-but I wouldn't… Didn't want to-"

"And to make things worse, the jinchuriki of Sunagakure also joined the battle. What would have happened if Gaara-san had died, Hinata? Or Temari-san, for that matter? Any chance of a lasting peace between Suna and Konoha would have disappeared," Hitomi continued. Her expression softened when she saw her daughter's panic, but at the same time, she knew that Hinata had to learn this lesson now. "I know you were not the only one to have decided on this matter, but for an heiress that should not be an excuse. You will need to make decisions for yourself. And when you take your father's position, your decisions will extend to the entire clan. What happened to the heir of the Akimichi clan could have also happened to you, or to any other member of your group."

"I-I apologize," Hinata nearly whispered, downcast that her mother lectured her like this.

"Don't," Hitomi smiled. "Take this as a lesson, and remember it. I know my words were harsh, but underestimation of opponents is a mistake which each shinobi will make at some point in their careers. I am relieved that you did not take this decision out of feelings for revenge. Someone who would choose revenge would not be fit to restore our clan and unite the main and branch families."

Surprised, Hinata looked up at her mother. "But…"

"You are young, Hinata," Hitomi corrected a deviant strand of blue hair of her daughter. "But never forget that there are many people who have their eyes on you. Some have expectations, and others are merely looking for a chance to remove you from your rightful position. Now, you need to take some rest and let Shizune-san check your arms; after that, I will make sure the difficulty of your training regime is increased. After all, I cannot let your actions go by un-"

The door creaked, and after some hushed cursing at the door for making such sounds, it opened wider. "Hey, Hinata, are you still awake?" Karin peaked into the room, and froze. "Eh… Hi, Hyuga-sama," she said sheepishly.

"Uzumaki-san," Hitomi laughed gently at the surprise and embarrassment of the young redhead. "Come in, I was just done scolding my daughter."

"Err... Okay, if you don't mind," Karin shrugged. "My apologies, I didn't sense you were here. I'm a bit low on chakra, so I just keep my 'inner eye' focused on Nii-san."

"Karin-san?" Hinata wondered why her new team member was here. The last she knew was that Karin was following Shizune, filling in as an aide. Well, one would be more right if they said that Karin just left Shizune no other choice but to accept her help, but that was another matter. Besides, Shizune knew Karin well enough to tolerate it, after the time they had spent together when they had tracked down Tsunade.

"Erm, I came to check how you were doing," Karin lied. Unfortunately for her, she was in one room with a woman who just happened to be the best living lie detector in the entire village- if not the entire world.

"I suppose you came to take my daughter to see Naruto-kun?" Hitomi 'guessed'.

Karin merely answered with an owlish stare- at least, until a few seconds passed and she recovered. "Sometimes I wonder if you guys have the same ability as Nii-san," Karin sighed. "Yes, I was here to take Hinata to Nii-san. Shizune-san went home to get some sleep, and Tsunade-sama wanted to take a short break. So aside from the regular nurses there is no one at Nii-san's door. And with Gaara acting like an overprotective mother-hen… well, he'd allow me to pass, but the others are smart enough to stay out of his way. So, I asked him to stay for a bit," Karin copied her brother by scratching the back of her head while chuckling.

"So there would be no one around who would prevent you from seeing Naruto-kun," Hitomi smirked, amused by the shrewdness of the girl. "I take it that Naruto-kun is stable now?"

"Tsunade-sama found an antidote," Karin said with more than a little awe in her voice. "Nii-san is still sleeping, though."

"Are you ready, Hinata-chan?" Hitomi surprised both teenagers. "What? The moment I leave your room, you would go to Naruto-kun anyway. You are far too stubborn to listen to Tsunade-sama and stay in your room like you are supposed to." Hinata nodded dumbly. "Well then, Karin-chan: lead the way. With me nearby, Hinata-chan will at least not get any more accusations of insubordination."

* * *

**Bonus: The Marked Man (3) **

* * *

"_And that's why I hate clan politics," Anko muttered. "But Ako has a point. Haste could cause more harm than good right now. You got to be careful."_

With that, Ako, Hinata, and Shikamaru left the living quarters in the Uzumaki compound. Apart from Chie, who was lying in wait in front of the room in which Tayuya was imprisoned, Anko and Raido were now alone.

"So… care to tell me why you didn't tell me that you knew about the prank that accursed cat pulled on me?" Anko grumbled, not pleased that Raido left her dangling like that. Raido, who was just washing the dirt from his hands and face, paled. "Why did you treat me like that?"

"Why did you blackmail me?" Raido countered.

"I have that stupid alcohol-ban, and you had sake!" Anko exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why didn't _you_ tell _me_?" Raido frowned.

"Yeah right, like you would believe me."

"Why wouldn't I believe you? Because of all those stupid rumors which are circulating through the village? Anko… If I cared about such rumors, I wouldn't have volunteered for this mission. The things people say about Naruto are at least as bad. And even you have to admit that some of the things they say about you are true. At least, I can't see how you can possibly deny having a sadistic side," Raido deadpanned.

She glared at him, but knew she couldn't counter that. She was the second-best interrogator for a reason, after all. And unlike Ibiki who had the patience to interrogate the 'slow' way, Anko preferred more active methods of dragging the truth out of someone, once she had reason to believe that someone withheld information from her. "How did you know?" she instead decided to maneuver the conversation away from her bad reputation.

"Chie repented her prank, for once," Raido sighed. "But she didn't have the guts to tell you. And I can't blame her. If not for Naruto or Ako being near, I think you would've skinned the poor creature."

"Poor creature?" Anko snapped. "After how she embarrassed me? She intended to make you think I slept with Maito Gai! I should chop off her tail bit by bit and feed it to her!"

"I could say the exact same thing for how she revealed my secret," Raido decided to create a bit more distance between him and the seething woman. Although, he suspected that Anko didn't consciously draw that kunai. He couldn't decide whether that made the situation better or worse. "Could you lay down that kunai?"

"Kunai? Oh, eh…" Anko holstered the thing, looking a bit sheepishly at Raido. "So, how are you planning to fix this?"

"How many?" he sighed.

"How many?"

"Sake."

"Oh, your transgression against my pride can't be fixed with sake. Not even by the quality of your sake," Anko smirked. "No, I had something different in mind."

'_I know where this is going, but for some reason… Why do I feel like I shouldn't be the one who asks her first? Why do I feel like I can't let her win? Perhaps it is because she would walk all over me if I did? And I doubt she'd be an easy mistress,'_ Raido mused. "What is it that you have in mind?"

"Ugh, why do you have to be so damn stubborn?" Anko grimaced. "Didn't you listen to the last words of the old man? He ordered to you 'live, and not just for the sake of the village or duty, but for yourself and your own happiness'," Anko repeated the last words which the late Sandaime spoke to Raido.

'_I know. And while it is thirteen years now, I still feel like I am cheating on her. Why?'_ Raido sighed. His girlfriend had perished that night, when the Kyuubi attacked the village. It was kind of pathetic, but Raido never really loved anyone else after her death. In fact, he had kept his distance, knowing that he had a large risk of suffering that same pain again, or otherwise inflicting such pain, considering the risk inherent in his line of work.

And besides that, Raido didn't have much love for spending money, so it wasn't like he often hung out in a bar or anything. But a regular restaurant wouldn't be enough to calm this woman down. And he felt like she deserved better, as well. "Takazawa," he muttered.

"What?"

"Saturday, at six. I'll make sure the owner has two spots," Raido explained. '_Crap, and I still lost. Well, Anko more or less ordered me to, so I think I should see this as a draw.'_

"Taka… Takazawa?" the baffled expression on Anko's face made Raido wonder if he had just made a huge mistake. Though, he didn't know what could be wrong with Takazawa. It wasn't big, but it was easily the best restaurant of Konohagakure, rivaling the competition from the capital.

"The owner owes me a couple of favors," Raido quickly explained, not knowing what he had done wrong. "You know, because of what I make. But if you prefer another place, I-"

Unusually bashful, Anko just gestured at herself. "No! No, no, it's not that, it's… Well, it's me. That place is the fanciest in the entire village! I would stand out like a sore thumb, they'd never let me in! I mean, look at me! I don't belong-"

"You do. And he would not have a choice but to accept you in his restaurant," Raido chuckled. "Or his good name would be gone. I could always decide to supply his competitor with my sake instead. You're not the only one capable of blackmailing people, you know. But some fancy clothing could prevent any potential drama, don't you think?" He smiled, seeing her look of disbelief. "Now, I'm going to take a bath, so if you'd excuse me..."

* * *

**A/N**: What madness is this? Jiraiya is stronger than Orochimaru? Zil, are you nuts? And omgwtfbbq you also made him take the sword of Kusanagi?!

I guess not everyone will be pleased. Oh well, if I hadn't gotten used to that, I would've quit publishing on this site a long time ago. As for the discussion of power levels: look at the manga. Orochimaru struggled against a four-tailed Naruto, while Jiraiya could've beaten Pein if he had known about Nagato's secret. Pein admitted that himself. Similarly, Itachi was easily able to best Orochimaru, but he ran away from Jiraiya while Kisame was at the scene as well. I know, there are a lot of inconsistencies in the manga, and I suspect it is largely because Kishimoto just had no clue where he was taking the Akatsuki thing at the beginning. Well, I suspect he had no clue at the end either, but I'm not going to discuss the decline of the manga now. (Illuminated is laughing heartily somewhere.) The point is that I had to make choices: so, a senjutsu-powered Jiraiya stomps Orochimaru.

Also, I think every jutsu should have a weakness. So instead of keeping this 'endless rejuvenation thing' for Orochimaru without any cost, I imagined that the act would cost an amount of chakra relative to the damage he would need to fix. So he'd be unable to spit out a new body if he lacked the chakra to create one.

Recommendation time! Have you ever read stories written by **Freowin**? If not, you'd better do so. His fic '**A Price for Peace**' is probably one of my all-time favorites. Seriously, I don't think I've been this addicted to a fic in a long while. Premise of the story is that there is a prophecy by the Toad Sage that Naruto and Sasuke would both die if they were to fight. Thing is, Naruto didn't die, even though everyone believes he did. What follows is a journey with an unexpected companion, to a country with a twist which left me thinking: "why didn't I think of that?!" It's brilliant, so check it out if you haven't done so already!

My thanks, as always, to my beta **Illuminated**. And to all of you who supported me throughout this story! Reviews! Improve my mood by leaving reviews! And to those who haven't voted yet: there is still a poll on my profile page. I'll close it when I publish chapter 61!

-Z-


	60. Internal landscapes

**Sasuke retrieval arc**

**Internal landscapes**

* * *

Poison, blood loss, numbness, chakra depravation, darkness… he could feel himself slipping away in it. He felt he was floating, as if he was cast adrift in a vast void. Was he in pain? He didn't know. He didn't think so, but he couldn't be sure. It frightened him. He felt nothing, saw nothing, and heard nothing. Would he perish, in spite of his resolution? In spite of his promise to return? Or, was it already too late, and had he died already? There was nothing to pinpoint his location, yet he knew, somehow, that he was moving. He was going somewhere, but tried to hold on. But hold on to what? There was nothing. Whether he moved or not, it made no difference at all. From one place within this nothingness to the other, it was irrelevant where he was, if nothing was there. In fact, he wasn't even sure if his body obeyed his commands, even if there would be something here.

He knew he was turning his head, trying to see, but nothing. Nothing was there; not left, not right, not in front, and not behind. This dark lonely void, was this death? Was this his end? Had his wounds been more serious than he had realized, or was the poison just that potent? Had he fallen before he could even change anything? No- if he died there was only one Uzumaki left to carry his burden, and he'd never wish her to suffer the same fate. He couldn't die. He refused. He had to get out of this nothingness. He had promised!

Suddenly, everything changed.

It was a total immersion in light, brightness, warmth, peace, and security. This elation, it was hard to describe- even to himself. He didn't know what he felt. It was glorious, warming his chest, and yet… impossible to comprehend. But this light, this beautiful bright light… he didn't feel worried any more. He wanted to follow it. He wanted it. He wanted to bask in its brightness, to be at peace. Peace… that elusive light radiated a peace which was foreign to him.

He wanted to know. He yearned for it. For all his life, all he had known was strife. He had felt the hatred of others, their negative emotions. It had surrounded him, drowned him. Within, the fox had only tried to break him, hating him for what other people had done. On the outside, people had hated him for what he carried within, fearing what he could become. The idiots had never realized that with their hatred they'd nearly made him the very thing they feared him to become. Always those hateful glares. And sometimes even open aggression. Such was the fate of those standing at the bottom of society.

He never had known true peace. He didn't have anything like that light. He wanted to… but he didn't have it. He wished he were like others, but fate had denied him that. Fate had denied him the chance to be equal to others. His father had done that, although Naruto knew that Minato didn't have many other options left to him. That man's foolish belief in the village had turned Naruto's life sour. For a long time, Naruto had tried to live a normal life only to end up being disappointed, time and time again. Countless times he had tried, let people back in, attempted to trust, but he could not. He always had wanted to run, away from all the darkness around him, the vile atmosphere by which even the best people could be surrounded. Their desires, their longings, their fears, their hatred, Their greed, he had been naked to it all, alone in the world. Only one had been different, the one for whom he had stayed. That one gave him hope, kept him sane, changed his world; the one glimmer within the vast dark world in which he grew up.

This light… this light was everything which the world he had suffered had lacked. The quiet of this world was deafening. He closed his eyes, basking in the joy of not feeling any negative emotion at all. However, in that void, he became aware that there still was something wrong. But nothing was there, only he was. What did he feel?

"Today, I introduce myself."

"What? Who is there?" he was startled. _'The voice, that whisper of a voice, came from… wait, where did it come from? There was no one here, only the light.'_ And the darkness in which he stood.

"See yourself. Your own feelings. Feel..." the whispering voice once again could be heard.

"My... my feelings?" Naruto frowned. _'What was going on?'_ There was nothing here. Nothing could be felt, only that weird nagging in the back of his head. He had always been so overwhelmed by all the sensations around him that he had never stopped to think about what it was, that itch. All those years he had continued, enduring a silent agony. "My feelings," he realized. "_My_ darkness."

He looked around, but still nothing. He was still moving, but the light was too; it made it impossible to gauge any distance, size, or speed. He could be puny, he could be enormous; both were a matter of perspective. But in this empty realm, there was nothing to relate to, only the light.

How long had it been, since he had chosen for the light? Since that dream where he had abandoned his night. From that moment, he had turned away from the seeping corruption of the Kyuubi, yet he had forgotten that this darkness was a part of him. It is so easy to just blame the fox, yet… in spite of his choice, he could still feel the cold fingers of his night clutching on to him. He had been blind. The overwhelming sensation of all the negativity which radiated from others had blinded him to his own. The act of choosing was not enough to it shake off. He had been in his night for years; he could not simply walk out of it.

"This is why I am not the light, but looking at it," he mumbled.

"Your light has never been your own," the whispering voice replied, "As it should be."

"But it matters little now- I am dying, am I not? That's what the light is, I'm looking at it from a distance, because I'm dying."

"Love will never end."

"Love…" Uzumaki Naruto barely ever considered the subject of 'love'. Always confronted by the negative, he had a hard time seeing the positive, let alone understanding it. And what did it matter, he had long thought that he would never find a person who would truly accept him. And when he thought he did, he realized that he would likely die before he'd be an adult. He never wished to inflict pain upon the person he cared about most, not for his own selfish reasons at least. All that had changed due to Hiruzen's sacrifice. Everything changed, but not his way of thinking. Love… was that what he felt for her?

"Love is the life-breath of all you see, love is the true light inside your heart."

"How can I begin to love while I am dead?"

"It has always been there. From the moment of birth, 'til your dying breath. It will always remain there…"

"Why the riddles? Who are you? Show yourself!"

The light erupted. Blueness blinded him. There were clear skies, barely a cloud in sight. He had been floating. The light was more distant than ever before, but he could feel it. But what unfolded was… it was just so beautiful. It was eternity. The briefness of his own existence was soon forgotten. These were the roots of the earth, as old as eternity itself: perpetually renewing, yet always the same. It was set on a fixed position, yet always moving. It was a contradiction, a paradox which had always been there… and yet the cycle was broken.

'_How do I know this?'_

"In this world, nothing is without connections," the voice seemed more amused than anything else. "What has no beginning has no end. And yet, it has been interrupted."

"W-what?"

"There is a light, one so bright. It is always trying to reach for it, yet never reaching. Isn't such a fate saddening? To be separated beyond the borders of life?"

"Saddening? I… What?" Naruto felt lost. He was weightlessly floating, yet while the voice spoke the earth changed. Under the radiant sky, the oceans below him were churning; earth rose and descended. Mountains were created and fell to rubble. Forests grew and turned to deserts, only to once again turn the landscape green. It was chaos, and yet it was not. Each thing led to another, but he couldn't see the connections.

"Because you don't see how it is all interlinked. You cannot see that. You need to feel that," the voice once again seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. "True knowledge is rooted deeply. True knowledge cannot easily be expressed. In its purest form, even I cannot show it to you. It is tacit. You have to feel it, to experience it, master it. And subject yourself to it."

"But… What?" Rather than clarifying anything, the voice only made Naruto feel more lost in this web of riddles.

"How could you know, when you are barely introduced to yourself? When you have not even accepted _your_ light. Rejoice, human, as you are not removed from it. Not yet. For now, you can still reach out for your light. It still holds on to you," the world changed. Suns rose, moons sank, faster than Naruto could comprehend. One cycle was followed by the other: birth and growing, decaying and death, only to begin anew. The plethora of differences only made everything seem similar. His wish for equality seemed laughable in the realization of all those innate differences.

"Human? What… What are you?" Naruto became cautious. "Is that you, Kyuubi? What kind of trick-"

Laughter filled Naruto's world, laughter as bright as the nightly stars. The laughter was contagious enough for Naruto to, somewhat sheepishly, join in. The laughter was warm as the gentle rays of sunlight in spring.

"The largest of the parts, yet of the nine he is most aware of its own incompleteness. He knows so much, and yet at the same time knows so very little," the voice remained spouting riddles at Naruto, whose laughter quickly turned into a grimace of frustration. "Patience, young one, as you still have time- albeit not as much as I would have liked you to have. Once you open up your senses, you will see. You will follow _his_ path, of the one who set you on this fate, and I pray that you can complete it. After all, that is why he made sure that you met me. Something which neither your predecessor could have known, nor the first of your cycle. Even he was not aware of me."

"Predecessor? Path? First? Why can't you stop talking so damn compli-"

"I was lost, yet you found me. To you, the best suited amongst the few remaining of your line, I will be a key. Yet a key is useless if you have no idea of what you wish to unlock. You will have to connect to nature, and master the elements, if you wish to utilize me."

"Wait… Gekihoko?" Naruto was baffled. "Now I remember! That's why you sound so familiar! You are… that voice, it was the same as Uzumaki Ryota."

"It was the last voice through which I spoke," the voice agreed. "So, it is the one I still use, even if his soul has departed to the pure land. It is too early for you to hear my first voice."

"First voice? But how can you-"

"The 'how' is of no consequence. How a key is, is unimportant. A key without a goal is worthless. I will teach you the path to finding my goal. If you find it, you shall return. Fail, and your time runs out, and as such the world shall fall. So return to your light, Uzumaki Naruto. If you manage that, you must learn the elements and connect to the world. Yet never mention that we spoke. Never share to anyone that I can, not even to those whom you trust most. The time will come when you can speak freely, eventually, but not now. It would spell failure to you, and to the world. The elder will know, he shall have foreseen this, as it is his task, but to all others I am to remain a secret. Can you swear this oath, Uzumaki Naruto? Can you keep the greatest secret that your clan held to its bosom?"

"I promise," Naruto bowed a bit ceremoniously, which actually looked rather silly, he knew. He was floating in the skies, talking to no one, yet bowing while having no idea of any direction.

"Descend, and find my purpose. I granted your mind the island as I know it. As such, if you can find it here, you will be able to find it in reality as well. Find the roots that your line is based upon; for you, who belongs to the last of those few that remained loyal to their original cause, will have to be prepared."

"Prepared for what?" Naruto asked. "Original cause?"

"The time draws near. You were weakened enough for me to interfere, poisoned enough to briefly remove the power of the young fox, but time is drawing to a close. Soon the time will come to make amends. Or the world shall fall, if the balance would continue for another cycle. Restoration of unity, or falling apart, it will be a consequence of your actions. Your role in the grand scheme of things will be an important one, child. Without you, the cycle would not begin anew. And if it ends, so will everything else… find the source, and you shall return to your light once again."

"Wait, what are you talking about? My role? Hey!?"

The voice remained silent, and Naruto felt a pull, a pull he was very familiar with. Gravitation. "For fucks sake," he muttered, as he saw how he fell with dazzling speeds to the surface of an island covered by forests, mountains, rivers, and ruins.

* * *

With her arms wrapped in bandages, Hyuga Hinata sat next to bed, holding the right hand of one who slept uneasily, troubled by his dreams.

"What the hell are you doing here? Didn't Shizune order you to stay in your room and take some rest?" Tsunade scolded the young Hyuga. "Get back to your room. Your arms need-"

"I will be fine, Tsunade-sama," Hinata cut her off, her worry for Naruto being stronger than her respect for the Senju. "I apologize, but I cannot rest."

"You're just as stubborn as the gaki himself, aren't you?" the Senju sighed. "It doesn't seem like I would be able to change your mind, if even Hitomi failed at that. Yes, she told me before she went back home."

Hinata blushed a little at the memory of how she had defied her mother for once. However, Hitomi had understood her wish, although she had warned Hinata that Hiashi would not take this very well. It was unlikely that he would visit his 'weaker daughter' in the hospital, considering the 'shame' of being in the hospital in the first place, but still… Hitomi had warned her daughter to be careful with showing her feelings this openly. "How is Karin-san doing? I told her what Naruto-kun decided. Have you checked up on 'her'?"

Tsunade raised one eyebrow, and shrugged. "Ako dragged Karin back home, and made sure she would take some rest. I won't say that I understand why Naruto spared her, but Tayuya is doing fine. Naruto's poison will not last for much longer on her, but the seals which he left on her will last for another few days. With Raido and Anko nearby, she won't have a ghost of a chance of escaping. Naruto certainly made those rooms sturdy enough to ensure that she can't escape."

She could testify to that. After all, she and Anko had been trapped in there once before, too. Chie's room was littered with seals and barriers, including one which would be nigh impossible for Orochimaru's guard to be break free from, especially while she would be incapable of gathering chakra, due to the precautions which Naruto had taken. Regardless, Ako's threat against his ramen had motivated him to make Chie's room inescapable. "I would like to know why he spared Tayuya, though."

"It was Chie's wish," was all that Hinata could say.

Tsunade tsk'ed, but realized that she wouldn't get an answer from Hinata. She was just as tight-lipped as Jiraiya about that peculiar seal she had found on Naruto's right hand. If there was one thing she disliked about being a shinobi, it was the secrets. She had never had patience for them. Jiraiya and Orochimaru had always been the ones in her team to unravel those. While the former specialized in the perverted secrets, the latter took care of the perverse ones.

She walked out of the bedroom, as she had to check up on the other patients as well. They were all recovering according to her expectations. Only the Haruno girl seemed to have a hard time when it came to dealing with her trauma. Then again, mental issues were much harder to heal with than the physical injuries. Tsunade didn't mind talking with the girl. In a way, she reminded her of her old self. Sure, it brought back more than one unwanted memory about Nawaki or Dan, but still… the girl needed help. Perhaps Jiraiya was right, and this would be good for her too. Even though these children made her feel old, a fact which she would never admit to the brat that called her 'granny'. Tsunade was a bit cynical about it, but she would give it a try. Even Shizune was pestering her about cheering the girl up. Perhaps she should offer to teach the girl some medical ninjutsu. The girl showed interest, had a remarkable talent at chakra control, so why not? Why wouldn't Tsunade accept this new chance in life?

Hinata wasn't aware of any of this. She just wanted to see the boy wake up. Naruto was restlessly sleeping, burning with a high fever. Even Tsunade was unsure as to what kind of poison Orochimaru had used. Hinata didn't care. She just wanted to see Naruto wake up. She had been so scared when she first saw him in his current condition. Hinata could only blame herself for that. It had all been her fault. She should've been able to beat Tayuya.

She had seen the haunted look in his eyes when he told her that Choji had died. She wanted to be there for him. Equally powerful was her desire to grow stronger- stronger, so that she could stand next to him, and help him beat the obstacles he had to face. She had felt helpless, and vowed to never again be this powerless.

'_It is my fault. Neji-niisan warned me. Chie-san warned me. Yet through my failure, Naruto-kun is injured once again. If only I could have beaten Tayuya quicker. If only…_' Hinata sighed. '_I could have sworn his chakra stirred a little while ago, trying to reach out to me, but he remains unconscious. I hate this. I couldn't do a thing. I can't even help Naruto-kun… I hate my weakness. Please be all right, Naruto-kun...' _

She knew that without him, her life would become dark.

When Tsunade eventually finished her inspections, she returned to Naruto's room. Still holding his feverish hand in her bandaged hand, Hinata had fallen asleep, with her head resting on the side of Naruto's bed, her blue hair spread over his shoulder. Gently, careful not to wake her up, Tsunade put a blanket around Hinata. "You made me worry sick, brat, but knowing that you've got a girl like her waiting for you… Even if you stumble, she will be there to keep you going. You are lucky, kid, more than you realize. I hope for you that your luck never runs out," she mumbled to herself, "Like it did for me."

* * *

**A/N**: I imagine this short chapter must be kinda weird. Still, it is important to the degree that I decided to dedicate the entire chapter to this, rather than continue with other stuff (that's put in the next one). Remember the Gekihoko from chapters thirteen and fourteen? Remember Naruto's dreams, like in chapter thirty-three? They are all connected to this chapter. I didn't do it at random, nor did I forget about it. In fact, they are instrumental to how I plan to deviate during the post-timeskip story. Oh, and just for the record: the business with the Gekihoko and these dreams won't be some kind of zanpakuto-Bleach-ripoff. I strongly dislike that, when authors pull that crossover stuff mid-way in a story.

I suppose you might be wondering: why these deviations from the original source? Well, as much as I loved the manga, I started writing fanfiction out of dissatisfaction with dumb things that Kishimoto did. I think the universe which Kishimoto created in Naruto was one of the most interesting which I've encountered in manga. But it saddens me when I see how little Kishimoto did with all that potential.

So don't expect me to just keep following the canon route. Or do you really want me to repeat the whole Tobi=Obito fiasco? Our 'coolest guy', because someone let Rin die. Or Sasuke's flipflopping, where he lost his original appeal because he just got manipulated from one end to the other? Not that he was the only one to be manipulated, as Zetsu manipulated Madara into manipulating Obito into manipulating Nagato into manipulating… well, you get the point. I don't like how Kishi kept the romantic subplots dangling to bait readers but never really did anything with it, either. Do you want me to ignore every clan that isn't Uchiha, while giving anyone with a sharingan a selection of the most broken abilities? Getting stronger eyes by implanting your brother's blind eyes? Madara's eye-less Susano'o? The Uchiha were more interesting before they became a bunch of broken characters. I mean, Izanagi? Izanami? Obito (and Kakashi) endlessly spamming Kamui without any strain?

Hell no.

Since the very start of this story, I have worked towards a different conclusion. The island, the 'source', the purpose of Naruto and the Uzumaki clan, and this weapon… or key, all will be dealt with in due time. But I guess the Sasuke Retrieval arc was the last one which heavily leaned on the manga, and from here on out I'm going to deviate more and more, starting with the 'assassination arc' that starts next chapter. Yes, assassination. Oddly, in a world filled with trained killers, people die.

As usual, please leave some reviews and tell me what you think of my work. And all praise to the mighty **Illuminated** for beta-ing this weird chapter!

-Z-

* * *

**Additional: the results of the second poll**

_Which of the side-characters do you like most in The Honoured Guest? Who should I focus on? Max. of four choices._

Mitarashi Anko - 74 votes (10%)

Hyuga Hanabi - 69 votes (10%)  
Jiraiya - 67 votes (9%)  
Senju Tsunade - 53 votes (7%)  
Tenten - 48 votes (7%)  
Chie the Bakeneko - 41 votes (5%)  
Hyuga Hitomi - 36 votes (5%)  
Nara Shikamaru - 35 votes (5%)  
Yamanaka Ino - 33 votes (4%)  
Hatake Kakashi - 27 votes (4%)  
Sarutobi Konohamaru - 27 votes (4%)  
Hyuga Ako - 23 votes (3%)  
Kato Shizune - 21 votes (3%)  
Hyuga Neji - 21 votes (3%)  
Rock Lee - 19 votes (2%)  
Maito Gai - 14 votes (2%)  
Uchiha Sasuke - 13 votes (1%)  
Namiashi Raido - 12 votes (1%)  
Umino Iruka - 11 votes (1%)  
Yamato - 8 votes (1%)  
Aburame Shino - 8 votes (1%)  
Hyuga Hiashi - 7 votes (1%)  
Haruno Sakura - 6 votes (0%)  
Sarutobi Asuma - 5 votes (0%)  
Akimichi Choji - 1 vote (0%)

Total number of unique voters: 187

Yep, Mitarashi Anko won, beating Hanabi with a five vote difference. I do have to admit that I'm not completely sure how Hanabi became so popular. Illuminated is glad that his 73 votes for Anko spared us "The Honoured Chibi". (j/k)

(Ziltoid might tease Illuminated by suggesting that Anko might get a chibi of her own. It depends on how her date with Raido goes, doesn't it?)


	61. Unshackled

_Ugh. Life can sometimes be terribly busy. So I've got a lot of PM's and reviews that I still have to respond to, and updated stories to read. But family affairs take priority. I'm just glad things didn't take a turn for the worse. Seeing someone close to you so terribly ill is a horrid sight to behold, but death is far worse. Praise whatever god is out that for our healthcare system! _

_But enough of the personal stuff: here's a new chapter for you!_

* * *

**Assassination arc**

**Unshackled**

* * *

There were memories of wounds, of poisons, of blood coursing through his veins as if it had turned to liquid fire. There was pain… so much pain. He had felt the Kyuubi scorching his body, attempting to tear his flesh apart, and yet this poison had done worse. How close had he been to death? Naruto could not say. The poison had increased the corrosive nature of the Kyuubi's chakra, while negating the healing properties. It was the perfect poison to take down a careless and worn-down jinchuriki.

Half-dazed from exhaustion, Naruto attempted to open his eyes. Unsurprisingly, this came with great difficulty. It was as if some fog obscured his mind, slowing his brains, inhibiting his ability to control his own body.

But he was still alive- at least, he figured that he was. Uzumaki Naruto remembered what had happened. He had defeated the Uchiha, but it had been an empty victory. He had not been able to kill the traitor, as the Kyuubi wished him to do; nor had he been able to drag his immobilized body back to Konaha, as the council undoubtedly wanted him to. He still did not know what he himself had wanted to do about Sasuke. Part of him felt pity, another felt disgust, while a last part… understanding? Yes, Naruto acknowledged that he'd do wicked things if another had killed those dear to him. Although, he recognized, Sasuke's methods led to hurting those who were unrelated to his pain. That was why Naruto could not regret that he had tried to kill Sasuke. He had become a threat to the village, his treason had led to the deaths of Shino and Choji, and he had to be stopped.

And yet, Naruto had failed. Orochimaru had taken his prized sharingan wielder. '_Through the Kyuubi I may have possessed enough chakra to rival that asshole, but the gap in skill was just too great. Even if I had not been worn-out, even if he hadn't taken me by surprise, I would still have lost,'_ Naruto realized bitterly. Possessing great quantities of chakra did not translate into skill. Brute power alone was insufficient to defeat enemies of that caliber. Looking back, Naruto was somewhat amused by his former arrogance, in that he thought himself to be a threat even to the infamous sennin. Jiraiya and Tsunade were right: he was still too young for that.

A second attempt to open his eyes proved to be more successful. Still, his sight was blurry, unfocused. Indistinct blobs of color twirled around in front of him. It almost reminded him of the strange dream he had had, of the feeling which that bright light had given him. _'But had it just been a dream? It had been surreal enough, that was for sure, but at the same time… no dream was ever that clear.' _And why could he remember every little detail of it? How could he know that island?

His vision impaired, Naruto instead tried to move his right hand. He wanted to see the seal again, the divine seal in which the Gekihoko resided. But for some reason, moving his arm was completely impossible. '_I can feel my hand... I can move my fingers… Wait, something is on my arm?'_ He noticed a blur of blue resting there. What was that? It was warm, soothingly warm, making Naruto wonder what-

"You should get some more sleep, Gaki," a whispering voice surprised him. A blonde and green blur stood on his other side, and Naruto felt something on his left shoulder. A needle entering his flesh. "Rest. With that level of injury, you shouldn't try to move just yet."

'_Baa-chan? Wait, what is she injecting me with? Am I really still injur-'_

His breathing calmed down as Naruto drifted away in a dreamless sleep, and Tsunade gently smiled as she corrected the pillow under the boy's head. He really needed more rest. In fact, she had not anticipated him waking up this soon at all. Silently, she moved out of the room, not wanting to disturb the sleep of the young Hyuga heiress using the boy's right arm as a pillow.

* * *

"And?" He was impatient. This entire operation had been planned out in detail, it was expected to go smoothly. Kakashi was to be unharmed, the Uchiha was to be removed from the village, and the other two… well, Danzo couldn't care less about them. Sure, Haruno could serve as a useful pawn in his game to lure the jinchuriki, but in the bigger picture she remained expendable. She had no special skill or anything that set her apart, other than her bonds to the jinchuriki and several heirs of Konoha's most prominent clans. Her chakra control was noteworthy, yes, but it wasn't anything that Danzo valued too much.

No, Danzo valued order. It was obvious that Sasuke would defect in order to pursue power, even inevitable. So why did Orochimaru's personal guard deviate from the plan? Danzo wasn't used to that sort of foolish impatience. Missions should be followed to the letter. Orochimaru had not failed him before, in that regard, but the chaos which had unfolded in this specific mission had not been in either of their lines of prediction.

A young operative who carried the codename 'Sai' bowed in front of the leader of the Root division. "There have been some conflicting reports. Apparently, the Akimichi heir has died, while the heirs of both the Yamanaka and the Inuzuka clan suffered injuries."

"And the jinchuriki?"

"The Kyuubi jinchuriki was brought back by Godaime-sama himself, and we have been unable to determine the status of his health- the jinchuriki of Sunagakure is rather protective," Sai explained emotionlessly. "But rumors suggest that he was injured badly, by Orochimaru of the Sannin himself. There is something else which my senpai could not determine," the pale boy paused for just an instant, but Danzo saw the hesitation. It would mean that Sai required more training to shut off his emotions.

"Yes?"

"The heirs of the Hyuga and Nara clans, they delivered someone to the hidden compound of the Uzumaki clan. Senpai could not determine who it was, or why, but considering how the others are accounted for-"

"-They captured one of Orochimaru's imbeciles." Danzo finished the sentence before Sai ever got the chance. "How unfortunate… And we cannot even enter that compound to eliminate the threat. Those fools could not have made a bigger mess out of this situation. Sai, bring the Haruno girl to me, though make sure it happens in a way which does not raise Tsunade's suspicions," the seemingly one-eyed man continued. "The girl needs to gain his trust in order to become a more valuable tool for our cause."

'_Yes, the Haruno girl might be able to gain entry to the Uzumaki grounds and assess the situation. And in the worst case scenario, if one of Orochimaru's closest operatives had indeed been caught, she could be used to dispose of the threat. After all, the Uzumaki boy is strongly tied to Jiraiya, someone who has always opposed me, so if they discovered the secret dealings with Orochimaru…'_

In that case throwing away a possibly valuable spy such as that girl was but a small price to pay if it meant removing such a grave danger to Danzo and his cause. With the genjutsu that bound her to his will, the girl would happily throw herself into any weapon he'd choose for her. All he needed to do was to give the command. The girl had no choice but to obey.

* * *

Something rustled, and he heard the scuff of a chair moving. The window had been opened up as well, he noted. He could smell the fresh air entering, a relief in this stale and clinical environment. He heard the sounds from the awakening village. It was cruel,he thought; _'Two of my classmates have died and the village ceaselessly continued. Was this how insignificant an individual was to a hidden village like Konoha? A ceremony at the burial, a few grieving friends and family, and that was it?' _

'_Oh yes,'_ Naruto recalled the stone which Kakashi had showed him, back when Naruto had still been in team seven… '_heroes.'_

People died, and life continued unimpaired. For shinobi, death was merely a part of life. It was _normal,_ part of the job. Naruto wanted to protest against it, but what could he do? His entire life, he was raised to become a shinobi, and now he felt disgusted by his line of work, what it forced even children to do. What insanity drove this world? But he felt too damn weak to protest. Although, this time he could move his right arm. Opening his eyes went a lot easier as well, and his sight wasn't as blurry either.

'_Should've known, a damn hospital again. Damn, each time I get into a major battle, I end up in this accursed place, don't I? I'm so predictable that it's almost boring,'_ Naruto grumbled inwardly. He didn't like the nurses, didn't like the sterile, white environment, and especially disliked the fact that he couldn't eat ramen if he got stuck in the place. Then again, after facing Orochimaru it was to be expected that he didn't escape unscathed.

"How do you feel?"

He moved his numbed body towards the direction where had just heard the chair, and with his hazy mind Naruto took a few moments to recognize the familiar face of Konoha's greatest pervert. "Yo, Erokage," the boy croaked softly. '_Ugh, I need some water…'_

The Godaime Hokage had thought a few steps ahead of the boy, and handed him a plastic cup filled with water. "Here, but drink slowly." The undercurrents of worry and exhaustion in his gravelly voice were audible for Naruto. Of course, the man was not as worn out as Naruto was. In fact, when he tried, Naruto couldn't even lift his own head. Seeing the boy's troubles, Jiraiya stepped forward and helped Naruto to get up, with surprising gentleness.

"Thanks. I'm that bad, eh?" Naruto smirked weakly.

"That poison was no joke," Jiraiya grumbled. "There is nothing that Tsunade-hime can't fix, but you certainly managed to give her quite the scare. Hell, she nearly knocked my lights out when she thought I was to blame."

"Sasuke?"

"Gone. As is Orochimaru."

"We screwed up big time, didn't we?" Naruto sighed.

"You less than the other kids, but yes, the situation was indeed what could eloquently be described as a clusterfuck," Jiraiya said dryly. Well, it wasn't entirely true. Despite their losses, he had also gained some valuable information on Akatsuki, but that wasn't something Naruto would need to know- yet. "I understand that you and Gaara wanted to go out and help your friends, and it wasn't your call, nor are you two to blame: the jonin who went with you carry that responsibility. They allowed you to go. They joined you. Officially, it was their call, freeing you from any blame."

"You can't blame Raido and Anko-chan, Erokage," Naruto shook his head. "It's my fault, not theirs. Any punishment should go to me."

"Meh, don't mention it. They both got off easily. Aside from your poisoning, their call was the right one. If you hadn't gone out, the other kids would have all likely wound up dead- or suffered a fate worse than death, in the case of the girls. There's no way the council would give support for punishing you, Raido, or Anko. The clan heads felt obliged to vote against that."

"But they did try," Naruto concluded from his words. "Danzo?"

"No, that old bat Koharu. But undoubtedly after Danzo set her to it," Jiraiya sighed wearily. "Not that I would've allowed such foolishness, but my objectivity regarding you has already been questioned, so I'm glad that I didn't have to veto it. In the end, the other kids also got off with some light punishment. Shikamaru, being the highest ranking of the group, took most of the blame, and likely loses his promotion for now. Similarly, all of them are forbidden to enter the next Chunin Exams, and have to execute fifty D-rank or fifteen C-rank missions for only half-pay."

"Easy?" Naruto frowned rather skeptically at that statement.

"They could've been charged with insubordination, and thrown in jail for a decade," Jiraiya shrugged. "In a village comprised of shinobi, insubordination is a very serious crime. So yes, this was a lot softer. Naturally, this would not have happened if there hadn't been clan heirs involved. It is the same favoritism as always. If it had been a bunch of civilian kids, they'd be rotting in jail before you could utter the word 'ramen'."

"You're the Hokage now. Change it."

"Yeah, if only it was that easy; but I can't just change the fundaments on which Konoha was built," Jiraiya scowled. "I wouldn't be able to keep my position for long if I tried to do such a thing in a straightforward way. No, that is not how the world works, kiddo. We are not the authors of our own lives. If I write a book, I can completely control the circumstance a character is in, but in real life, things are very different. We cannot completely, solely create our own destiny, no matter how hard we work. But that doesn't mean that we are merely victims of fate, like many of the Hyuga seem to believe. No, there are choices we can make which force us into situations, and there are situations which force us into making certain choices. Bounded rationality, if you wish to give it a name."

"Which ends up in a cycle?" Naruto guessed.

"It is indeed a cycle. Cause and effect, actions and reactions. We are a part of this world, Naruto. That means that we are as much affected by it, as that we have the ability to affect it."

"Not sure whether to call that optimism or defeatism," Naruto chuckled. "And here I thought you would have all kinds of big plans for the village."

"I had some big ideas for my new novels, but unfortunately the crystal ball is missing..."

"So you found you what Jii-san did?" Naruto smirked weakly. "Sorry about that, but he made me promise to hide it thoroughly. But as the letter said, 'He will not need it, as his ability to gather information is good enough to function perfectly without this artifact'. Not to mention that Baa-chan swore that she would kill us both if she finds out you got the thing. She even took the scroll in which the old man noted how to use the darn thing, muttering something about how no hot spring would be safe because you'd abuse the thing to no end for the sake of your smut."

"Hey, I'm not that bad!"

"Why do I have trouble believing that?" Naruto retorted with a deadpan expression. "I remember seeming to have heard something about you trying to legalize spying on the hot spring, the first day you were in office."

The older man coughed. "That is no way to address your Godaime Hokage, Naruto." Naruto took a long and very blank look at the 'Erokage', although a little muscle near his left eye kept twitching. So it did not take long before both burst out in laughter, as they were no longer able to control themselves.

"Damn, my chest still hurts like hell," Naruto groaned. Laughter wasn't the best movement for him, but he had not been able to stop himself. "How long was I out? Why hasn't it healed yet?"

"A few days," Jiraiya said seriously. "It was pretty bad. And Hime drugged you so that you'd stay asleep for another day, because the poison somehow managed to block off the Kyuubi's chakra. That's why you're healing so slowly, by your standards at least. To be honest, you've woken up sooner than we anticipated. She'll be pissed that she wasn't here when you woke up. You've really had us worried, brat."

"Sorry…"

"Don't be. It was just a matter of extremely bad luck, and no one could've foreseen this chain of events. Seriously, you were fighting against Orochimaru. You would never stand much of a chance, once he decided to fight seriously. There's a massive gap in experience and skill, one which you can't just counterbalance with your massive chakra reserves."

"I know… I must train. I must master the elements," Naruto muttered. "And go back home. Connect to the world…"

"What?" Jiraiya blinked, not understanding what the boy was mumbling about. "Mastering the elements? Well, with katon and futon, and a good start at raiton, I'd say you're doing pretty damn well for someone your age already."

"I need to get stronger, Erokage. Much stronger. I need to be able to fend off the Kyuubi. I need to be strong enough to beat Sasuke without relying on the Kyuubi. And if I can't even face people like Orochimaru, how would I ever be-"

"You'll be able to do it," Jiraiya smiled confidently. "I gathered that you managed to execute the rasengan."

"The Kyuubi helped me stabilize it," Naruto nodded. "But how did you-"

"I'm a spymaster, kid. And that jutsu leaves quite a recognizable type of destruction. From the looks of it, you overloaded the thing big time. I suppose 'control' is the first thing I'd have to teach you," Jiraiya ruffled through Naruto's blond hair. "I'll warn Tsunade-hime, so you'll be getting more company soon. And considering how she told your teammates how she expected that you'd wake up in about an hour, they will also be here soon. I would like to hear how things are going between you and that pretty little Hyuga girl, though," he added with his usual perverted grin. "She was almost as persistent as Gaara. Neither of them left your side."

"Gaara?" Naruto blinked, opting to ignore what Jiraiya said about Hinata. Now that he thought about it, he could recall seeing that blue blur on top of his arm. '_It must've been Hinata.' _For some reason it really made him happy, although he had trouble believing it. '_What was it that he said? Love is the lifebreath of all you see? Damn riddles… Why couldn't he just… wait, was it even a 'he'?'_ Naruto inwardly groaned, but he couldn't ask anyone about it. He had sworn absolute secrecy regarding the Gekihoko.

"Yeah, Gaara barely let anyone get in here. He didn't even leave when his sensei arrived in Konoha yesterday. It was only after Tsunade and I promised we'd make sure you would be guarded, that he decided to go see Baki. And not before he uttered the threat of destroying the entire village if we failed our duty, of course."

"Baki? So Gaara is going home," Naruto felt conflicted. On one end, he was happy for Gaara that he could go back to the place which was home to him. Sure, Naruto knew that Gaara would have a hard time at first. But with how the seal was reinforced, and how Gaara would be able to control his temper now, Naruto was certain that Gaara would be accepted by Sunagakure eventually. At least, Naruto hoped that it would go like that. He wanted to have hope. Because, if Gaara could pull it off, he could do it as well.

But, and Naruto knew it was selfish he thought that way, he also felt saddened that his 'brother-in-burden' would leave him. Never before had Naruto been able to feel such kinship with anyone.

"Yeah, Sunagakure is worried about the bold movements of Otogakure," Jiraiya sighed. "Gaara is a nigh-unbeatable force in the midst of their desert. Even Orochimaru would think twice before he'd attack Suna when Gaara is there. And the same goes for Iwa…"

"Damn politics."

"Welcome to my world, brat," Jiraiya laughed at the scowling blond. "If you want to take that hat from me, you'll need to deal with that crap too. As well as that accursed paperwork."

"Meh, at that time I can appoint you and Baa-chan as council elders," Naruto chuckled. "You two can back me up as I sweep the village clean."

"Who are you calling Baa-chan," an icy voice sounded from the door opening. Naruto saw a few bulging… veins on her forehead. Jiraiya looked at something else bulging, as those lab coats did emphasize certain parts of her anatomy. Senju Tsunade stood there, staring less-than-friendly at the boy who had just insulted her.

"Oh… crap," Naruto paled. "You're not going to beat up someone who's already injured, are you?" He closed his eyes when he saw her expression while walking towards him. This would likely extend his stay in the hospital for another few days…

But instead of a super-charged forehead flick or an outright fist in the stomach, Tsunade hugged the boy. Baffled, Naruto didn't even notice the envy on Jiraiya's face. Not that he would be able to see, with her huge bust blocking his view. "B-Baa-chan?"

"Don't get me worried like that ever again, you hear me?" Tsunade whispered.

* * *

"You really think eight servings will be enough?"

"Don't be such a doubter, Karin. If he wants more ramen, he'll have to get out of bed and stop lazing about," Kiba grunted. All the way from Ichiraku's to the hospital, Karin had been worrying about ramen. And Hinata was not much of a help either, considering how silent she was. It was rather unnerving how everyone had changed. But with Naruto nearly dying, several people getting wounded, and Choji and Shino… every time Kiba thought about how Sasuke's treason had caused all this, he began seething again.

"You're doing it again," Karin remarked. "If you keep looking that angry, the nurses won't let you enter, you should know that by now."

"Argh, this whole situation is so fucked up, how can I not be mad?" Kiba growled. It was not that he was mad at them, and they knew it, but he just felt so… "This is just too frustrating. I wish that filthy traitor was here, so I could beat the living shit out of him."

For once, Hinata looked up. For some strange reason, Kiba felt a little fear when she glared at him. '_I bet she wants to kick his ass too. These last few days, she did nothing beating herself up over the fact that Naruto got hurt. And her dad was a complete asshole too, as to be expected from a Hyuga. For fuck's sake, that guy must be completely brain dead. Was it really so difficult to imagine that we wanted to get our classmate back? That we wanted to avenge Shino? But no, he just goes to Kurenai-sensei and tells her to keep Hinata on a tighter leash. In front of her team! I wish I could just kick that damn bastard in the nuts. But mum would neuter me if I caused such an incident with the Hyuga clan…'_

"Oi, you've just scared away that kid," Karin brought his attention back to the real world. And indeed, he saw a rather terrified looking little girl running towards her mother.

"I'm so sick of this! I want to get strong. So strong that those idiotic adults can't tell me what I have to do!" Especially those who were gossiping about Naruto. While part of the village was changing their views of the young Uzumaki, some remained adamant that he was evil. More positively, however, was how the majority among the clanless seemed to view Naruto as some sort of hero. He had been the one who stopped the Ichibi, and now he had faced down the infamous Orochimaru of the Sannin. None knew how that rumor had spread so quickly. Sadly, there were as many false rumors as correct ones. There were also those who suggested that Naruto was happy that the Uchiha was gone, remembering their previous clashes. To them, the loss of the Uchiha bloodline was a great blow to Konoha, and they put the blame on Naruto rather than accept that Sasuke had willingly betrayed the village.

What stung Kiba perhaps even more was that only a few seemed to care that two people had died due to Sasuke's betrayal. People were far more worried about the Uchiha blood and a possibly uncontrollable jinchuriki than about the loss of Choji and Shino. At best, people said that Shino's death was regrettable, considering how he was a prodigy of his clan. Karin and Hinata had had to restrain Kiba, preventing him from assaulting the man who said that… although it had been Shikamaru's expression that had stopped Kiba at that time. Something within those brown eyes had unnerved the Inuzuka.

"I just want to get strong so that I can help you guys. Shizune-neechan and Tsunade-sama agreed to train me!" Karin exclaimed and looked at Hinata, but the latter remained silent. But among the three, the Hyuga had perhaps had the strongest motivation to get stronger: for Naruto, for her clan, for the branch, for Suzaku, and especially for her mother. If not for Hitomi, Hinata would probably have been marked with the caged bird seal.

'_Kurenai-sama, Suzaku-sama, and Okaa-sama will train me to become stronger. But I will have to work hard. Very hard. Just like Naruto-kun always pushes beyond his limits. Next time, I will be able to fight my own battles. Next time, Naruto-kun won't get hurt because I was too weak. If I had been faster, Shikamaru's uncle would not have stopped me. And if I had taken Sasuke-san back to Konoha, Naruto-kun would not have fought against Orochimaru..."_

"Geez, Kiba-kun can't control his temper, and you're as gloomy as a graveyard on a wet Sunday," Karin muttered. "We're a team now, aren't we supposed to support each other? I know I'm nothing like Nii-san, but could you at least _talk_ instead of brooding around? And please don't start ranting about those civilian idiots who are bad-mouthing Nii-san, Kiba-kun," the red-head added with a glare.

"Sorry, Karin-chan," Hinata nodded her head absentmindedly, though at least she sounded sincere enough to Karin's liking. Unlike Kiba.

"…"

"Kiba-kun, you better not give me the silent treatment, or I'll ask Tsume-san and Hana-san to help me out," Karin threatened.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll behave. Dammit, are all women so freaking bossy?"

"I suppose if you keep talking like that, I'll have no choice but to inform Anko-neechan that you want some extra evasion training…"

"No, you can't do that, Karin! That's just too cruel," Kiba whined. Akamaru also felt terrified by the happily insane snake mistress. He retreated deeper into Kiba's jacket than he already was. No one knew whether Anko had been joking or not, when she said that snakes viewed dogs as a delicacy. Akamaru wasn't willing to take the risk, though.

* * *

"I know I was in a bad shape, but you don't need to fuss that much about me, Baa-chan," Naruto muttered after the… well, he had lost count of how many things she had tested by now. "That Kyuubi-teme might not be good for much, but at least he makes sure I heal fast."

"…you never see danger in anything, which makes it all the more worrisome," Tsunade retorted. The moment she had gone into 'overbearing-mother-mode', Jiraiya had bailed. He had 'paperwork to do', something which both blondes doubted; unless he meant writing his smut, which undoubtedly also counted as paperwork in his perverted world. "Aside from Shizune, you're the closest thing I've got to family. To see you being the same kind of baka as that dirty-minded teammate of mine…"

"Don't put me on his level," Naruto protested.

"Yeah, I shouldn't do that yet. Your ratio of missions to hospital stays is definitely a lot higher than Jiraiya's has ever been," Tsunade said with a deadpan expression. "Stick out your arm. I need some more blood, and I need to test the reaction of your fingers as well. That poison attacked your nervous system as well, so I'm not taking any risks."

"But Baa-cha-"

"And NO objections. You hear me?"

This was the scene the new team eight witnessed upon their arrival. Kiba and Karin couldn't help but snicker about Naruto's ordeal. Hinata had less attention for it, though. She was too busy fidgeting, not sure of how she should approach Naruto. He had hugged her. Hugged! She didn't know how to act around him anymore. But she was extremely happy to see him awake again, as was Karin. "Nii-san! You're awake!" Karin took the initiative. With a pang of disappointment, Hinata realized the moment was lost to her.

"Yup. At least, until Baa-chan knocks me out again."

"W-we've brought ramen," the blushing Hyuga suddenly blurted out. As if that was an argument to stop Tsunade. But she did instantly manage to catch Naruto's full attention with that one sacred word as well. '_All hail the ramen.'_

"Don't get any funny ideas, you've got to eat healthy and ramen doesn't contain enough nutrients. I'd rather see you eating something which would boost your recovery, like-"

"No. Freaking. Way. Nobody messes with my ramen! Not even you, Baa-chan!"

The subsequent stare-off was anxiously watched (from a safe distance) by the trio. They were unaware, however, that their sensei had popped up as well. "I don't think even you would win an argument with Naruto-kun when there is ramen involved, Tsunade-sama," Yuhi Kurenai smirked. Well, she was Sarutobi Kurenai now, but she just couldn't get used to being married now. Perhaps it was because she and Asuma hadn't thrown a party to celebrate it yet?

"Kurenai-sensei?" Kiba blinked, confused why she was here - and glaring at him.

"I was wondering why my genin weren't showing up this morning," Kurenai smiled sweetly. There had been an appointment for them to train, nearly an hour ago.

"…We forgot?" Kiba tried. "When Godaime-sama said that Naruto would be waking up, we kinda lost track of things."

"I see. I think I will have to double my efforts, as I do not wish to produce three future Kakashi-act-alikes." Somewhere in the distance a certain masked shinobi suddenly felt very uncomfortable for reasons he could not comprehend. "Tsunade-sama, do you mind if we take over for now? I think these three would like to take over the doting on Naruto-kun."

"I wasn't doting, I was examining if-"

"You were smothering me, Baa-chan," Naruto smirked. "Love you too," he answered her glare with a wide smile.

"Foolish brat," she ruffled through his wildly spiking hair. Why did he have to look and act so much like Nawaki? "Fine, have your ramen. But today only. And you're _not_ getting out of bed until I say you can," she tried to save face in a futile attempt to act stern. But even Naruto could see how the woman had been unable to keep resisting.

'_Is this how having a mother would feel like? An aunt? Or a meddlesome sister? A much, much older sister?'_ Naruto smiled as he wondered what his life could've been like if he had someone like Tsunade earlier in his life; if he had not grown up in a hateful environment like the orphanages, or the cold and distant people of the Hyuga clan. Even Haruki had needed time to get through the emotional barriers by which Naruto had isolated himself. Even Haruki, of whom Naruto thought of as a father, far more than the man who had ruined his life by cramming the fox in him. Naruto understood Minato's reasons, but still, he didn't like it very much to be the victim of that line of reasoning.

"-Karin, and you too, Hinata. Oh, and considering how this is about their training, you should be in on it too. So if you three could follow me for a minute, then we can discuss how we're going to deal with this, okay?" Tsunade had continued while Naruto had been lost in thought. Apparently, she and Shizune had taken Karin as an apprentice, something which she needed to coordinate with Kurenai, who still remained Karin's sensei. And Tsunade thought that Hinata, with her byakugan and her superb chakra control, could make an excellent medic as well.

Their departure left Naruto alone in his hospital room with Kiba and Akamaru. The latter took the opportunity to jump out of Kiba's jacket, and snuffle around. Naruto was surrounded by a variety of scents which the pup was unfamiliar with. All the machinery was surrounded by the smells of various medications and disinfectant sprays, and so on. The cacophony of smells interested the pup.

But more importantly, Naruto could now focus on his ramen. It was something which Kiba witnessed with growing surprise, and a bit of disgust, as well. It was like Naruto _inhaled_ the first two servings, rather than actually eating them. "It never seizes to amaze me how crazy you can get with that stuff," the Inuzuka muttered, seeing Naruto's satisfied smile. "Here's a napkin. You've made a mess of yourself…"

Smiling sheepishly, Naruto thanked Kiba and cleaned himself. Well, Akamaru helped by liking Naruto hands clean. "Thanks for the ramen, you guys are really a godsend," Naruto smiled. "Baa-chan really pulled out all the stops, I swear she just wants to cut me open to see if I'm still messed up within."

"Well, with all the blood… you really were in a bad shape, dude," Kiba shook his head. "But at least tell me you kicked that traitor's ass."

"Which one?" Naruto smiled wryly. "Orochimaru finished me off before I really understood what was going on. And Sasuke… well, I think he'll need quite a bit more time to recover than I did, considering how torn up that arm of his was."

"Good."

"What a vindictive attitude," Naruto chuckled. "But seriously, how would you act if your entire family was wiped out?"

"You're not trying to convince me that what Sasuke did was-"

"What he did was wrong. I can somewhat understand what drove him, but what he did was his own choice. He's a criminal, a traitor, and should be hunted down and dragged back to the village. At least, that's what the council will ask for. They'd not want to lose their precious sharingan," Naruto spat. "Personally, I would rather have seen the bastard die. Because of him, Shino was killed. Because of him, Choji ended up-"

"Calm down, calm down," Kiba urged. "Your chakra is flaring up. They'll kill me for riling you up like this. If Karin or Tsunade-sama don't strangle me, it'll be Hinata… I never thought she could be so damn scary."

"Sorry. It's just-"

"-Damn frustrating," Kiba completed his sentence with a growl. "I know. But Karin just spent half an hour on scolding me for being too angry. I bet that Tsunade-sama will be even more annoying than her."

"That's my Nee-chan you're talking about," Naruto said icily. "If you do anything to hurt her, I'll kill you."

"…okay?" Kiba gulped, sweating and scared by the unexpected twist the conversation had taken. "N-not that I intend to… She's rather clingy, but I don't intend to hurt-"

"I know," Naruto burst out in laughter. "But it was fun teasing you."

"Idiot."

"Dog-breath," Naruto smirked back.

He never paid that much attention how his interaction with Kiba had changed ever since he first joined team eight. At first, Kiba had been angered that their friend Shino had been transferred to team seven, and that they had gotten Naruto in return. And even though Kiba had eventually accepted the Uzumaki, and they even became friends, Naruto had never really noticed the changes.

'_The fox was messing with my mind. I was too busy acting like a paranoid idiot, too busy trying to keep my growing anger in check, to notice how much my role in the team has changed,'_ Naruto mused. '_I wonder… how much will change when I figure out what that dream meant? What was that stuff about my role, about that cycle which needs to be broken? Ah well, I can at least enjoy myself while this happiness lasts.'_ Yes, after Shino and Choji, Naruto realized full well how brutally short life could be.

"Fox-turd," Kiba countered, followed by a yip from Akamaru.

"Ass-sniffer."

"What the hell are you two doing?" Karin barged in. "And why are you… Wait, you've already finished your ramen, Nii-san? All of it?"

"Ehm, I was kinda hungry?" Naruto defended himself, weakly. And Karin, Hinata, and Kuranai all looked with the same deadpan expression: ramen-addict.

* * *

"Two days. Two freaking days. I'm grateful that Shizune-neechan had a shift now, she's easier on me than Baa-chan," Naruto whined.

"Tsunade-sama just worried a lot about you, Naruto-kun," Hinata smiled. Naruto had finally been allowed to leave the hospital. His stamina had returned, and this last day had been hell for him. The scar on his shoulder would likely stay. It was the first scar Naruto had on his body, considering how he always healed perfectly due to the chakra of the Kyuubi which was flowing through his system. However, with the poisoning, that chakra had been blocked, which significantly slowed down his healing, even after Tsunade had created an antidote. The effect would soon wear off, though.

Jinchuriki or no, Naruto was an Uzumaki, and the Uzumaki clan was well known for their incredibly strong life forces. So even if Naruto had not been a jinchuriki, he still would have healed faster than what was considered to be 'normal'.

"I know… and I appreciate how much she cares. A lot, actually. But I don't like hospitals. And her putting me on a ramen-free diet was just plain cruelty."

They passed the corner, with Naruto half-afraid that they'd meet Tsunade before he was outside the doors of the hospital. But much to his surprise, someone else was waiting there. "Sakura-san?" Hinata was apparently equally surprised- not entirely pleasantly surprised either, considering the history between the Haruno and Naruto. Sakura had always chosen Sasuke's side, even when the latter had been so obviously wrong.

"Ah, Hinata-san, Naruto… Naruto-san," Sakura nearly stumbled, so quickly did she turn around. "Shizune-sempai told me that you were leaving today, and I… well, I wanted to talk," the pinkette hesitated. In fact, she barely looked Naruto in the eyes. Still, part of her behavior seemed off, at least to Hinata's eyes. It was as if Sakura was not totally honest, as if she said the words but did not believe in what she said- which was odd, considering how spirited Sakura usually was.

"Yes?" Naruto frowned when a silence fell.

"Erm, well, what I wanted to say was… I'm sorry," she suddenly bowed. "I treated you horribly, even though you were right. You were right about Sasuke-ku… Sasuke-san. I knew he had issues, but I never expected him to betray Konoha, to willingly side with Orochimaru, I just don't understand it. I'm not even sure if I want to understand it, either. Not after Shino…"

This had been more honest, more personal, as far as Hinata could judge. Still, she couldn't escape the thought that Sakura had changed somehow, that something within her had been broken. Then again, Hinata couldn't tell how she would feel if Naruto had done such a thing. A betrayal like this was almost even worse than him dying. In a sense, Hinata felt pity for Sakura, although Hinata never understood how Sakura had managed to maintain her blind faith in Sasuke in spite of everything he had done. She could not forget how Sakura had first blamed Naruto for Sasuke's descent into darkness. But this betrayal had changed her.

Similarly confused, but lacking the insight of the byakugan, Naruto stared at the pink-haired girl. He couldn't feel any particularly negative emotions from her, but something did feel strange. It was as if her core was quenched from all emotions. Yet, like Hinata, he too thought that it was due to the impact of Sasuke's defection and Shino's death. However, in a faraway part of his mind, Naruto did note the vague similarities between how Sakura felt and those strange Anbu he occasionally spotted when they were spying on him. For some odd reason, Naruto had been unable to detect their emotions, as if they were empty inside. Perhaps this was what happened to Sakura too, that what Sasuke did had broken her heart? "Why the sudden change?" he asked, regardless of the conclusion he had reached. "You always believed in him no matter what, why this change?"

"Because I… I… Shino-kun…" Sakura began to cry. Which was somewhat odd, considering the lack of strong underlying emotions behind the display. "I was numbed by those senbon, but I could see. That bitch took pity on me, but I saw how Sasuke… how he just stood there. He did nothing, nothing to stop that archer from shooting down Shino. Because of Sasuke, Shino was caught by surprise, and killed!"

"He wanted his revenge, no matter who stood in his way," Naruto said with blunt honesty. "All that matters to Sasuke now is how to get to Itachi and avenge his clan." Though, he still felt rather conflicted. Naruto didn't feel like he was in a position to condemn Sasuke for his desire to avenge his precious people. '_I did too many bad things myself. And I now know it wasn't just the Kyuubi who caused my darkest emotions. Part of me is evil too. I was blind to who I was- and perhaps still am.'_

"I know," Sakura surprised the others by simply accepting that fact. Perhaps things would have been different if Shino had survived, but it seemed like his death had broken Sakura's near-worshipful feelings regarding Sasuke. Then again, neither Naruto nor Hinata could know about Sakura's meeting with Danzo. No one knew…

Perhaps without Danzo, Sakura still would have sought for some reason why Sasuke did it, look for excuses, find some way to redeem him, to get him back to Konoha, to return things to how they used to be. He had been the only one for her, the only one whom Sakura truly loved. How could she give up on him? Inner-Sakura did not know. But Inner-Sakura, the manifestation of Sakura's emotions, had been trapped ever since Danzo cast his Kotoamatsukami on Sakura.

The powerful yet subtle genjutsu had subjugated Sakura's mind to Danzo's will. She had become a loyal pawn in his game to gain control over the village. And Inner-Sakura was reduced to nothing but a spectator. '_And now Baka-Sakura is wriggling her way into Naruto's heart again. Not that she's ever going to win him over; he's far too focused on Hinata for her to achieve that. But it would be dangerous if he decides to forgive her. Ugh, I told her: be honest with Naruto, Naruto is the good guy. But did she listen? No. Sasuke this, Sasuke that, and now she got us into this mess,'_ the locked-away inner persona thought bitterly. Even shouting her frustrations at her main personality was pointless.

As a manifestation of her true emotions, Inner-Sakura had been isolated by Danzo, even if the man hadn't known about the split nature of her mind. But the fact remained that the voice of Inner-Sakura remained unheard. '_And now I'm powerless. Utterly beaten. The idiot-me even accepted Danzo's crazy ideology. And like the loyal puppet she now is, she goes after Naruto when he orders her to do so. I suppose it was to be expected that Tsunade fell for the deceit, as she doesn't know the old me at all. And the position we're in, with losing both our teammates, was enough to get her sympathy. Perhaps I was foolish to think that Naruto would see through the façade?'_

Ironically, if not for Inner-Sakura, Naruto would have sensed that something was fundamentally wrong with Sakura. But due to the hidden persona, he still felt some of her emotionsswirling in all directions, even though it was distorted, instead of her being as blank as many of the Root Anbu were to him.

* * *

The pair had continued the path in silence, both consumed by the thoughts following the meeting with Sakura. "It's odd," Naruto finally spoke up, as they walked over the dilapidated path through the range of trees which surrounded the Uzumaki compound. "For Sakura to give up her faith in Sasuke, I mean."

"Y-yes," Hinata hesitated. "She did seem… different."

"Eh?"

"I cannot explain it, but she seemed… well, something was off. Perhaps she is traumatized by what happened, and that she reacts differently because of that? I will have to ask Okaa-sama," Hinata admitted. Though, she would ask Suzaku as well, but Hinata could not talk about the summon contract to others. She had made her vow.

"Maybe. But I couldn't feel anything particularly negative about her," Naruto shrugged. Still, she did feel odd. Perhaps Hinata was right, and it was caused by some sort of trauma. '_Sakura was never really that strong, mentally, so perhaps it is indeed the most logical explanation. She has lost so much now.'_

"Are you… Are you really healed, Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Naruto smiled. "My shoulder and arm are a bit sore, but otherwise I'm doing well enough. I had to promise Shizune-neechan that I wouldn't train, though."

"You seem rather thoughtful," Hinata muttered. "Did something happen. Eh, I mean, I know a lot happened, but," the stumbled over her words, not wanting to make it sound too obvious that she wanted to talk about that hug. "But… it is not that, is it? The battle, I mean."

"I got a strange lesson about my purpose," Naruto sighed. He knew he couldn't talk about the Gekihoko, or how it had showed him the island. Naruto couldn't talk about the doors he had seen. He had sworn secrecy. No, if anything, he could ask Tsunade and Jiraiya about information about Uzushiogakure. They wouldn't connect that curiosity to the divine seal which rests on his right hand- but it wasn't anything he could ask Hinata about. She wouldn't know. Their generation was barely taught about Uzushio at all. Naruto wondered why, because he did figure out that Konoha and Uzushio had been allied. Why were they practically erased from the history books which the academy provided? "I need to become stronger," he eventually settled. "Much, much stronger. By the way, do you know how Tayuya is doing?"

"Anko-san keeps her powerless," Hinata said, perfectly hiding her slight feelings of disappointment. She had been so close to the subject, yet he had remained oblivious. Although she never blamed him: she blamed herself for lacking to courage to talk about it. "It is a bit unnerving, how eager Anko is to use poisons. Tayuya-san doesn't seem to be very happy about that."

* * *

'_Not very happy, Hinata said. What an understatement,'_ Naruto grumbled inwardly. Raido and the oddly-merry Anko had warned that the (nearly pinkish) red-haired girl was not really that happy about her captivity. Then again, he needed to talk to her. Jiraiya had agreed earlier that if there was a chance to gain the girl's allegiance, it would be worth the shot. Who knew what information one of Orochimaru's personal guard detail could provide?

But Naruto found that the influence of the cursed seal was strong. It was far stronger than what Anko had to endure, and even the snake mistress admitted that she had a hard time controlling herself at times. And unlike Anko, Tayuya had tapped into its foul power for who-knows-how-long. Naruto considered that Tayuya's seal was newer, so likely more effective as well. '_Then again, it is probably also because Anko always resented the power of the seal, and that Orochimaru discarded her as a failed experiment,'_ Naruto thought, half-heartedly dodging the book that Tayuya threw at him.

'_Perhaps it was a mistake to come in here, all on my own? Sure, I'm stronger, while she is unable to generate chakra, even though I have less than half of my usual reserves, but to start off like this… I'd rather gain her trust, rather than have to beat her down.'_

Tayuya disagreed, though. When she lunged at him, aiming to break his nose with her fist, Naruto was forced to act. Catching her by the wrist, Naruto stopped the loudly cursing girl, and pushed her back.

"I suppose talking to you is pointless now," Naruto sighed. '_I suppose I could use a similar method to isolate the cursed seal's chakra as I did with Gaara… Hmm, it seems unlikely that this seal would hoard chakra independently, like the Ichibi would've done. Still, I'd better make a similar insulating seal, but with a keyhole this time, before I screw up again,'_ Naruto mused, ignoring the girl who was shouting some kind of profanity at him. The alert part of his mind registered something about him being the result of an elephant making love to a pig. Though, he had no idea what twisted mind would think of such cross-species breeding. Nor why a singing chef would be required to encourage the two animals to do the deed.

"Shut the hell up already. Just take off your shirt, I'll be right back," he grumbled absentmindedly.

He ignored her, and left the room, closing the door behind him. He would have to get some ink first, and his finest brush. Drawing that seal would take some time. With Gaara, he had prepared most of it in advance, as he knew the basics of his seal due to Temari. '_Now that I think about it, I've barely seen Gaara. He and Temari are staying with Baki right now, weren't they?'_ Wrapping up the entire new peace treaty between Konoha and Suna was time-consuming work, especially because the council wanted more and more from Suna. Jiraiya had been rather frustrated by the short-sighted greed of the elders and the clan heads.

It was as if they couldn't, or just did not want to, realize that Sunagakure attacked them due to their own financial troubles. The financial troubles were, in part, caused by Konoha taking many of Suna's missions. Sure, it had gained quite a few ryo to do those missions, but had it been worth this conflict? Jiraiya didn't think so, and Naruto completely agreed with him after Jiraiya explained the situation.

Then again, neither of them were clan head. And it seemed as if every head wanted 'more': more money, more power, more influence, more… More. There were petty rivalries between clans, childish reasoning because 'they were the strongest of Konoha', etcetera, etcetera. '_Idiots. They are never satisfied, always remaining jealous of others. Can't they just realize that we're all one big village, instead of a collection of clans?'_

* * *

The door slammed shut, but Tayuya's mouth fell wide open. "Take off my shirt?" she muttered, disgusted by what the blond had just said. "That filthy little… take off my _shirt_?!"

She stomped back to her bed. Truthfully, she had known that something was off. She had practically been smuggled into the village, according to what that meddlesome cat had said. After arriving, she had been locked into this room. It was spacious, well lit through some kind of strange sealing array on the ceiling, and comfortably furnished. It was the best prison Tayuya had ever seen or heard of. So, naturally, she had expected there to be a catch.

She was being kept like a rare bird in a golden cage, and now her captor had showed his true colors. But what choice did she have? She had been utterly beaten, and on top of everything he had even refused to kill her. If Orochimaru… no, _when_ Orochimaru found out, she would be doomed.

As a kunoichi, she knew the inevitable but cruel reality of what happened upon capture. However, she had never expected a kid like him to be like this. Then again, he was a container for a demon, a jinchuriki, and the stories that circulated, even in Otogakure, all shared one thing: the humans containing the demons ceased to be humane. Especially notoriously inhuman rapping skills.

'_I suppose him being a jinchuriki explains why that brat asked this… If he's part demon, he will have a demonic lust as well.'_

"Dammit!" Tayuya frustratedly kicked against the bed. "I don't… not like this… But what choice do I have? I can't even gather chakra, due to the crap that insane bitch keeps feeding me. And that retarded cat, talking to me as if I'm someone else. Why couldn't he just kill me," she felt tears stinging in her eyes. She knew why. It was the right of the victor to decide the fate of the defeated, to enjoy the spoils of victory. '_But I'm not going down that easily. I'll just appear to be cooperative, but the moment he has his guard down, I'll bite his goddamn dick off!'_

* * *

Oblivious to Tayuya's mistaken train of thought, Naruto re-entered the room with his arms full with books, paper, brushes, and ink. "You're back already?" the spiteful voice made him wonder why he even saved the girl.

"Yeah," he grumbled without even looking at her. "Just lie down on the bed."

"Filthy trash," Tayuya growled.

"Dammit, what is your problem, you… you… wha?" Naruto lost his voice, merely reduced to gasping. In front of Naruto stood a furious, yet stark naked, Tayuya. He had a full view on her petite and lean body, from her perky breasts down to the red tuft of hair between her legs. While his mind had severe problems processing the entire situation, as it was the first time he saw a completely nude girl up close, part of his body reacted instantly- instantly, and very, very unwantedly. "W-w-what? What on earth are you doing?!"

"What do you mean, what am I doing? You filthy raping piece of trash," Tayuya growled.

"Rape?" all the books, scrolls, brushes, and ink fell from his arms. "What the hell do you think I am going to do to you?! Idiot! I'm going to seal that freaking mark that Orochimaru left on you!"

"…Seal. My cursed seal? You're… You're kidding, right?"

"I'm not kidding-tebayo!" Naruto nearly shouted with his voice breaking, half panicking, half… why was he enjoying the view? This was Chie's precious person! He wanted to control himself, but regardless of everything, he was still a teenage boy who just saw... Beneath that wide shirt she had been wearing, she had been more curvaceous than Naruto had expected, especially from a girl acting as boyish as Tayuya did. She was not yet filled out like an adult woman, as the girl seemed only a year, at most, older than he was. But somehow that fact only made the situation more… She was definitely not as curvy as he made his Oiroke no Jutsu, but that jutsu had been merely a distraction, a way to knock out the closet perverts, and it had been a great jutsu to use against the Hyuga (most of whom where closet perverts by default). That form was more or less a joke to Naruto, so it didn't affect him as much as seeing someone of his own age… like _this_. "W-what the hell do you think I am?"

"A demon," Tayuya retorted with a deadpan expression.

"If you call me a demon again, I'll quit playing nice. Now, put some freaking clothes on, you idiot," Naruto finally managed to avert his eyes, and his face, despite scowling, as red as a beet. "I just wanted that shirt out of the way, so that I could work on that cursed seal! Not because I… you know, _that_. I'd never… never force… Ugh, just put on some clothes, dammit!"

"Shit," Tayuya felt like a complete idiot now. Worse, much worse, she felt like a completely naked idiot. It infuriated her. Never in her life had she felt so terribly embarrassed. "Y-you said you wanted to take me into your clan. A-and then… You told me to undress, you son of an unborn goldfish!"

"What kind of shitty insult is that? It doesn't even make any… wait, don't distract me, dammit! Why would you draw such stupid conclusion, baka," Naruto sputtered, still looking away. Seriously, why wasn't she dressing herself already? For an instant, he had tried to put his mind at ease, but when he wandered off to Hinata… It was a bad move, very bad move. Both images collided, and made the situation _far_ worse. Thinking about the shy Hyuga heiress while he still had the image of the naked Tayuya burnt into his eyes could not be considered to be a smart move while attempting to calm his mind. Especially not while Tayuya already had a completely wrong idea of the situation. She'd definitely get the wrong idea if he blushed even more than he already did. "I was talking about your seal, wasn't I?"

Quick as lightning, Tayuya put on her pants. She fumbled with the bandages which she used to wrap her chest, so that her breasts wouldn't be smashing around during high-speed movement. But she was too infuriated to do it right. "Ah, fuck this!" she threw the linen away in frustration. "You only need to see my back, right?"

"Uhh, depends were the seal is?" Naruto said sheepishly.

"My neck. It's on my fucking neck."

"Good," he laughed awkwardly, attempting to lighten the atmosphere a little, not that it would have convinced anyone. "For a moment, I was afraid it would be on your chest or anything. I mean, after this… Ermm."

"Pervert," Tayuya scoffed.

"Hey! I'm not a… Look, you were the one who drew the wrong conclusion!" the Uzumaki countered. "I, uhm... I didn't want you to think the wrong way, okay? This has already started out pretty wrong."

"Tell that before you order a girl whom you personally captured and imprisoned to undress, you retard!" she growled.

"I only talked about the shirt!" Naruto defended himself, though the excessive blushing didn't make it easier for him to get his point across. He couldn't get the image of Hinata out of his mind. The harder he tried to ignore it, the more it haunted him. "I told you: that seal influences your mind, so I'll have to isolate it if you want think clearly again. You've seen Anko, right? She has the same kind of seal, so it's not like we don't know what the bloody thing can do."

"Like that stupid thing would drive me nuts," Tayuya scowled. Still, she saw no other option but to obey. She couldn't fight him off. Truthfully, she didn't mind if the seal would be blocked off. If that meant that Orochimaru couldn't find her, or would cause him to assume she had died, she had one less headache to worry about. So she lay down at the bed, lying on her stomach, so that Naruto would have a good view on the seal in her neck. '_At least that brat is not as bad as I first thought,'_ she mused. '_Still, Orochimaru-sama may be a huge asshole, but he wouldn't corrupt my mind… would he?'_

The unruly pinkish-red hair brushed aside, Naruto indeed had a good view. She did wear her tights again, but the smooth skin of her exposed back was enough to make him blush once more. The occasional scar did not bother him, as he expected such things from a rough, yet highly-trained, kunoichi. Well-trained she was, there was not a modicum of excessive fat to be seen. Still, she seemed 'soft' enough to not make her appear too masculine. All in all, Naruto thought that the girl was rather pretty, in spite of her attitude. Being able to see the sides of her breasts wasn't making it easy to keep viewing her as an enemy either. It wasn't that she was particularly gifted in that area, being rather slender, but still… He was thankful she couldn't see him, as she lay face down. "What the… this is a completely different design," he muttered, once he got his eyes to the place where they _should _be looking. "This is more like a triskelion than the tomoe-versions which Anko and Sasuke have."

"Well, duhh," Tayuya was an impatient person, and usually did not restrain herself in any way whatsoever. Although, Naruto did note that she didn't feel as vile and angry as before, as if the confusion had somehow reduced her most negative emotions. "Orochimaru-sama doesn't just give anyone a cursed seal of heaven. It's not like he uses the same version on anyone. Besides, he wasn't planning on using any of us as his next body- we were his freaking guards!"

"So, this is a weaker version?" Naruto concluded.

Not thinking things through, because the prideful girl was too pissed off by the idea that Naruto insinuated that she was weaker, Tayuya turned around. "There's no way that I am weaker than that Uchiha faggot; this seal was just a better fit for someone with my talents for genjutsu, so… what the fuck are you looking away for? Oh, god-fucking-dammit!" she cursed, and cursed, and spouted more profanities, before she quickly turned back. "Just hurry up so that I can wear a fucking shirt."

"R-right," though Naruto first needed a piece of cloth to stop his nose from bleeding. He had not been expecting her to turn around, and show her chest once more. '_Damn it, I'm being influenced by Ero-sennin!'_

'_Take a deep breath. Focus. Control.'_ Taking out a magnifier, Naruto examined the seal. At first glance, it just seemed to be a simple symbol, but it was actually far more delicate, and strange. It was stranger than Naruto had ever seen, in any of the materials he had gone through. Considering the number of scrolls of his clan's fuinjutsu that he had read over the years, that was quite something Naruto was not expecting. "Then again, this is Orochimaru we're talking about," he mumbled aloud.

"What?"

"Eh? Oh, nothing. Drawing this new seal will take some time, so don't move. Unless you want me to start over again," Naruto grumbled. "And once the sealing starts, it will hurt like hell. But try to remain still for as long as you can. I could knock you out, but this works better when you're still conscious."

"Like a bit of pain would meant shit to me," Tayuya scoffed arrogantly. "And I repeat my earlier question: why the fuck would someone like you do such a thing for me?"

"You're precious to Chie, and therefore I will at least try to drag you out of the darkness that Orochimaru threw you in." In a tone of voice which held a surprising amount of determination, Naruto cut off her arguments.

"But why? Why for me? Why for that cat?"

"Chie knows what it is to be outcast, therefore I was able to free her from her solitude. But how much better would it be to return her precious person to her?" Naruto explained. "You are corrupted by that seal, but you're not completely evil like the others. You are arrogant and prideful, yet you do not enjoy killing others."

"What do you know about-"

"You left Sakura alive. The pink haired girl," he clarified when he saw her look of confusion. "You spared her when you could've easily killed her. Besides, it's rather pointless to lie about such things to me," Naruto added with a bitter tone. Seeing her shrug, not understanding the remark, Naruto decided to tell her. "I'm the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, right?" She nodded in response. "Because of that bastard, I can sense negative emotions."

"Sounds like a rather broken ability. Must be rather useful."

"Neh, not really," he mumbled, while drawing the first lines which would form the basis for the eventual seal. "Feeling how screwed up humans really are behind their little two-faced masks, is actually rather disturbing. I mean, whether it is that piece of crap of a snake, or a random civilian down here, both carry their own darkness. Hate, greed, envy… everyone has some of it. Trying to make sense out of it is rather annoying."

"And you're saying you didn't kill me because I didn't feel dark enough?" the skepticism was something that somewhat amused Naruto. "Do you even know what kind of shit I did?"

"Oh, there is reason enough for me to kill you," he said calmly. "Especially because Hinata was hurt because of you. But I spared you because Chie asked me. And because Hinata had taught me that even wrong people can change, if they have a chance to do so. But you wouldn't understand. Not yet, anyway. Chie never really asked me for anything. For her to beg me to spare you… well, like I said: Chie and I share a bond. Aside from my unfortunate ability to sense another's dark emotions, which caused me to isolate myself, I was already shunned for what I am. Like you said, people see me as a demon. Though I have never been accused of being a rapist before," he added with a bitter chuckle.

"Why… That talking cat says she knows me. 'Suzume', she called me," Tayuya grunted. "It doesn't make any sense. I bet this is all one big fucking lie. Once I'm out of this, I'm going to kick the crap out of all of you!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know you're eager to break out. But without chakra, it would be pointless. Even with chakra you wouldn't stand much of a chance, as I'm your worst possible opponent. Must suck to be a genjutsu specialist," Naruto smirked, though the girl could not see. "Now, stop moving. If I screw up this seal, you could end up dead, or worse."

"What's worse?"

"Well, I suppose you'd be a pretty pet to keep in my bedroom in the event that your mind gets destroyed when the seal fails," the Uzumaki laughed devilishly. "Relax! It was just a joke. Don't kill me because of a joke. You were the one who started this mess! Where did you hide that kunai? You're only wearing pants! Hey, cut it out! No, not literally 'cut', dammit! Argh!"

* * *

**Bonus: The Marked Man (4) **

* * *

'_This is the place,'_ Anko couldn't recall feeling this nervous in a long time. But this was the right address. The tiny sign also indicated that this really was the famous Takazawa restaurant. It was one of the few restaurants which could compete with the establishments at the capital, or so she had heard. Anko being who she was, had never even considered entering the place. Someone like her wouldn't belong there. This was for the upper class, the clan heads, and wealthy merchants and such. it was not for the student of one of the worst traitors that Konoha had ever produced.

It was definitely not a place where she expected herself to be fitting in. Even though Kurenai and a certain meddlesome cat had put the Hyuga up to it, Ako had outdone herself in dressing Anko as elegantly as was possible. According to Ako, the snake mistress would even fit in a crowd of main house Hyuga. '_I'm still not sure whether that was a compliment or an insult. Why can't I read her expressions?' _The woman sighed, and stepped forward. She feared that this evening would end up as a disaster, and she didn't want it to. '_Let's just get it over with. If I screw up, then so be it. He has shown more understanding than I anticipated anyway, so who knows…'_

* * *

'_Sitting alone at a table in the middle of the restaurant, seeing everyone else being cheerfully chatting with someone else, while you are the one waiting for your date… Genma was right when he said that this is the loneliest you can feel,'_ Raido sighed.

He didn't really know what to expect. He didn't even know whether he was ready for this. He had loved, truly loved, only once. But that girl had died a long time ago. Still, it made him doubt whether he could ever feel such a thing again. He didn't think it would be fair to compare a new love to the old one either, as it would be impossible for anyone to compete with a memory like that. '_Then what am I doing here? What am I even expecting?'_

Sure, Anko was a woman who was far too good looking for a scarred and boring man like him. She might have her own little issues, but still… she was leagues above him, that was something of which he was convinced. He didn't deserve her. They didn't make a good match in terms of behavior either. Her volatile and excitable personality completely contrasted with his own restraint. And yet… '_I'm just going to end up boring her,'_ he feared that this evening would end up as a disaster, and he didn't want it to. '_Let's just get it over with. If I screw up, then so be it. She has shown more understanding than I anticipated anyway, so who knows…'_

* * *

To the astonishment of both, however, the dinner was going extremely well. Talking went a little awkwardly, especially after Raido made a (somewhat clumsy) compliment on Anko's looks (and she didn't know how to respond without sounding too unrefined). But after a little while, they found a subject that interested the both of them. It was not the most usual subject to discuss while eating, but both of them were very knowledgeable when it came to poisons.

Anko preferred those which paralyzed and caused pain, using them for torture and interrogation, while Raido preferred those which killed without leaving a single trace. They were so engrossed in the conversation that they barely even noticed when their own waiter stood next to their table. "Can I offer you any of our desserts, Madame, Monsieur?"

'_I can't go ordering dango here, can I?'_ Anko mused. "Do you have Uiro?" If Dango was too ordinary, then perhaps the traditional steam cakes would be classier?

"Which flavors would you prefer? We have green tea, sakura, strawberry-"

"Why don't you select a few of each flavor?" Raido suggested. Although, considering the leverage that he had on the owner, Raido's suggestions were practically commands. The owner was far too anxious to risk endangering his supply to Konoha's finest sake label. He did not how Raido was connected to 'the marked man', though. "I'd prefer it if you left out the chestnut, I'm not too fond of the taste."

"As you wish," the owner bowed and left.

"Did I make a mistake?" Raido frowned, noticing that Anko sighed.

"Oh, no. Nothing is wrong. It's perfect. Too perfect, I'd even say," she laughed awkwardly, not really sure how to hold herself. And on top of that, the damned blue dress was far too constricting. She'd rather have picked the revealing one, but Ako and Kurenai had insisted that this one looked better on her. But having her chest completely wrapped up was… After all this time, the trench coat had given her a feeling of freedom. '_Then again, I can't get into this sort of high-class restaurant while dressed like that,'_ she frowned. "No, I was just… pondering."

"May I ask what about?"

"Ugh, it is just a stupid thought, but… when I see that guy scurrying around in his own business. I wonder what it would feel like to own a place like this- my own shop."

"You wish to retire?" Raido was surprised, thinking that the woman loved her job at the T&amp;I department far too much to ever switch to something else.

"No! Not while I'm still mobile, at least," she laughed. "But to own a shop of my own… when I was a little girl, I dreamt of having that. It is kinda silly, I guess."

"Why would it be silly?"

"Well, it would never work out anyway."

"If you don't intend to quit your job as a shinobi, then you would not intend to run the business yourself either. A bit like how I run the brewery together with my cousin?"

"I suppose?"

"Then why would it be silly?"

"I have the funds, but my reputation… I don't know anyone… setting up a thing like that, I just don't know."

"Not everything would need to be out in the open. You'd be surprised how incredibly stupid buyers can be. They usually don't think with their brains, but rather with their wallets," Raido smirked unusually deviously. Then again, when it came to money, he could be a wholly different person. "Perhaps… perhaps I could help you out a little? I built up quite a few contacts throughout the village, even though barely anyone knows that I'm the one behind 'The Marked Man'. Do you think he knows it?" Raido pointed at the owner. "No, he just got a message that I'm a good friend of the person behind the sake, and that he's supposed to treat me as best as he can. I even got a pretty hefty discount," the scars on Raido's face twisted a little when he began to chuckle. "Although, I don't know what kind of business it is that you would like to start?"

"You'd really...? Erm… I was thinking of-" she mumbled something so soft that it was inaudible, even to Raido's honed senses.

"Sorry?"

"Lingerie."

"I was expecting a liquor shop, but this makes sense too," the Namiashi smirked. "With the trench coat and all, I mean."

"I _knew_ that you were ogling me!" Anko exclaimed victoriously, quite a few decibels too loud for Raido's tastes; several more decibels too loud for everyone else present in the classy establishment. Anko was, however, oblivious to the fact that the remaining customers were all looking at her. "So you're a closet pervert after all! Sweet!"

* * *

**A/N**: Hmm… after so many chapters of battling, this one felt a bit slowish while writing. Then again, I had a nice opportunity to focus a little on team eight (version 3.0), and could get Sakura's little subplot moving. Plus, bringing Tayuya into the story required some work. In earlier versions, I couldn't get the scene right, constantly making either Naruto or Tayuya too dark. Then I got the idea of the little misunderstanding with the 'take off your shirt' remark. The chaos that followed nearly wrote itself. But for some odd reason, I came to like today's bonus part almost more than the main piece, almost making me regret not writing an Anko-centric fic. (Illuminated gets an Orochimaru face and starts drooling.)

Today's recommendation is one of the most popular NH stories that is updated regularly: **True Potential **by **DryBonesKing**. Anyone among you who hasn't read it should do that right away, as it isn't popular without good reasons! Especially the bit where he has them visiting Uzushiogakure peaked my interest.

I thank those among you who cheer me on with **reviews**. And all who helped me create this story along the way. And last, but definitely not least, **Illuminated**, for without him my story would've contained a lot more grammatical screw-ups (and less lingerie).

-Z-


	62. New Year's Eve Omake

**Omake**

**New Year's Eve**

* * *

School was boring. Very boring. Although the academy where they were trained to become shinobi was less dull than the normal civilian school, it was still… dull. Dull. Dull. My God it's dull, it's so desperately dull and tedious and stuffy and boring and des-per-ate-ly DULL.

But there were those rare few days when things were slightly better. Today was such a day. No lessons, but instead a celebration of the New Year which was to come. Boring speeches aside, he was glad that Iruka wasn't there anymore, the event itself had been reasonably fun. Well, as much fun as Konohamaru could have, that is. The death of his grandfather still fresh in his memory, the young boy was still slightly depressed.

After the party he, Udon, and Moegi were joined, another surprise, by his young rival. Hyuga Hanabi was, however, heading in the same direction as they were, considering most of the more important clans had flocked together in the same general district of the village. Just as the clanless had their own part in town. Moegi was, as always, trying to get a proper conversation rolling with the stoic Hyuga, while Udon did his utmost best at not having his usual drip of snot underneath his nose. It eluded Konohamaru as to why his friend always attempted to look less sickly and weak when the Hyuga girl was around. To Konohamaru, the girl was a rival. A rival at being the top of their class. But above all a rival at capturing that hellish talking cat. The malicious feline called 'Chie'.

Just when the boy was thinking about the bane of all mammals, he saw the critter walking through the street. "It's her!" unfortunately he wasn't the only one who saw her. Those pesky Hyuga eyes…

"Hey, no fair," Konohamaru protested, when Hanabi shot away. At this rate, she'd be the one to capture the cat first. Because, something was very wrong with the creature, considering how it was swaggering from one side of the street to the other, almost as if she was drunk. A bit like how Konohamaru had seen his uncle, after the man had gobbled up too much sake. Though this only happened when his aunt wasn't in the village, she seemed to have an aversion against drunken people.

"I'z can haz no moore kadznibz," Chie slurred, clumsily evading the Hyuga girl. Konohamaru jumped in right after her, but somehow the cat was too slippery to catch. "Leez me all…alllooo…alone. I'z ze hatache."

"You're drunk!" Konohamaru accusedly pointed his finger.

"I'z no drunk. I'z catznipz," Chie continued to prattle. "U too lout, zoo-legz. U no halp. Eye wantz zilenz…"

In some strange way the cat, intoxicated by an unknown quantity of catnip, managed to elude all four children, and made a run for it. Not wanting to lose to each other, the children all hurried after the long-tailed creature.

Not too far away from them, a certain blond chunin was jumping across the rooftops. Ako was beginning to worry why Chie hadn't come home for dinner, and considering the creature's track record… Naruto wondered what kind of chaos he'd end up in this time. He had heard how badly Kakashi had gotten injured. Twice, at that. Tsunade had barely finished patching him up when she heard why Anko had put him in the hospital in the first place. And Tsunade did not take kindly to lingerie-thieving perverts.

As a certain bruised Hokage could testify.

'_Just why did that idiot dig his own grave by talking about 'his precious'?' _Naruto grumbled to himself. Well, he was technically 'Naruto', even though he was but a clone. And the life of a clone sucked. He'd be kicking the bucket before he'd even have any fun. He blamed his creator for the 'living life to the fullest' mentality. It wasn't like he, a mere clone, could be held responsible if he made a few detours, right?

After a little detour which 'coincidentally' passed by the Hyuga estate, the clone noticed four familiar children. Correction, he noticed four familiar children chasing a familiar fluffy tail.

"Chie… what has she been up to this time?"

The clone wasn't really prepared to intervene, though. Letting the kids continue their fruitless chase after the much faster bakeneko offered quite an entertaining sight. Not that he would let Ako know that he sometimes aided the mischievous cat in her onslaught. "They're heading toward the Uchiha district. Interesting," 'Naruto' smirked. But why was Chie heading towards the district? Not even Naruto could tell. Though whatever the creature was planning, it couldn't be good. So, even though it was with some reluctance, the clone revealed himself and stopped the cat.

"Whizkerz-zoo-leg?"

"What are you planning this time?"

"Boom," Chie chuckled. "Boom!"

"Boom?" Naruto blinked, signalling the four approaching children to keep their distance. It was New Year's Eve, so the creature could've gotten her paws on some firework.

"Everything goes BOOOM!"

"You've gone mad," Naruto sighed. "Are you drunk?"

"Katznipz, zoo-leg. I haz katznipz," the feline chuckled like a madm… madcat.

"Catnip or not, you're becoming a danger to the entire village at this rate. We're going back to the Uzumaki grounds, right now."

"No!" the cat childishly refused.

"Yes."

"Nononononononono!"

Somehow the cat had gotten a little firecracker in it paws, and… Naruto began to wonder if he was drugged as well, but he really did see her do it. The cat lit the firecracker and threw it. "Everyzing go boom!"

"…it is only one firecracker," Naruto face palmed. "You bakaneko."

"Don't call me a bzakaneko, you inzolent zoo-leg!"

The clone didn't even respond, instead simply grabbed the cat by its tail. Chie was too high on catnip to fight back. One little seal later, and she was bound. "You are a stupid cat, Chie. Bakaneko is the right word for an idiot like you. Ugh, I don't like addicts…"

"Hey, we were about to catch her," Konohamaru pouted. "No fair!"

"Yeah, I saw that," the clone looked at the kids with an expression that made them, Hanabi especially, furious. He treated them like children. "Now go back to your homes, and stop loitering in areas you're not even supposed to enter in the first place, you-"

* * *

The little firecracker made a nice flight, short and surprisingly precise, through the broken window of the nearest shop. In her addled mind, Chie had mistaken the little thing for a heavy explosive, one which she could use to remove the property that belonged to the one who had hurt Naruto and the others.

One thing anyone should know about the Uchiha clan, however, was that they were very self-reliant. Even before they faced the growing discrimination against them, the Uchiha had been one of the few who remained true to the old ways of when they were an individual clan. As such, the compound also included a wide variety of stores and workshops. Some of them were known to Konoha and some… some of the shops manufactured and/or sold good which were not known to the rest of the village. Acting as military police, the clan often confiscated good which were deemed illegal. Most of the times these good were destroyed, however, in some cases…

The little firecracker thrown by the wayward and intoxicated cat was thrown into one such shop. The Uchiha who lived here was a fanatic when it came to explosive devices. Prior his untimely death during the massacre, the man traded many of these illegal weapons with his clan members. Acting as military police, the Uchiha needed all the advantages they could get while fighting other trained shinobi. One common disadvantage of traps was that they were traceable due to the chakra used to activate or charge them.

The explosives created in this particular workshop, however, did not require chakra. Originally imported from a faraway nation, these weapons were perfect when facing the sensory type of opponent. The downside, however, was that after a certain amount of time would pass, the explosive material became rather unstable.

Hidden beneath a shelf, the secret workshop had remained hidden when the anbu examined the compound after the massacre. The shelf had, however, gone rotten after all this time, and had collapsed. The little firecracker thrown by Chie thus, unintentionally, fell into this basement filled to the brim with these unstable combustibles…

It all led to a pounding explosion which sent Naruto and the children flying. More on instinct than due to conscious thought, Naruto created more clones, and ensured that the four children were safe. He looked at the Uchiha district in dismay. The rapidly spreading fire would consume far more than the four buildings which had been torn asunder due to the explosion.

'_Crap… my history with Sasuke is well known, so if I am the one found next to this chaos everyone would put the blame on me,'_ the clone's eyes widened. Anbu would already be on their way. "Scram," he ordered the children. "And keep your mouths shut until I found a way to explain this to the Hokage!"

The children didn't need to see him vanish with the cat to know that they too needed to haul ass. Now. Immediately. Not that Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon got that far… squads of anbu already appeared, drawn to the explosion and subsequent bonfire. Hanabi only managed to elude them thanks to her byakugan. And still it was a narrow escape. "I suppose it is my victory today for not getting caught?"

Flying through the shadows, the young Hyuga ran as fast as she could. Still, it took several minutes before she reached the safety of her clan's compound. Although, safety…

"Hanabi-chan," he father stood in the door opening.

"I think you have some explaining to do?" with her mother next to him. And both had their dojutsu activated. And Hanabi knew very well that their range was far enough to see where she had…

Damn. She was _so _busted.

* * *

With explosions going off in the distance, the entire group sat at the small cabin which stood on top of the large boulder at the centre of the pond in front of the Uzumaki complex. Raido, Anko, Ako, Karin, and Naruto, all were enjoying the evening. Sure, it was a bit chilly, but it was nothing a little heater couldn't fix. "They're a few hours early," Ako remarked. "Odd."

"Must be some idiot who put his firework on by accident again," Anko chuckled. "Poor sods. The anbu might tolerate the festivities of New Year's Eve, but everyone knows they don't like it when people set off their fireworks too early."

"But to this much of a glow is more than… Naruto? Ah, I see you found Chie," Ako smiled. Although her smile quickly withered when she saw the clone's expression. Something which Naruto noticed too.

"What did you two do?" he feared the worst.

"Chie… she had too much catnip," the clone cautiously backed away from Ako, whose fury began to rise. The Hyuga might not be much of a shinobi, but she was definitely terrifying. "She somehow got her paws on a firecracker, and… I don't know how it happened, but the damn thing exploded!"

"Firecrackers are meant to do that, moron," Naruto growled. "But that isn't what got you this nervous, is it."

"Ahh… not really," the clone laughed sheepishly. "The firecracker must've hit something else."

"What happened?" Anko laughed. "Did she blow up an entire compound or something?"

"…"

"…I was joking," Anko froze. "Y-you don't mean that-"

"Several buildings were destroyed in the explosion. Right now, the Uchiha grounds are on fire," the clone groaned. "I never expected one silly firecracker to cause such destruction!"

"You idiot!" Naruto slapped his clone. "You were just goofing off again, weren't you?"

"I'm a clone, so why the hell not?" the clone got annoyed. "Me and my brethren are little more than slaves, living super-short lives before we kick the bucket, so why not get a little fun?!"

Karin grimaced when she saw her brother assault his very own clone. Or the clone her brother, she lost track of who was who at this point. Meanwhile, Raido was trying to maintain his neutral composure. Anko did not bother with that, and was laughing her ass off. Which wasn't particularly difficult, considering how short her skirt was and how cold the evening air was. It would've frozen off anyway. Ako, on the other hand, was hovering over the bount criminal feline.

"Can eye haz furgivnis?" yes, the catnip was still going strong. Karin wondered how much of the stuff the cat had used to get this high.

Poof. '_Ah, that is Niisan busting his rebellious bunshin,'_ she turned to her brother, intending to ask what he would do about-

Poof. A second cloud of smoke appeared.

"Poof?" Karin exclaimed, gawking at the two clouds of smoke. "Where the hell did Niisan go?!"

* * *

Where did the real Naruto go? For this, we need to go back a few steps. You see, the young Uzumaki had different plans for New Year's Eve. So he instead left a clone at the estate, while going into the village himself. To wish a certain girl a happy new year. Unfortunately for him, said girl's mother caught him while he knocked on the girl's door.

"_I suppose I should see where my husband is, before he notices you," Hitomi had smiled, showing a mischievous side which even Hinata never saw before. "Oh, and there isn't a better place to watch the fireworks than from the top of the Hokage monument. It is perfect…"_

The young Hyuga heiress was still confused why her mother had acted like that. Why had she distracted Hiashi? But with the given opportunity, Hinata had been too startled to be governed by her bashful nature. So the timid girl had asked Naruto if he wanted to join her, to see if the view which Hitomi was talking about was indeed that good. Which was why he had left a clone to seek out the cat that he had originally set out to find.

Together they awaited the fireworks in silence. Sitting atop the stone head of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Naruto had fallen into a melancholic mood which Hinata rarely saw. Ever since he had been freed from the toxic clutches of the Kyuubi's malevolent influence, he had been more cheerful and open than she had ever seen him. So, even when he was melancholic, she still found some happiness in the fact that he didn't feel any need to put on a 'mask' any more. In fact, his honesty made her feel warm, made her feel safe and secure, yet paradoxically also very uncertain and afraid. '_Did I make a mistake? I just asked without thinking thing through, what if Naruto-kun rather stayed home? What if he rather stayed with his family, instead of…'_

"They're early," Naruto muttered, cutting off Hinata's rapidly darkening thoughts. "Fireworks," he pointed down at the village, seeing her confusion.

They both looked with interest at what they thought, from this distance, to be a bonfire. "T-the anbu aren't going to be pleased."

"You can say that again," Naruto chuckled. "I pity the idiot who did this."

Unknown to him, the two rebellious clones were currently arguing. The patient one scolding the impatient one, a heated discussion which evolved into a fistfight. With their creator's consciousness and memories, yet without any risk of the repercussions of their actions, the clones were often more reckless than Naruto himself. Irresponsibility also often led them to lose track of who their original actually was. But neither Naruto nor Hinata thought about this as none of them could know.

Instead, Naruto had become painfully aware of how close Hinata was. Some instinct within himself urged him to put his hand on her's, but he couldn't… he didn't know whether he should do such a bold thing. The entire Sasuke Retrieval mission had been over and done, but neither Hinata nor he could talk about what happened very well. Not without blushing, at least.

Trained as she was, both by Hitomi and the legendary Suzaku, Hinata saw the muscles in Naruto's hand twitch. Even in the frisky evening air, her face heated and reddened. With all the willpower she could muster, she forced her hand to stay put, to not put the limb away from him. She… '_Hand in hand? With Naruto-kun?'_ her mind was on the brink of collapsing when Naruto's eyes suddenly widened.

"…what have they done," he groaned. "That moron! Why did he stop her?!"

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"Chie," he pointed at the spreading flames in the village beneath them. "My clone failed to stop Chie from burning down the Uchiha district." He dropped back, now lying on her back, looked up at the stars which could already be seen. Sunlight had diminished to the point where darkness was already setting in. "I guess my two stupid clones gave me a legit excuse to stay hidden for a bit longer," his mood suddenly changed, now smirking rather than contemplating the possible consequences of his actions. Already busted for one thing made him a little bolder. So he turned his head towards Hinata.

"B-but-"

"I'd be honoured if you kept me company."

"…Okaasama d-did say that fireworks could best be seen from here," Hinata donned a shade of crimson which made Naruto worry whether she would faint again. To the point where he was startled when she lay down beside him, thinking she had indeed passed out.

She was very much awake, though. Her eyes instantly looking away when he gazed at her. '_So close…'_ his discomfort returned. Her hand lay only inches from his.

Seconds became a minute, and as time passed the hand slid closer and closer to hers. Hinata would have smiled when she heard him gulp, if not for her own anxiety. Then she felt his hand. His warm and comforting presence. Too shy to utter a word, neither trusting themselves to utter anything coherent, both teenagers remained silent until the fireworks started.

'_Mother was right. This is the perfect place to be!_'

* * *

**A/N**: I did a Christmas omake for Pareidolia, so **Illuminated** demanded a New Year's Eve omake as well. And how could I ever refuse my noble beta anything? Hopefully your New Year's Eve will be at a place just as perfect as the Hokage rock was for our two beloved shinobi! Don't mess with drugs, though. You'd risk burning down entire districts with a single firecracker… You'd make poor cats like Suto homeless! (Anyone willing to shelter a homeless ninneko?)

I wish you all a happy and healthy 2016!

-Z-

**Edit:** I moved this chapter from 57 to 62, so that it'll fit better in the time line of the story. (22/07/2016)


	63. Origins in ashes

_I had a lot of catching up to do now that I had some more time on my hands. I published almost 45.000 words in two weeks! I updated **Pareidolia** two days ago, kicked off my new fic **Asunder **with a few chapters, and now this: a new chapter for The Honoured Guest. Enjoy!  
_

* * *

**Assassination arc**

**Origins in ashes**

* * *

"So let me get this straight… you want me to approve a C-rank mission, led by Mitarashi Anko, where you, Nara Shikamaru, and Tayuya of Otogakure go out of the village?"

"That's what I just told you, Erokage," Naruto frowned. "And Chie will be joining us as well."

"Is this your idea of earning her loyalty?" Jiraiya sighed. "What are you not telling me?"

"Chie hid a diary out there, one written by the man whom she had a contract with. In a chain of events, the man's daughter was stolen away by one of Orochimaru's underlings."

"…you meant to say that Tayuya is that girl?"

"Yes."

"This is almost too coincidental," Jiraiya couldn't help but to remark. "Even my books have better plot twists, and you're always insulting my masterpieces."

"I don't care what way your plot twists," Naruto shrugged. "Tayuya is Suzume, and Chie says she has proof. And I trust her."

"And Tayuya?"

"She doesn't trust a single person," Naruto wearily rubbed his temples. "She'll probably try to escape, or do something foolish. Though, she calmed down quite a bit after I insulated the cursed seal which Orochimaru left on her. But she can suddenly become aggressive without any reason, so I'd say she is still rather unstable, but still… relatively speaking, it is an improvement. Although it is rather annoying that she constantly calls me a perv."

"And her unstable condition is why you chose Shikamaru."

"Yes. Although, not just because his abilities are well suited for holding someone down. I… he'll probably have issues with Tayuya after Choji's death," Naruto brought it as diplomatically as he could. "I think it would be useful for him to learn about Tayuya's roots, just as much as it is to her. His anger and grief aren't things which I can take away, but I can at the very least try to make him understand what drove Tayuya to act as one Orochimaru's elite soldiers. Besides, aside from you, Karin, and Baa-chan, he and Hinata are the only two who know that she is at the Uzumaki compound."

"I knew you were smart," Jiraiya smirked. "But this is really something else. You're trying to get Shikamaru to accept Tayuya, and through him you could influence Shukaku, the jonin commander. Also, with Choji's demise Shikamaru's team is one person short, whereas Tayuya couldn't just be drafted into any team, considering her past."

"…"

"You… never thought about those things?" Jiraiya felt a sweat drop rolling from his forehead when he saw Naruto's blank stare. "You just wanted to help out Shikamaru?"

"Kinda," the blond scratched the back of his head, laughing a bit awkwardly. "But the other stuff is good too. I mean, I sort of offered to adopt Tayuya into the Uzumaki clan if she would desire to stay in Konoha, so I suppose I am considered to think about those things too, am I not? This 'clan head' thing isn't as easy as it seemed."

"You're not really a clan head yet," Jiraiya laughed. "But in a few years, yes, you will be able to take a position in the council as the clan head of the Uzumaki clan. But until that seat is restored, you'll just be the highest ranking person within your clan."

"Tayuya joining team ten… I never really thought about that," Naruto pondered. "I was considering asking Anko to look after her while I am gone for training."

"At the T&amp;I? Yes, that seems to be a good route. Though, it is too early for the girl to move up that high. We aren't letting genin near sensitive information sources. And T&amp;I is basically the most 'sensitive' department aside from my own office. So, let her earn her spot as a chunin first. It will give her some time to adjust to the transition from Oto to here."

"…but the mission?"

"I'll approve of it. Do whatever it takes to gain her allegiance, as well as her knowledge. But not at the expense of her safety, nor yours."

"Thanks, Erokage!"

'_You're not just doing it for Shikamaru and Tayuya, kid. You're trying to figure out your own path just as well. And even if you didn't say so, it seems obvious you're trying to win the Nara boy for your cause. Our cause.' _

In spite of his demanding task as Hokage, Jiraiya had always found ways to keep an eye on the boy. Whether through Kage Bunshin or through detailed reports from his faithful summoned amphibious friends, Jiraiya had always known what the boy had been up to ever since he was discharged from the hospital. He had even found two somewhat unlikely allies. While he was aware of Tsunade's concerns about the boy – Jiraiya still felt two of his aching ribs, a consequence of calling her 'mother hen' – Jiraiya had not expected Hyuga Hitomi to step in.

While not being exactly very fond of her husband and clan, Jiraiya had soon found that Hitomi was quite different from the regular Hyuga. He still remembered the day when Hiruzen had told him that Naruto was taken in by the Hyuga. The disbelief he felt at the act was… well, it had vanished after he started keeping tabs on Hitomi. This woman was clearly not to be underestimated, yet at the same time she genuinely seemed to care for Naruto. And where Hiashi held his clan's interests as first priority, and thus acknowledging Naruto's worth as jinchuriki, Hitomi seemed to be motivated because of her eldest daughter. '_Or was it because she and Kushina knew each other?'_

Anyway, she was well aware of his relation to Naruto and as such she had offered to help him to keep Naruto's 'legendary uncontrollable behavior', as she had called it, within certain confines. Jiraiya even suspected that she put her daughter up to it, telling Hinata just enough to get worried about Naruto, while not spilling any serious secrets.

Because there was plenty to worry about when it came to Uzumaki Naruto. The shady organization called Akatsuki would eventually be trying to get their hands on Naruto. The other nations, most notably Kumogakure and Iwagakure, were showing just a little too much interest in the boy. And then there were the internal threats. It annoyed Jiraiya to no end that he couldn't get a firm grip on the most troublesome person of them all: Shimura Danzo. Much of his actions were still in the shadows, but Hiruzen had warned Jiraiya several times to look out for the cripple shinobi.

While it was still uncertain how much support Danzo had in the council and from the clans, Jiraiya had to remain careful. That Hitomi warned him about the same man, however, worried him. What ties could Danzo have had with Hiashi's brother, Hizashi? Why couldn't that man's murder be solved, even by a clan of allegedly all-seeing shinobi? And why had Hizashi's personality changed so much? None of it added up.

'_Filling the gap in team ten would, even though it sounds rather disrespectful to the poor boy that perished, solve lot of headaches. Everyone seems to be scheming to get their son or daughter into a team with two clan heirs, a team which is led by the Sarutobi clan head on top of it. It would also remove my worries about Tayuya being in danger. Because, I know that Asuma is one of the few whom I can trust with this matter. But it is yet to be determined what secrets this girl holds, secrets of which even she could be unaware.'_

"-ya-sama?"

'_Even if the brat didn't think this through enough, his heart is at the right place, so I believe he'll succeed. There's a lot riding on this,'_ the Godaime Hokage sighed.

"NAKED WOMEN!"

"What? Where?!" Jiraiya was suddenly jerked out of his train of thought, and looked around. Only to see an annoyed Iruka standing in front of his desk.

"Now that you're back on earth, Hokage-sama," the chunin walked the fine line between scolding and outright disrespect. It made Jiraiya wonder how long the man had been attempting to reach him. "I've got these documents you need to look through. The Yamanaka and Nara clans filed this request. And Tsunade-sama wrote this, containing ideas on redesigning the hospital. It would seem she did indeed take over the place, and decided to stay for now."

"Paperwork," Jiraiya groaned. "How I wished I was but a simple shinobi. Getting out on mission like that brat is far more fun that this…"

"Governing the village is more important than any other mission," Iruka still hadn't lost his 'teacher-mode' as Jiraiya had come to call it. Though, Tsunade had remarked several times that she thought it was a good thing that there was someone other than her around who had the guts to lecture Jiraiya.

"If only it was less paper-ish…"

"Why do I still feel like I'm giving an academy student his homework?" Iruka grumbled as he left his superior's office.

"You should ask your Hyuga girlfriend," Jiraiya snickered. Hyuga Ako had called the old pervert 'immature' several times now.

* * *

"You want to make camp already?"

"Yeah, we're nearly here," Naruto shrugged. "Chie is going to retrieve what we're here for, while we wait here."

"We barely left Konoha. Why on earth did you take me, Anko, and that criminal on this mission?" Shikamaru frowned. His disgust for Tayuya wasn't exactly hidden. Even though he had given his word earlier, and brought Tayuya back to Konoha, he still held a grudge against the girl for her part in the deaths of Choji and Shino.

"I talked to Kurenai-sensei yesterday, when I visited the graves of Choji and Shino," Naruto said calmer then he felt about it. In fact, he had accidentally met her, but he had been glad that he did. Seeing their graves had been rather difficult. Initially he had thought he could do it alone, that he preferred to do it that way so that he had some time of his own. But guilt was something that burdened him. If only he had been faster, he'd have been able to prevent Choji's death. Naruto knew that if he had used some of the Kyuubi's chakra, Choji would still be alive…

'It is not your fault,' was what Kurenai had told her former student. She had told him about the first time she lost someone dear to her: her father. How it had been the Kyuubi which killed him. How hard it was at first to live with such a loss, how she had blamed herself for following her orders that day. The doubt she had felt, whether she could have saved him or not… the phrase 'what if' was something hated by many shinobi. Guilt was something that broke many, as was visible in most of the elite within the shinobi force, as they were the ones who had repeatedly faced the worst sides of their world. The eccentric personalities of many of the elite were the visible proof of coping with that stress.

It didn't soothe Naruto's pain, but it did solidify his beliefs that there was something fundamentally wrong with their world. The Akimichi clan was grieving for their fallen son, Kurenai had said, but the Aburame were different. They had a doctrine of logic, a cold and seemingly emotionless view on their world. They had their private section at the burial grounds, but even that was atypical. The bodies of the death were buried, and a young tree was planted atop. A tree which would house many of the insects which the clan grew for their unique fighting style. Nothing was waste, it was logical.

But if that was logic, then it was an abomination in Naruto's view. They weren't tools, they were humans. It wasn't logical that Shino had found death, it wasn't something that should be written off as if it was an occurrence as normal as a raincloud, it disgusted Naruto that Shino's family would think like that. In Choji's case too, his name was engraved in the monument stone as if he had been some kind of hero. It was even considered to be an honor, as the boy had died during an illegitimate mission. Honor. Heroism. As if their deaths should pose as an example for others… it was their lives that should be!

"I visited their graves," Naruto repeated after a sigh, forcibly dragging his mind back to the present. "Sensei told me how everyone is doing. How Ino is being looked after by her father, to ensure she hasn't sustained lasting mental damage. How Kiba and Hinata have healed, and have doubled their training regime. How Karin has taken a blow from all this, how she has sworn never to be useless again."

"Without her we never would have found-"

"That isn't the point, Shikamaru," Naruto shook his head. "She felt weak and useless, no matter what we say. She blames herself for Choji's death. She is training both with Kurenai-sensei, asked me for more scrolls on fuinjutsu, and on top of it all she also works shifts at the hospital, learning from both Baa-chan and Shizune while she's there. With team ten out of commission, team seven disbanded, and team eight focusing on recovery and training, you were the best candidate for this mission."

"You could've asked Tenten…"

"Lazy as ever, you still seek ways to dodge any responsibility," Naruto chuckled. Even though he guessed that Shikamaru's true reservations were against Tayuya, not against the effort it took for this mission to succeed. "Yes, Tenten was available for missions as well, now that Lee is at the hospital and Neji is forbidden to strain himself. But I think you were the better choice," he nodded at Anko, who was uncharacteristically silent as she listened, chewing on her last dango stick. "Do you hate Anko?"

"Wait, what?" the Nara blinked, surprised by the sudden change in atmosphere. "What do you mean, hate Anko?"

"The question isn't that difficult, is it?"

"Why would I do such a troublesome thing?" Shikamaru frowned, not understanding.

"She has the same sort of cursed seal that Tayuya has," Naruto clarified. "An earlier experiment, to be more specific, a seal that is weaker and never progressed to a state like Tayuya had to endure."

"It is why I am the guard of this little brat," Anko poked the gagged girl. Shortly after leaving Konoha the girl had had one of her 'fits' again. The cursed seal warping her perception, she had tried to attack them, and when that failed she had uttered one profanity after the other, until even Anko was fed up with it (after initially calling it 'cute'). Gagging her had brought a sweet silence, although the look in her eyes still spelled out murder.

"The seal always tries to corrupt me, to use my doubts, my anger, and my hatred in order to control my actions," Anko continued. "It strengthens those feelings, and thrives in the absence of happiness. This is how Orochimaru breeds his soldiers. He buys, steals, or gets them when they are stupid enough to volunteer. But they are young, and then then puts them through hell, weeding out every last shred of hope they have in their hearts. And the strongest of those who survive that hell, he grants the power of the cursed seal. They become his slaves. I was born and raised in Konoha, which gave me a will strong enough to resist the damned thing, but what about a child who has gone through that hell? Someone whose will was already broken? They wouldn't have had a chance to resist the seal, and their minds would be subjugated."

"…you make it sound like there is no hope for her," Shikamaru glanced at the bound red head. "But if that were the case, we wouldn't be here."

"Chie knows who Tayuya has been before Orochimaru's men snatched her from her family. That is why we are here. This is near the place where Chie left the diary Tayuya's father gave her," the Uzumaki spoke up. "You are here because I wish I could help you. I can feel the hatred brewing in your heart, Shikamaru. I understand why, but at the same time I want you to understand that Tayuya is a victim too. That all of the Sound Four have been victims, even those who eventually came to enjoy the evil they committed."

"Right," Shikamaru's skepticism was clearly seen on his face. "The same thing you said about following orders, on how Konoha was no different…"

"Do you have any idea of how many people are assassinated by Konoha on a yearly basis, kid?" Anko chimed in. "Do you know the shit we do at the T&amp;I department? Torture isn't the thing you kids are taught at the academy, fun as it may be to break the minds of scum, it is still the sort of knowledge is deemed too dangerous for your fragile minds. Not to mention that it isn't always the type of cliché villain that we get at our department. You think shinobi from enemy villages see themselves as the bad guy?"

"Konoha is built on lies and grudges," Naruto grimaced. "The dream of its founders has been corrupted and deformed. People hide it underneath their façade of proper behavior, but in front of my senses none can hide. And if you think about it, haven't you noticed how most people were more agitated that we defied orders, rather than shocked by the deaths of Shino and Choji? How many people have you heard talking about how grave the loss of the last sharingan is? I bet it is more than the few who actually admit that he's a traitor, a missing nin who now has a price on his head."

"…"

"Do you think I am 'good', Shikamaru? The Kyuubi corrupted me, slowly but surely, until I became paranoid enough to suspect everyone. Layers of seals upon seals, barrier after barrier, like a predator I waited until I trapped those with too much malice in their hearts. I deemed myself a judge and executioner," Naruto grunted. "I thought I could see the truth, arrogantly believed that I did good as I removed those who were too vile for our world, yet instead I only discovered what a short-sighted fool I have been. Or probably still am. But tell me, do you think one act of evil can stop another?"

"I'd say that it is a good thing if you kill someone to prevent a murder," Shikamaru said. "Murderers lost their right to live."

"And who would murder you to prevent _you_ from becoming a murderer?" Naruto sighed. "I was still at the academy when Erokage told me about his view on the world, on how we all were trapped in this giant cycle of hatred. A cycle where one act of hatred caused another, which in turn caused another act of hatred, and so on. Is that what you want to do with your life, Shikamaru?"

"It is our life," Shikamaru shrugged. "It isn't perfect, but that much is obvious. We are shinobi. It is what we do."

"What the kid asks is whether you're accepting the world as it is," Anko shook her head. "Do you want to contribute your own acts of hatred, or would you rather change things. You're a smart kid, so you are probably aware that I'm an outcast, and that this is the reason why Sandaime-sama assigned me to look after the kid, and why Godaime-sama ordered me to keep an eye on this little menace as well. By your logic, people like Tayuya and me wouldn't deserve life. By your logic, Naruto lost his 'right to live' as well."

"You share his view," Shikamaru nodded to Naruto.

"Erokage's view," Naruto corrected him. "I'm not smart enough to figure out all that just by myself. Erokage pointed the way, the Kyuubi showed me the vile nature of the world, Haruki educated me, and Hinata eventually taught me that there is also good in life, as well as the fact that people can change for the better even though I only sense darkness. She showed me that there is hope, even if I have lost faith. Without all of them, I'd never come this far. Without them the Kyuubi would've won. I dare say that I'm still lost in the dark, searching for an answer on how to change the world."

"And this is the true reason why you asked me, and why Jiraiya-sama permitted you to drag me along," Shikamaru frowned, his mind being quick on the uptake as usual. "To see if I, after what happened to Choji, would choose revenge and hatred, or change and understanding… Seriously, why does everything with you have to be so damn troublesome?"

"Which raises the question whether you were serious about Suzume, Whisker-two-leg," Chie whispered lowly. "Or if you are just using her to convert Lazy-two-leg."

"Welcome back, Chie. I take it you heard everything?"

"Answer me, two-leg…" the black and white bakeneko stalked closer, her form growing as she prepared for combat.

"My offer for her stands. If she is willing, I'll take her into the Uzumaki clan, and we'll fabricate the lie that she's part Uzumaki and fell into Orochimaru's hands. That is what I promised," Naruto frowned, but otherwise unfazed by Chie's aggressive stance. "I thought you knew me long enough to know that I do not go back on my word. But the key phrase is 'if she is willing', and this is something I've started to doubt. At first she was pretty reasonable, but after the days since I isolated and encased her cursed seal, she slowly seems to be losing her mind. I know you don't want to see it, Chie, but I don't want to lie to you…"

"Suzume-two-leg will change when she knows the truth. Crazy-snakes-two-leg said that she needs something to balance out the malice of her seal. The love of her parents will reach her," Chie insisted, although Naruto suspected that even the little feline had her doubts. Tayuya's volatile personality was especially hard to Chie, who cared about the person whom the girl had once been. Tayuya could curse Orochimaru for all that was unholy at one moment, yet desperately attempt to get back to Otogakure at the next. Naruto came to realize how little power the sealing method he had used to counteract the cursed seal actually had, if the person who carried the seal didn't have the will to resist its corrupting influence. In hindsight it wasn't very surprising that Sasuke gave in to the temptation, given all the pain and hatred in his heart…

Right now, Tayuya was angry. Bound and gagged as she was, all she could do is giving her dirtiest glares. And the current glare was particularly hateful. "I think your story has to be very good if you want to get through to that troublesome girl," Shikamaru sighed with his what-a-waste-of-time voice. Obviously he rather planted a kunai in her throat. Shikamaru was surprisingly vindictive, Naruto noted, even when Tayuya wasn't even the one who had slain Choji.

"As Whisker-two-leg told you before," Chie turned to Tayuya, but not after glaring at the Nara. "I lived on an island with my kin. I wasn't exactly popular, being too tiny and too curious. Rather than honing my fighting ability, I loved books and stories of the world of the two-legs, which made me an oddity. Even for those related to me. Still, they were my family. One day our island was hit by a large tidal wave, and I was swept away. Back then, I was terrified by humans, thinking they were giant monsters who'd eat me alive. Instead, when I woke up, a little girl was poking me. A little pinkish red haired dwarf, who talked some kind of gibberish."

"She hasn't grown up all that much," Anko snickered.

"Like you are much better, Dango-two-leg," Chie glared. "I heard you and Red-eye-two-leg discuss something very interesting, perhaps I should-"

"Don't you dare," Anko hissed. "I'll kill you if you talk about that."

"So little courage for someone with such a big mouth," Chie shook her head. "As I was saying, I was found by a little girl. I had never met a human or a child, so I thought you were a dwarf. Through you I met Shiori, who had the same color of hair, making me realize that I was found by a human and her kitten. Through Shiori and her husband Mitsuo, I found that humans were not as evil as my elders had told me. Shiori, Mitsuo, and you, Suzume, became my family. The months I've spent with you were the happiest of my life."

Naruto saw the look in Tayuya's eyes, not the hateful glare of before, but something else. Skepticism. Doubt. He nodded to Anko, who removed the gag.

"You're so full of shit, cat," Tayuya coughed, her throat still being dry. "Do you have any fucking idea how many orphans there are? Hidden villages love them, gather them into orphanages and select those who show a modicum of talent, and train them to do their dirtiest jobs, the ones no child with parent would be trained for. Seductresses, undercover spies, assassins, suiciders, nobody gives a flying fuck about those orphans. My fucking parents sold me. I was as good as one of those shitty orphans, I was-"

"Here," Chie cut Tayuya's rant off, taking a picture from the diary she had found in her old hideout. "This was your family."

Two adults with on child, barely a year and a half old, were to be seen. Tayuya's breath stocked when she saw the woman holding the child. Shiori looked a lot like her, way too much for it to be coincidence. Although, Tayuya saw the man, Mitsuo, had the same eyes and the same somewhat tanned skin-color. It was as if she looked into some kind of distorted mirror, where she saw elements of herself in these two older people.

"Mitsuo had an ability he was born with, a kekkei genkai you two-legs call it. He could literally put his emotions into the music he made, weaving illusions. Often, when you couldn't sleep, he sang you a song which calmed you," Chie continued. "It is all here, in the diary. The last entry, however, is after the day our lives changed. A sword-wielding two-leg murdered Shiori, burned the house, and stole you away. When I came to from my unconsciousness, Mitsuo had found us. We began our desperate chase to find the Evil-two-leg, which was made possible because I put a mark on you."

"Mark?"

"Bakeneko usually live solitarily, so we mark our partners. A little paw mark of chakra is enough to track each other for years. But the range at which I can sense that mark is limited, and soon the Evil-two-leg moved too far from us. Forming a contract with Mitsuo-two-leg was the only option I had to increase my chakra and to find you again. Unfortunately the Evil-two-leg used others, the Huge-two-leg that died in the forest, the one who killed Chubby-two-leg, to ambush us. Mitsuo died at his hands as well, Suzume, but he never gave up on you. Even in his final breaths, he loved you. You weren't sold. They'd never give up on you, not even if it killed them…"

The family portrait wasn't the only picture in the diary. Photos of Shiori and Mitsuo when they were younger, with an older man who looked a lot like Mituso, pictures of when they wed, pictures of their home, and more. Somewhere along the line Tayuya's defiance had been broken. Her skepticism was unable to endure the fact after fact which Chie kept throwing at her. The realization that her entire life had truly been a lie; it was something even the cursed seal couldn't corrupt. Not when she could see the tangible proof. Words could be twisted, people deceived, but these pictures… these pictures didn't lie. The happiness and love carried through the years, and reached the long lost daughter.

The Nara grimaced when he saw the girl break down, lost now that the grasp of hatred from the seal was broken. It was as if it robbed her from all strength, because she soon collapsed. It was a good thing they had set up camp prior, and Anko gently put her in one of the tents. "Should I bind her?" the snake mistress frowned. "Meh, I'll just make sure she can't access her chakra. You keep watch, kitty…"

"Is this what Orochimaru does to his own?" Shikamaru wondered. "Dragging children from their homes and turning them into ruthless murderers?"

"It isn't something he invented," Naruto sighed. "I've lived at an orphanage, remember? I've seen children 'disappear', but no one ever paid much interest where those children ended up. After all, why would the authorities in Konoha care about the clanless people? How difficult do you think it was for a girl like Tenten to even be allowed to enter the academy?"

"This borders treason," Shikamaru gave him a sharp look. "You know what you are implying? You sound hardly any better than the average missing nin who proclaims that Konoha is evil."

"Is that the conclusion you've reached?" the blond said sadly. "That I'm a traitor for stating the flaws in Konoha's current system? I thought you were smarter than that, Shikamaru. Tell me, how many more need to die like Choji, how many graves are you prepared to dig, before you realize that this system is inherently wrong? If Konoha was as good as it claims to be, would it train children as soldiers? Would it send those children off to die in the Chunin Exams, an event that was created as a replacement for open war? A village which glorifies death, like that of the Yondaime Hokage, yet shuns those who try to preserve life, like Hatake Sakumo? I that what you want?"

"I… I don't know," Shikamaru grimaced. "What do you want?"

"I want to break the cycle of hatred. I want to stop the murder of innocents. I want to stop the creation of new people like Tayuya and Choji, or like me and Gaara. The old pervert is right: he wants a village which is truly good, where morality isn't determined by those who pay us for the mission. A village striving for peace."

"Naruto, why aren't you or Jiraiya telling this to my dad and the other clan heads?"

"You think those fools haven't heard this already?" Anko laughed bitterly. "Although this kid tells me a new version, and a better one I dare say, your old man heard something just like it from the Hokage himself. As well as his predecessors. But clans don't want change. They don't want equality. If they didn't want the current system, they would've changed it a long time ago. Sandaime-sama tried, but he was too lenient. Too soft. Perhaps he just gave up after trying. Because, in spite of his beliefs he did allow fanatics like Danzo to hold power. Danzo, who is backed by several clans, which share his beliefs that all emotions should be banished from the heart of a shinobi, that shinobi should be governed by logic instead of the heart. That shinobi are merely mindless tools."

"You have seen what emotions can do," Naruto pointed at Tayuya. "It can both destroy and bring salvation. You are smart enough to know that logic doesn't solve everything. Life isn't a game of shogi. Unless you think that Choji's death is merely a logical conclusion of the decisions you guys made when chasing Sasuke," he could feel the anger spark in Shikamaru, and saw the Nara glare at him. "Which brings us back at our current mission: do you still think Tayuya deserves death? Do you think we have the right to decide such a thing?"

* * *

"So… you wanted to meet me all the way down here?" Hyuga Hideo looked around, not bothering to hide his disapproval. The old Hyuga had walked through a maze of tunnels in this surprisingly big underground complex.

"You wanted to speak to me in my real office," Danzo droned in his usual emotionless voice. "It raises the question why you insisted on that."

"People who always remain in hiding are difficult to trust," Hideo said disdainfully. "It is why my son lost faith in you. Though, that annoying wife of his is the true reason for that. Although I'm not sure if her suspicions about you were so wrong. Not that it matters to me. The Sandaime was a fool. It was his fate to die, just as his views are destined to fail."

"Hyuga Hitomi, the obstacle we both face…"

"And what did you do to my youngest?" Hideo changed the subject, the veins around his white eyes bulging. "Was it that hidden eye of yours?"

"…"

"Your genjutsu is commendable, and I doubt anyone would suspect you. Anyone but Hitomi, that is," Hideo pointed out. "I only found that genjutsu because I had my suspicions about you using something like it, but her sight is better than mine. Even I cannot tell what that retched woman can see or not."

"Are you trying to manipulate me into moving against that woman?" Danzo lowered his voice. "Whatever your eldest may be, he will not tolerate anyone harming his wife. And he will not be caught as easily as his brother. Yes, I used a genjutsu to make him do certain things. I needed information on that jinchuriki your clan was housing, since no one was willing to provide me otherwise. And I must commend the boy for his security measures. Even my agents couldn't spy on him in there."

"…so you created that mess. Though, at least I have to thank you for cleaning your own garbage. Even I felt some reluctance when it came to ordering the murder on my son. Failure or not, he was my flesh and blood."

"You most likely only hesitated because you risked getting exposed," Danzo smiled a little, mocking the elder. "But that is not why you are here."

"We share certain problems. My daughter in law is one of them, but her daughter will be the next. While Hinata is only heiress in name, the way Hitomi is teaching her bothers me. The worst part is that with that annoying woman nearby, none of my men can spy on them. We still haven't exactly pinpointed her range. If that weak girl is taught her techniques, and assumes my son's position, we would both be facing problems. My clan would be destroyed if that weakling would come to lead it."

"Those peace-loving fools," Danzo sighed. "The second problem we share is of the same nature."

"Jiraiya," Hideo agreed. "What he said about his vision for the future is… troubling. Equality is a thing no clan is welcoming. And I know for a fact that you hold you position and influence due to the support of several clans. Although none do so openly."

Danzo narrowed his visible eye as if he was re-examining his opponent. "Equal rights for the clanless would upset the balance of power within Konoha. The fool is popular among the clanless, as they see him as one of their own. Jiraiya's background has always been covered in shrouds."

"An orphan, parents unknown," Hideo repeated from the files he kept on the toad sage.

"He is, however, not a man we openly oppose. Orochimaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya, those three have reached a level of strength that surpasses my own. However, I do have my eyes set on someone who is soon going to surpass them in terms of strength."

"Uzumaki Naruto," the Hyuga hissed. "Murderer of my kin. That retched brat has been a thorn in my side for far too long. To think he hid himself for that long, even from our eyes…"

"Yet if we can capture him, and make him join us, he'd be a very valuable asset."

"Make him join you, you mean. Don't try to fool me. I wonder why you summoned me here at such short notice, and even agreed to this location, but now I see," Hideo smirked slightly. "I see you are hasted, while nothing has really changed. A few kids died, but that is always unavoidable in our trade, and that Uchiha betrayed us. As was to be expected, I would say, considering the history of his clan. But those things are not what it troubling you. It is that girl that the Uzumaki is hiding, she forces your hand. Yes, I always make sure to keep an eye on that brat, and his companion had the same strange mark as the snake's apprentice."

"…" Danzo was quite certain that Hideo didn't know about the hidden deals with Orochimaru, but he couldn't rule out the possibility. The Hyuga elder was well aware of the value that knowledge held in a hidden village. And the Hyuga were born spies, even if their 'pride' and 'honor' did not openly allow them to be such. Danzo, however, knew that Hideo value greed over pride.

'_Still, if my dealings with Orochimaru would come out in the open, I would lose many supporters, ruining Root. Which is exactly why the girl poses such a threat: she was one of Orochimaru's elite, so she knows about those deals. Luckily those seals Orochimaru puts on his pets prevent them from sharing secrets. And the automatic suicide mechanism when the T&amp;I department gets their hands on them is also a useful trick. Still….the Uzumaki grounds have proven difficult to breach. When the Haruno girl gains the trust of the jinchuriki, I might be forced to expend that asset in order to remove the threat which that Oto nin poses.'_

"You require my help, the aid of my faction within the clan, in order to make your plans succeed," Hideo knew he had turned the tables. He had seen it right, and now it was time to exploit the situation, because he'd now be the one making the demands. "There are certain concessions I have to request, in return for our aid. But if you aid us, I will provide you with bait to capture your prey."

"You are playing dangerous games, Hyuga Hideo."

"I have seen your men lurk in the shadows, but do you think I entered this place without taking precautions? The Hyuga are the strongest clan, Danzo, do not forget that. So let us broker a deal that satisfies the both of us. Let us determine the price which the jinchuriki boy is worth to you…"

* * *

"…quite eloquent…Nara brain to action…heart…moron like you…"

She felt her entire body ache. Every vein in her body seemed to burn, and her skin felt hot and cold at the same time. Meanwhile, drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness, she heard fragments of a conversation. '_What the hell… where am I?'_

A more pressing question, though, was who she was. Tayuya of the North Gate? No, Hokumon no Tayuya had perished along with the other gates of the Sound Four. Or not? The insurmountable power that had held her in its grasp seemed so insignificant now. What had changed?

She recognized the voices. The crazy woman with the purple hair, the one who kept poisoning her so that she couldn't access her chakra, was talking to that blond menace about some Nara, who had been lost in thought ever since… ever since what? Were they enemies or friends? The pain in her neck increased, urging her to murder them, murder everyone who kept her from her…

'_That lying fucktard is no longer my master,'_ she realized, and the power of the seal receded. It didn't disappear, but it didn't try to influence her either. The silence gave her a chance to think. To remember. Family. Shiori and Mitsuo, the parents of Suzume. Suzume who had been stolen by Kenta, the murderer of her mother. Suzume who had been tormented for years, twisted into the girl she now was, Tayuya. But Tayuya didn't feel like Tayuya anymore, nor did she remember Suzume. '_What does a fucking name matter? I've been 'Tayuya' as long as I can recall, so I'm still Tayuya. Regardless of what the cat says.'_

Still… Suzume had something alluring. The idea of family, of warmth, of safety, it overwhelmed her. Never in her life had she considered the possibility. Tayuya of the North Gate had thought that she had been born to parents who had sold her into slavery, and had hating her own life because of it. Yet in truth, Suzume had been born to loving parents who had given their lives in an attempt to rescue her. '_I was loved,_' the very idea boggled her mind. She'd been a shinobi, a tool, her entire life. An object, not a person. Or so she had thought. '_The cat… she caused… because of her that blond guy spared my life.'_

She struggled to open her eyes, and saw Anko look at her with a wide grin. "Seems like you were right, kiddo, she seems pretty sane to me."

"She hasn't tried to plant a kunai in my throat, which is a good sign," Naruto agreed with no small amount of sarcasm. "How do you feel, Tayuya?"

"Yeah, you kinda collapsed on us," Anko frowned. "Just take your time to recover some strength. We'll head back to Konoha once you're ready."

"Unless she wants to go elsewhere," Naruto suggested. A suggestion that drew the protests of the black-and-white cat which had been resting right next to Tayuya. "My offer still stand, I never go back on my-"

"I accept."

"-word… good!" Naruto smiled when he realized what Tayuya just said. "Then you're ready to be an Uzumaki?"

"…"

"Ugh. This isn't going to end up like that shirt thing, is it? With you misunderstanding my every word," he sighed, seeing how she glared at him. "I told you that I'd make sure you would be adopted into my clan, nothing more. Just like Karin-neechan!"

"You have a sister?"

"Well, not really," Naruto scratched the back of his head while he laughed. "But Karin always wished she had family. I've always been alone as well, so we kinda agreed to call each other brother and sister. Or do you want that too?"

"…if you want to die," Tayuya glared. Such clingy stuff was still a bridge too far for her.

"I take that as a no. Ah well, your loss," Naruto's mood didn't falter for a second. "Anko here will be the one who looks after you. Before you ask why: she has a cursed seal too. An earlier version of it, but still. She knows what it is to deal with the seal's corrupting influence and will help you get stronger. Besides, once I am gone for training, someone has to keep sure you're secure. Orochimaru won't be pleased once he figures out that you've betrayed him, and that snake has bound to have an infiltrator or two in the village."

"Why do you even accept me so easily?" Tayuya felt suspicious that the guy who had been willing to kill her a little while ago could now be so carefree.

"I sense malice, remember? I sensed your change," Naruto shrugged. "Let's hope Shikamaru changes just as much."

"The Nara aren't known as a clan that are easily convinced of anything," Anko shook her head. "And how are we going to call the girl now? Tayuya or Suzume?"

"I've been Tayuya as long as I can remember," the redhead remarked. "But no longer will I be Tayuya of the North Gate. I guess I'm Uzumaki Tayuya now?"

It was one of the first times Anko saw Chie actually purring. Naruto smiled, and left them be. Instead, he went to the edge of the camp they had set up. A bit further ahead, he noticed the Nara sitting and staring into nothingness.

"So, figured out what view for the future of our world you prefer?" Naruto spoke up after he had remained silent for a while, waiting for Shikamaru to speak up. "At least you don't feel as dark as a while ago, and I'm glad. If you had decided to try to avenge Choji by attacking Tayuya… well, I don't like fighting friends. The entire crap with Sasuke was bad enough as it was. And he wasn't even a friend."

"There will be many more who won't accept her."

"Their minds will change, one person at a time."

"And you chose me as the first person, because I'm the son of the Nara clan head," Shikamaru guessed. "Although on second thought, that isn't how you think. And it wouldn't have required the whole story of how you wish to change Konoha."

"You're a friend, Shikamaru, and I didn't want you to lose yourself in a mad desire for revenge. Remember what it did to Sasuke. And on top of that you're quite skilled. When I was a kid I said I'd be Hokage, so that everyone would have to acknowledge me. But after meeting Gaara I came to realize that I wanted to become Hokage for different reasons. So that jinchuriki like us wouldn't suffer as much. From that point on, I only expanded my list of things I think should be better in Konoha. But I know well enough that I'm not the person who could find solutions for everything. Up till now I solved most problems by removing them through force. I need people like Hinata or you to help me at the points where suck. I can't do everything alone. I tried, but it always seems to end badly. Kurenai-sensei told me that teamwork is necessary to cover the weaknesses you can't fix."

Shikamaru didn't stop thinking at that point, though. "In a class of clan heirs, you plan to create support for your future position as Hokage. Possibly even changing the current views of the clans through us. Smart. I had not expected you to think ahead like that."

"Erokage once told me that every generation will surpass the previous one. I think that our generation can fix the problem the previous one leaves us."

Shikamaru looked at him for a while, as if he was calculating and weighing his options. In the end, the Nara nodded. "It will take years before any of us holds a position of influence, but I agree that our world is imperfect. Those who hold power exploit these imperfections, profit from them, and therefore they won't be willing to change. But you hold a power that can make all that irrelevant in a few years."

"Perhaps. Or perhaps the Kyuubi defeats me," Naruto shrugged. "What's more important is that there is a willingness to change among those who hold power. Or those who will eventually be the ones to hold power. I'm not intending to force my views on the village like some kind of dictator. Then again, this is one of the reasons why I wanted to talk to you. I'll soon be gone for training, but if I'm still alive at the end of it, I'm not planning to leave the village as it is now. Not after all that has happened."

"You're gathering allies."

"Only the best," Naruto smiled. He wondered whether Gaara would be able to pull off the same thing in Sunagakure. They had shared their daydreams of them being kage of their villages and changing the world that made them what they were, what they nearly became. But for now those dreams were still just that. But Naruto figured that with people like Hinata or Shikamaru at his side, or Kiba and Karin, things wouldn't be as impossible as they seemed.

"Don't be a kiss-ass, it is troublesome," Shikamaru grimaced. "I'll do it for Choji. I'll do it so that there will never be good and gentle people like Choji who have to lose their lives like he did. There are too many victims in our world. I've lost my best friend. But never again. Messed up people like us should make sure that this ends." In spite of the determination he heard, Naruto saw a few tears blinking in the Nara's eyes.

"He was a good friend. Rest for a while. We won't break camp until Tayuya has recovered to the point where she can travel," he mumbled. He counted himself lucky that they had been able to break the cursed seal's influence, but it left her weakened. But Anko was confident that Tayuya would pull through, even though the seal had corrupted the girl far more than it had done to Anko. But learning the truth about her parents, reading Mituo's diary, seeing the pictures… it gave her a source of hope and love which Anko never had.

Although Naruto did have to dodge a senbon when he said she had Raido as her personal source of hope.

* * *

"Mission accomplished," Naruto smiled at a weary Jiraiya. Small wonder, considering the stockpiles of paperwork that were seen in the office. He looked around, and frowned. "Anbu?"

"Some privacy please," Jiraiya mumbled. "It's been a long day, kid. Successful on both accounts?"

"Yes," Shikamaru answered before Naruto could speak. "You could've just told me all this beforehand, though. Would've saved a lot of time and effort."

"Lazy as a Nara. They didn't invent that proverb on a coincidence…" Jiraiya smirked. "But I trusted Naruto's judgment on this. He can sense things which I can't, after all. And you girly, stop the hiding act please."

Tayuya lowered the hood and removed the mask she wore to avoid detection. "If you say it's safe, geezer."

"And?"

"And what?" Tayuya frowned. "I've taken the bloody bait, okay? I know about my past now, how my life was burned to ashes. I'm pissed at how I've been misled all this time, how my entire life was nothing more than a fucking sham. I don't particularly give a crap about this village, but it is a fairly safe place to stay away from Orochimaru until I'm strong enough to murder that piece of shit. And Kenta, I'm going to make that asshole pay for the death of my parents and ruining my life, dammit."

"What about your loyalty?"

"I don't answer to a single fucking person. I owe that cat, I owe Whiskers, but other than that…"

"I suppose that's good enough for the time being. Thank you for your part in the mission, Shikamaru, and while I'm sure you've figured it out already I must order you to keep quiet about this mission. I suspect that Orochimaru has contacts within Konoha, and as such this mission is qualified as an S-rank secret until further notice. Also, the stuff which the Gaki told you could cause some problems if you'd spread it."

"As you command, Hokage-sama," Shikamaru bowed and left the office.

"Now then, girly, can you shed any light on the little snitch we have in our midst?"

"Stop calling me that, dammit," Tayuya scowled. "Can they know about this too?"

"Anko and Naruto? Yeah, both have plenty of reason to hate Orochimaru, and they've both done enough to earn my trust," Jiraiya smiled. "And that cat of yours might be full of mischief, but she's completely loyal to you and Naruto. Speaking about him, I even hear that Naruto proclaimed himself as my successor."

"You got my word on it," Naruto stuck up his thumb.

"I don't give a crap. And I'm Uzumaki Tayuya now, not 'girly'," Tayuya grunted. "As for your little security breach… well, it is safe to say that 'little' isn't the best word to describe him and his heartless flunkies."

"Shimura Danzo," Jiraiya sighed. "I knew it…"

"Then why did you-"

"I needed confirmation. Is he alone?"

"He has his own organization, I'm not familiar with the details, but he had enough power to make sure we could observe the Uchiha princess and drag him out of the village without any issues. Apparently he and Orochimaru struck some kind of deal on it. So I'd say he's a big fucking thorn in your wrinkly ass."

"Anko, Naruto, and you too, Tayuya," Jiraiya lost every shred of his usual goofy persona, and turned completely serious. "You all know that Danzo is someone who has quite some leverage. He is a sneaky opponent who won't go down easily. You will need to be wary of him, as he will attempt to kill Tayuya, who forms the only witness to his treason. Without her, we have nothing. Hell, even with her we don't have a case to move against him, so-"

"So you're going to do nothing?" Naruto exclaimed. "Erokage, that man is responsible for the entire chain of events which led to the deaths of Shino and Choji! How can you not move against him?!"

"And be a dictator who rules by force? How will any of the clans trust me if I removed Danzo by force? Did you forget about the support he has?" Jiraiya chided him, and not really friendly either. "Think, brat. If you want to be Hokage like you said, you can't just remove everyone who is opposing you. 'An alliance with the powerful is never to be trusted' is a saying that counts in Konoha too. If I become a threat too great, if people will fear me too much, they'll unite and overthrow me."

"Ugh, I know… but…"

"You're too impatient. Perhaps I made a mistake by letting Anko guard you," Jiraiya joked. "Good thing Raido is there too balance things out. They seem to 'connect' quite well…"

"Ha ha ha," Anko mumbled sarcastically. "If we're going to joke, I presume we really aren't going to do a thing about Danzo. Can we go now?"

"Ahh, young love," Jiraiya smirked. "So eager to get back to Rai… hey, watch out with those senbon, I'm your Hokage dammit! Don't throw them! Oi! Anbu!"

"You brought that on yourself, Erokage," Naruto laughed. "Got a new mission, though?"

"I'm sorry that it is too soon, there are many things moving right now. You're off duty tomorrow, get back here the day after at ten o'clock," Jiraiya explained while dodging another needle. "Tsunade-hime wants to see you, though."

"…more inspections to see if my injuries have healed. Overprotective mother-hen," Naruto sighed.

"Never let her hear that," Jiraiya laughed. "Unless you possess the sake to buy your way out."

* * *

Forgotten by them, there was another who knew Tayuya. Another who recognized the girl. She was flanked by a pale boy of her own age, and together they watched as Naruto and the cloaked and masked girl left the office of the Godaime Hokage.

"No restraints, no force, they are even talking normally," the boy whispered. The emotionless expression annoyed Sakura a little, but her master had commanded her that she should strive to attain the same level of 'skill'. A shinobi should not be troubled by the turmoil of their emotions, was what Danzo had said. And true to his word, the majority of his private band of shinobi were emotionless. And this also increased their dependency, as they had no personal goals or desires apart from completing their missions.

Which was a flaw which annoyed the young Haruno. She was forced to serve Danzo to the fullest of her capabilities, but voicing her opinions was not something Danzo had required of her. Not in these matters, at least. "In spite of the disguise, it is obviously her. I doubted the last time I saw her, but this time it is unmistakable. She was one of Orochimaru's squad who escorted Uchiha Sasuke. And the way Naruto acts does indeed suggest that he trusts her."

"Which implies the girl has become a threat to Danzo-sama. The jinchuriki really has a dangerously creative approach to fuinjutsu if he can undo her cursed seal…"

Sakura looked at him with one eyebrow raised, but the pale boy remained silent. His creepy smile unnerved her a bit, as it seemed utterly insincere.

"Danzo-sama stated that your mission to gain access to the Uzumaki grounds now holds priority," the pale boy continued with an emotionless voice that was at odds with his (attempt to) smile. "Find a way to remove that girl, and fast."

"As Danzo-sama commands," Sakura bowed her head. The genjutsu which Danzo had used on her compelled her to obey his commands, or by proxy any of his authorized agents. "And Naruto?"

"Danzo-sama used expendable assets in attempts to assassinate Naruto-san before. Perhaps you could succeed if he trusts you, but it is unwise to even think about it. Unlike us, who are invisible to his ability to sense negative emotions, you are not a true Root operative yet. Your emotions would betray you. If your assessment of his personality is correct, and he is as protective and impulsive as suggested, then the plan Danzo-sama has already set in motion will suffice. His susceptibility to anger will be his undoing. You will focus on the girl, she holds priority."

* * *

**Bonus: After the date **

* * *

"Soooooo… when do you think about sharing the juicy bits?"

"Kure-chan, not now," Anko groaned. Too much alcohol in her system wasn't improving her state of mind.

"What, did it go badly?" Kurenai frowned. They were walking back from the tavern where they had shared a drink, Kurenai going to the Sarutobi compound and Anko to the Uzumaki grounds, where she basically was living now. "I thought that Raido and you would work out pretty well."

"Oh, it went perfect. Too perfect," Anko sighed. "There has to be some kind of catch. Everything that seemed good in my life turned out to bite me. More often than not in the literal sense of the word."

"You can't always expect the worst in-"

"You've got Asuma. You know what to expect," Anko sighed. "You are… well, you. You're great. You don't have some kind of shitty seal slapped on you that makes you an unstable predator."

"If only people knew how insecure you really are," Kurenai smiled softly. "They wouldn't say those awful things about you if they knew the real Anko. And it seems to me like Raido is looking for the real Anko, and not the Anko you pretend to be…"

"I know, I know," Anko groaned. "That makes it even worse, dammit!"

"Why?"

"I'm… who… I…"

"You're wondering if someone can like you when you don't even like yourself."

"Fucking hell, you should've been a shrink!" Anko exclaimed, wide eyed staring at her friend.

"Don't stray from the subject, Anko…"

"Yes, yes, you know I do. Hating myself, I mean. After Orochimaru… You were one of the few people who didn't treat me like some kind of failed experiment. And it scares me, Kure-chan, it scares me that someone else would be nuts enough to see me as me. Would that person accept me, like you did? I don't know if I could take it if he'd reject me… The seal is always eating at me, always gaining influence, always trying to… to make me as evil as its creator. I don't know if I should care about Raido, risking that he'd be freaked out if he figures out what I am."

"…and now you see the point why insisted on you taking it slowly? You did listen, I hope?"

"I wanted to drag him along and tear the clothes of him and… and I didn't. Hell, I stammered when I asked him for a second date, like a freaking little girl, Kure-chan! I'm such a moron! I looked like an idiot! He must hate me now!"

"You're not an idiot, and Raido won't think so either," Kurenai dragged her friend towards her and hugged her. "You need time, he needs time, so taking things slowly is for the best. Acting impulsively would only risk you chances with him. Because, in case you didn't notice, he has his scars too. And I'm not talking about not the outward type of scar."

"…"

"He had a girlfriend," Kurenai sighed. She had done her research on the man, in case she needed to protect her friend. "She died at the night the Kyuubi attacked. As far as I could figure out, he never had a girlfriend again. He barely had any friends after that. Raido, Asuma, and I were part of the same genin team, remember? After her death he turned cold. On top of it Yondaime-sama, who he practically idolized, also perished. He took a bad hit, and became a scrooge, an anti-social except for the squad he worked with. The only ones who he really opened up to were Genma and Iwashi."

"If he's like that, why…"

"He sees the same Anko as I do," Kurenai patted her on her back. "So then, when and where is your second date?"

"Erm… I don't know. I gotta arrange that. I asked him this time. Why did that feel like I lost a match?"

"Love is a battlefield. Sometimes you got to lose a battle to win the war," Kurenai smirked. "Remember how I treated Asuma after he returned after his years in the Daimyo's service?"

"And people think that I'm the sadistic one…"

The uncharacteristic evil smirk on Kurenai's face made her friend laugh away her nerves. A certain curious cat decided to back off, aborting all planned pranks within the Sarutobi compound. Chie was mischievous, not suicidal.

* * *

**A/N**: An odd chapter to write, hopefully less odd to read! Apart from the emphasis on Tayuya, I included a lot on Naruto's views on the world. It really irked me how manga-Naruto barely had any solutions for all the problems in the world. Trust, love, cooperation… it is fun when you're an idealist, perhaps, but I aim to write a more realistic story. I've dealt with these things earlier in the story too, when Naruto was talking with Gaara, for instance. I think that Naruto is a person who is very much aware of the flaws of the way Konoha is operating, the darkness which is hidden under the pretense of being the 'good guys'. What is worse is that Kishimoto kept a blind eye to most problems he raised in his manga, for instance with the ludicrous notion that killing Danzo removed all evil from Konoha, or the treatment of the smaller nations. Kishimoto introduced problems, yet never really solved them.

In response to some worried reviews from the previous chapter: without handing out too many spoilers, I can say that I do not want Sakura to remain some sort of mindless slave to Danzo's schemes. Nor do I intend to bash her character or 'hate' her (how does one _hate_ a fictional character?). What I did up till now was with the aim of making her _grow_ into someone who is more equal to her former teammates, and not someone who just uselessly watches from the sidelines. Not that I think that Sakura has the natural talent to, by herself, become equal to Naruto or Sasuke in terms of power, please don't misunderstand that. Such an expectation would be completely unfair anyway: both the Uchiha and the jinchuriki possess an unfair advantage over regular people like Sakura and the other rookies. Sakura could and_ should_ have had a much bigger role in the story, especially after the timeskip.

Usually this would be the point where I'd thank **Illuminated** for his role in the creation of the story, but he is enjoying a well-deserved vacation! So, I apologize if there are any typos to be found (please notify me if you see any) but it was either publishing the chapter now or let you all wait. Because, once Illuminated returns, I'll be gone for a week-and-a-half myself. So what remains is the usual thing I ask of you: **reviews**! I thank all of you who take a bit of your time to support my little out-of-control-hobby, and those who help this novice to improve as a writer!

Lastly, please check out my new story: **Asunder**. In it, I wanted to take a original twist on how Naruto could get the mokuton kekkei genkai, and... well, I'll leave it up to you to decide whether or not I succeeded in that.

-Z-


	64. The walls of Takeda

_Long time no see! Before you bash my head in for not updating for over a month: I did publish an oneshot on the NH family: "__**Himawari: Hokage for a day**__". Check it out, you might like it! Aside from the oneshot and updates for three other fics, there is also the matter of University. Ziltoid finished his master's degree. You can call me MSc BA Ziltoid now!_

_So, I've been quite busy. Aside from that, there was also a portion of frustration that didn't really benefit my productivity. After Berserk, the first shonen manga I've read was Bleach. The way Bleach ended was just… saddening. It's bad enough that it got axed, but to do it like this was just overkill. Anyway, let's be honest: it felt like Bleach should've ended after Aizen was defeated. By contrast, while Bleach was put out of its misery, something arguably worse is happening to the Naruto franchise._

_When the dude who took over from Kishimoto decided that rehashing the movie was a good idea, I was inclined to call it an instant disqualification of the spinoff. I gave him a chance, hoping that he'd at least add some new stuff and expand the story… Yeah, I would've tolerated the laughable art if the story had been okay. If. I've read Naruto for years, and kept reading it despite how annoyed I got during the latter half of pt2, but the spinoff did something Kishimoto never achieved: I dropped it. Perhaps I'll pick it up somewhere at the end of next year, if something new finally happens by that time._

_Oh well, enough about me and my manga-related frustrations: I hope you enjoy the new chapter!_

* * *

**Assassination arc**

**The walls of Takeda**

* * *

"The further you go north, the hillier the landscape gets," Kiba slumped down. "It sucks… why can't we just seal our stuff instead of carrying it, Sensei?"

"It wouldn't be training if it were too easy for you, would it?" Kurenai shook her head, although clearly amused by the whining Inuzuka. He hadn't even discovered the weights she had slipped in his pack either, which only increased her amusement. "At this pace we'll reach the first mountains tomorrow. You'll have fun walking up the slopes."

"No chakra?"

"Yes Kiba, no chakra," Kurenai chuckled. "So no Shikyaku no Jutsu (Four Legs Technique) either."

"We will arrive at Takeda castle before tomorrow evening," Raido nodded. "You four might be a bit later, considering that you first have to find that village."

"Our missions sucks," Karin sat down, too exhausted to 'unshackle' her backpack. "Why can't I go with Nii-san and help him with his mission?"

"Zenchi-sama requested me specifically. It's not like I can help it, it seems hard to refuse a chiji (governor). If not, I would have been training instead," Naruto shrugged. "You guys just take some rest. I'll get some wood to get a fire started and enough water for everyone to sober up a little. And I'll create a few clones to put out a barrier around camp."

"I'll hunt some deer," Raido nodded.

"It's so unfair," Kiba whined. "Why does he get a mission requested by the chiji of the northern region, while we have to go look for some shoddy old man who hasn't checked with Godaime-sama for a few months? Knowing our Hokage, it'll probably be some kind of pervert who got chased out of town…"

Hinata giggled at the thought, and even the exhausted pile of flesh that was called Karin gathered the energy to smile a bit. "You shouldn't complain, Kiba-kun… at least you have the stamina to survive the journey."

"It would've been easier for you if you hadn't worked nightshifts at the hospital," Kurenai chided her student. "And for someone who received so little endurance training, you did remarkably well."

"Thank you, Sensei," Karin groaned. "Now I can at least die happily."

"Drama queen," Kiba chuckled. Even Akamaru seemed to agree, as he started to lick at Karin's ears, something which disgusted her enough to start moving again.

Going up north, the group noticed the different scenery. While Konohagakure was surrounded by forestry, the further they travelled the more that density decreased. According to Kurenai and Raido, they would get to even more mountainous regions soon. Not with simple gorges or rocks, but a real mountain range. But between the dense forests and the mountains, there were many miles of grasslands. Incidental villages and farms were popping up every now and then, often exploiting the minor advantages the landscape gave them. For instance, there was one farm which almost looked like a fortress, positioned on top of a mountain. Bandits were the most dangerous pest in this area, so civilians often flocked together to protect their valuables.

This strategy did not do much to protect their cattle, though. Cattle and farming seemed the primary ways of making money in the north, providing for much of the food of Hi no Kuni. Zenchi, the chiji of the region, controlled this vital area of the nation. From Takeda castle, he reigned with an iron fist, or so Jiraiya had said when he had given Naruto the mission files. A second son of a low-ranked concubine, Zenchi could boast of being a blood relative to the Daimyo, but it hadn't been enough to get a position in the capital itself.

Jiraiya had warned that the circumstances of Zenchi's installment were a bit shady, even hinting at the man having been forced out of the capital. Jiraiya knew that Zenchi was intelligent, but also confided to Naruto and Raido that Zenchi was likely eager to gain power. So while the maintenance of the sealing arrays surrounding the castle was a routine, albeit very much overdue, task, Jiraiya had warned them to be careful. Nobles were dangerous enemies, and the Daimyo wouldn't be pleased if shinobi acted against his family, even if it was an ambitious lesser son. It was needless to mention that the Daimyo controlled much of how Konoha acquired its funds.

Hinata, however, had nothing to worry about in that regard. She and the rest of team eight were send out to track down one of Jiraiya's old contacts, a man named Terasu. Apparently he hadn't responded to Jiraiya's messages for a while, something which was enough for Jiraiya to send out a team. With Terasu living near Takeda castle, team eight had first been tasked with escorting Naruto and Raido- which effectively granted team eight two C-ranked missions at once, although Karin had said she'd rather help Naruto in his B-ranked mission. Fuinjutsu experts were rare enough, so that mission automatically paid out pretty good. B-ranks would have been good for chipping away at their punishments after the whole insubordination stunt, as well.

"Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata spoke up, wondering why her sensei kept looking at her. "What is wrong?"

"There isn't anything wrong," Kurenai laughed gently. "How was New Year's Eve?" The blush that followed made Kurenai's smile even wider. "That good, eh?"

"…"

"Naruto seemed quite happy too," Kurenai smirked. "Then again, I first thought it was because his seal had been improved. His mood definitely brightened a lot now that the Kyuubi has less influence over him. But with the fires in the Uchiha district, and you two initially not being accounted for…"

"We didn't start that fire," Hinata sputtered. "W-we saw, but…"

"Hoho, 'we'?"

"Sensei… please…"

"Okay, okay, I'll stop teasing," Kurenai laughed. Hinata sighed, and counted herself lucky that Karin and Kiba were busy at the other side of camp. Hinata's mind still went adrift every time she thought back to how she and Naruto had held hands, and all the teasing wasn't something she was waiting for.

"W-when will you and Asuma-sensei hold the festivities for your marriage?" Hinata decided to play it safe and change the subject.

"Hmm… that will take some time. Asuma just lost his father, Hinata, so we aren't really in the mood to throw a party. It just doesn't feel right. In addition, considering how Asuma now leads the Sarutobi clan, we can't get by with just a little party either," Kurenai sighed. "At times, I'd almost regret winning the bet. You know, because you three did better than team ten, Asuma had to propose," she smiled faintly at the memory. "Men really don't know how to bet. Ah well, I guess it'll be another month or so before we start planning the official ceremonies."

"Oh…"

"The death of Sandaime-sama has put the Sarutobi clan in quite a predicament," Kurenai admitted. "He had such a standing within the village that his loss is not something the clan can easily cover. The Sarutobi clan will have a busy time ahead now that they have less influence in the political balance: Asuma especially, as all eyes are now on him." Then again, Hiruzen was nothing if not cunning. It was no coincidence that Asuma and Kurenai had held so many clan heirs under their command, Hiruzen seemed to have calculated for the possibility of his death, and made sure his heir would be in a position that firmly connected him to several clans.

"What's wrong with Asuma-sensei?" Kiba spoke up. "The tents are up, by the way."

"You shouldn't barge into another's conversation, it's rude, Kiba-kun," Karin sighed. "Why didn't Anko-san join us?" she asked nevertheless. Karin was never too good at containing her curiosity, after all.

"She is testing Tayuya," Kurenai sighed. "Although I wonder if Hokage-sama made a wise decision on that."

"You should have more faith in your friend, Sensei," Naruto appeared, carrying several logs of wood; spread between him and his clones, that is. "This should be enough to keep the fire going for the night. Anko knows better than anyone what Tayuya is going through, so Anko is the perfect person to help her."

"You really think that girl remains sane?" Kiba frowned. "Akamaru said she still smells dangerous, and I'm inclined to agree with him," he added, while the pup whined in agreement.

"She knows her past. She realizes that she was once more than a tool, a human being who was loved by her father and mother, much unlike the lies that were fed to her by Orochimaru," Naruto disagreed. "Sometimes those are the things that matter most. Especially now that the influence of the cursed seal is dammed in. She is in doubt, but she needs to see that no matter how dark the world seems, there still is that one ray of light you can believe in." Yes, this applied to himself as well, he realized. Without Hinata, Haruki, Hiruzen, or Jiraiya… how badly would his head have been messed up if he had lived twelve or thirteen years without cherishing hope in even one person? The Kyuubi would have torn him to bits, or his mind would have contorted itself into ways to hold the creature off that would be equal to insanity. Perhaps he just would've torn his own mind apart and buried the darker parts. Perhaps he would have acted like a clown, just to hide his pain. "Just look at Gaara, or me. People need something to hold on to. No matter how small it is, you'll need something to endure it all- especially when there's something actively trying to invade your mind."

"I hope she'll manage to pass the tests," Kurenai agreed. "If her loyalty can be proven, she'd be a great addition to Konoha. I mean, as a genjutsu specialist, I can't help but look forward to working with someone who can literally weave illusions through music."

"She won't join team eight, I think," Naruto frowned. "And someone from the Yamanaka clan is going to aid Anko." He hoped Ino would be up for the task. It would be good if she had an unbiased image of the girl who might join her team. Although, he knew that Inoichi had reported that his daughter had suffered quite a bit from the backfired attempt to invade the twisted mind of one of Orochimaru's insane minions. "But she'll sure be a strong addition to the Uzumaki clan."

"I still can't believe that she's an Uzumaki," Kiba admitted. "But if Tsunade-sama said it's true…"

Hinata looked at Naruto, clearly uncomfortable. "I guess I should tell them that she isn't?" Naruto laughed. "But other than you guys I don't want anyone to know about that, okay? I just got Baa-chan to state that truly supporting the claim is impossible due to Orochimaru's experiments, but that she does show remarkable similarities to the Uzumaki bloodline. Her hair is a physical proof of it," he tapped Karin on her head. "Uzumaki are known for their red hair."

"Yet you are blond as a Yamanaka," Kiba frowned.

"Genetics are an odd thing," Naruto shrugged. Truthfully, he'd rather have red hair as well, instead of the color he inherited from the man who had stuffed the Kyuubi in him. But life rarely offered the luxury of choice. He idly wondered whether his father had faced the same lack of alternatives. "But she's precious to Chie, so I wanted to give her this chance."

"I think Tayuya-san can be a good person. But I think she will have a hard time in Konoha at first," Hinata hesitated. "Anko never got accepted, due to being Orochimaru's former student, so I think Tayuya won't be given much of a chance either."

"Godaime-sama will come through for her. And we will too," Kiba boasted. "If she remains sane, that is. I've got enough insane women around me as it is."

Naruto looked at Karin, Kurenai, and Hinata, who were all glaring at Kiba. "Not a smart move, buddy…"

* * *

"They're all asleep?" Raido questioned. Kurenai frowned, but nodded. One of the clones which Naruto left to hold watch while he slept also joined in.

"What is wrong?" she wondered why he signaled for her to wait and meet the two of them.

"We had stalkers," the Naruto-clone grumbled. "Four of them. I couldn't sense them, but they tripped one of the seals I left as a precaution. Hinata-chan saw them too, but I didn't want her or Karin-neechan to worry about it, so I acted like nothing was wrong."

"Konoha nin?"

"I think so," Raido mumbled. "Their tracks were extremely difficult to find, but they led from the village. When Naruto notified me, I tried to figure out who it was, but they somehow must have caught wind of it."

"You guys usually call me paranoid, but I swear I've been stalked for a longer time now," the clone stated sourly. "I hate it, but somehow they manage to hide from me."

"But… you can sense their intent, right?" Kurenai blinked. "How can they hide from that?"

"I'd really want to know that too," Naruto looked at her. "Perhaps I should start hunting them when we get back in Konoha." He suspected that they'd be Hyuga, as some of the more emotionless bastards of the main house were quite hard to sense, but Naruto didn't like the scenario at all. He would rather keep the focus of their wrath on him, instead of them trying to attack Hinata, of course, but he'd rather not endanger the fragile trust Hiashi still held in him. The Hyuuga were powerful allies, and would be equally annoying opponents. Given that he wanted to reinstate the Uzumaki as a clan, Naruto rather avoided making enemies of their caliber.

However, if they found a weakness in his sensory abilities, they might come to force his hand.

* * *

They had travelled fast. Too fast, if one would ask Hinata. She enjoyed it that they were together, a bit like when they had travelled to the ruins of that Uzumaki temple. She enjoyed being free of all the worries, not being burdened by concerns for her clan, or constantly being reminded of the sorrow she felt after the loss of Shino and Choji, even if it was only for a time. Now the paths were diverging. Naruto and Raido were sprinting off, heading to Takeda castle, while team eight had to fend for itself now. '_Without Naruto-kun, our team has lost a lot of power. Karin-chan still doubts herself, and Kiba-kun is a lot less boastful than usual. Doubts. We all seem to be filled with doubts. But after what happened…'_

Perhaps Jiraiya had felt this. Hinata couldn't tell, but she suspected that the Hokage had deliberately chosen them because he knew they doubted themselves, knew that they needed a boost to their morale. Why else would Jiraiya of the Sannin praise their abilities as a tracking team to such an extent? Why else would he praise them for their actions during their clandestine Sasuke-retrieval mission?

'_To compare our ability to track down the Oto nin to that of experienced chunin seems excessive. I wonder if we really deserve such praise,'_ Hinata bit her lip. Still, their Hokage had selected them for this mission, entrusted them with searching for the whereabouts of an old friend of his. After all those words, team eight felt like they could not afford to fail. '_Perhaps Kiba-kun is right. Perhaps this Terasu is indeed a lecher like Jiraiya-sama, and finding him will simply be a matter of checking up on the nearest brothel… but why didn't Jiraiya-sama say what kind of person Terasu is?'_

The secrecy surrounding Jiraiya's informant was a matter of concern to Kurenai too. But she doubted Jiraiya would send out a relatively inexperienced team if he was expecting serious troubles.

* * *

The path that led through the mountains ended up with a nice view across the gorge. They would have to continue down the path, going left, as there wasn't a bridge spanning across the gorge. The castle itself resided on the other end. Steep cliffs on three sides, and the approachable side fortified by several walls, Takeda castle was quite a side to behold. It literally towered over the environment, seemingly impenetrable.

Naruto couldn't feel too worried, though. While a castle like this might be enough to hold off any normal opponent, a shinobi was a different matter. Leaning against the willow that stood next to their vantage point, Naruto took a sip from his bottle. Climbing made a person thirsty.

"Does every chiji have such a castle?" he asked Raido.

"The northern region is different. Near the borders to Kumo and especially Iwa, there are a few defensive structures. Hi no Kuni does not want any marauders to cross the border," Raido mumbled. "That's why there are so many border patrol missions."

"To ensure that the inlands are secure enough to prosper," Naruto understood. "Damn, it must suck for the minor nations. Stuck between the defenses of the large countries, I bet all the criminals amass in those regions, while the large countries also abuse their grounds for their skirmishes."

"That is their fate," Raido shrugged. "It's far from good, but it is better than the border incidents immediately dissolving into war between the large nations. Unlike Mizu no Kuni, the main continent doesn't have a natural border zone in the form of the seas. Not that I think the current situation is good, but it is a necessary evil."

"Stupid wars," the young Uzumaki grumbled. He didn't like the way the world worked, at all. Using entire nations as a buffer zone, their inhabitants exposed to violence from both neighbors, it just didn't seem right to him. But that was a concern for later, he knew. Right now, he had to focus on the chiji and his castle.

"How are your chakra supplies?"

"Reasonable," Naruto admitted. "Jii-san really did a great job at strengthening my seal. The Kyuubi isn't as annoying as he used to be, that's definitely a blessing."

"But you having less chakra at your disposal will also mean you'll tire sooner."

"Yes," Naruto sighed. "Although I don't notice it too much. But when I fought Sasuke, because I had less chakra than usual, using the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu didn't work out like normal. I mean, I still had more chakra than he had, but I've never been as efficient in using my chakra as Sasuke." He hated to admit it, but with the power of the cursed seal, Sasuke had become a serious threat. Then again, Sasuke had the advantage that his sharingan spotted the seals Naruto used to usually take down his adversaries. Fighting someone who sees chakra like that gave him an annoying disadvantage.

"A shinobi always has to adapt his combat style to the circumstances. That is why we usually take the time in a fight to carefully examine the opponent's weaknesses," Raido lectured. "You relied too much on the overwhelming power of the Kyuubi, which gave you a great advantage when using all that chakra for ninjutsu or fuinjutsu. But not every opponent is beaten quickly. Haste can lead to danger."

"And with less chakra at my disposal, my advantage lessened proportionally," Naruto admitted. "I was worn out when that snake popped up."

"Don't think too much about that fight. You are still young, and need to improve a lot. Gaining experience will make you stronger. But, regardless of that, facing someone like Orochimaru will never be easy. He'd have killed most others, so count yourself lucky that you survived," Raido knew that it wouldn't be luck. The poison which Orochimaru had used was meant to take Naruto down, so that the boy could be taken as a prisoner. The snake sage, however, had not expected Jiraiya to intervene.

"It was nothing Baa-chan couldn't heal. Looking at the others, I'd say my injuries were the least worrisome," Naruto took another sip of water. In the distance, they could see the guards walking over the ramparts.

"The worst pain isn't physical injury, but seeing your friends and loved ones suffer and die," Raido was looking at the boy with his dark eyes. "I remember the attack of the Kyuubi like it was yesterday. Namikaze Minato had always been my idol, I was so proud that he chose me to be part of his personal guard. The blood and tears I shed with my comrades… but the worst was not the battle, it was what followed after. It was the funerals, the knowledge that they're gone. I lost my teacher, my girlfriend, and many friends. Those wounds go deeper than any wound of the flesh."

"I guess that is why there are so many shinobi who are driven insane," Naruto grimaced. "A war must be horrible enough to drive even the strongest to despair."

"Especially the strongest, Naruto. Never forget that the strongest shinobi always carry the greatest burdens, receive the most horrible missions, and end up seeing the worst sides of humanity."

"I guess that is why people say that emotions are dangerous for a shinobi."

"Yet a life without emotions is not worth calling a life either," Raido shrugged. "Emotions aren't bad by default. It's just… controlling them is difficult. When you lose control, they can become a grave threat to anyone."

'_Light and shadows. One cannot accept the light without acknowledging the shadows it casts. And still it is better than the nothingness of darkness,' _Naruto had pondered about his strange dreams quite often. "If we lose our humanity, we would become worse than animals. We'd be monsters, like Orochimaru."

"The stronger the shinobi, the more dangerous the monster. That is why teamwork is so important. Keeping your sanity is difficult, but when you can share your burden with others, it can at least be made tolerable. Together you succeed where you'd individually fail. I know you don't like what the Yondaime did to you, Naruto, but regardless of it I will still aid you because of the oaths I swore to him. I hope I can aid you like he once aided me."

"Thanks, Raido."

* * *

"Jiraiya-sama, there's another message from the Daimyo," Iruka said after knocking on the door.

"Come in."

Jiraiya quickly read through the lines, and sighed. "I'm glad I prepared Raido for this possible scenario."

"Jiraiya-sama?" Iruka blinked, a bit surprised by his response. This whole job of acting as Jiraiya's secretary was taxing, but Iruka did learn a lot about how the village was run. But there were also quite a few things that passed Iruka's office that were 'above his pay grade', as he liked to call it. Messages like these were directly passed on to the Hokage. But Iruka did know that this wasn't the first letter from the Daimyo this week. Something big was going on.

"Seems like Naruto will get a good test of what it entails to be a chunin," Jiraiya answered cryptically.

"Will he be all right?"

"Teachers shouldn't play favorites."

"Naruto is a different case," Iruka scowled a bit, not liking that his boss made fun of him- especially not when he was worried about his former student. "He was an orphan, all alone and hated for something he couldn't help. Even if he had his comrades at the Hyuga clan, how was I to ignore him and treat him like I did my other students? He needed a more personal approach, even if he didn't want it at the time."

"And he values you immensely for it," the older man smiled. "Why else do you think he pushed me into accepting you for this job? He didn't just do it for your Hyuga-sweetheart, but also for you. He wanted to repay you, because you were one of the few who treated him with kindness. But I wouldn't have hired you, if I didn't trust you were capable enough," Jiraiya added frankly.

"I just did what everyone should've done," Iruka felt a bit uncomfortable due to the praise. "Naruto isn't the monster people said he was. And ever since the invasion, more and more are starting to see the truth. Still… I hope you didn't send him on a mission that is too harsh for him."

"I might have. But Raido is at his side, so don't worry about it."

"If you say so, Hokage-sama…"

"How many times do I have to repeat myself, Iruka? Just call me Jiraiya."

"As you command, Hokage-sama."

"Ugh..."

* * *

"Zenchi-sama is ready to receive you, shinobi-san," one of the guards opened the door to the main hall of the castle.

Naruto looked up and saw Raido nod at him. _'Too bad, these chairs were quite comfortable._ _Perhaps the poison hadn't completely left my system after all, if a few days of travel could wear me down this much.'_ The castle itself had turned out to be quite luxurious. While the walls were thick and high, the interior of the castle itself breathed a sort of wealth that seemed rather out of place after traveling through the region.

Down in the gorge between the vantage point from which they had seen Takeda castle first, and the castle itself, a small village was hidden. Mostly consisting of traders, a few brothels, bars, and gambling dens, the village was filled with the sort of civilians that knew that a contingent of soldiers could spend quite a few ryo. Although it was not enough to make the village look wealthy. Now that Naruto thought about it, none of the villages in the region had seemed to be very wealthy.

Perhaps Raido was right, that people did not like settling too close to the borders. They were, after all, only a couple of hours away from the border to Yu no Kuni, with the expanding influence of Otogakure creeping close as well.

"Welcome," a slender man in his early thirties stood up when Raido and Naruto entered. He was of average height and had small, circular eyes with dark pupils that seemed to be as sharp as the point of a senbon. He moved smoothly; although he lacked the grace of a shinobi, it was obvious that this man did train. Most likely he trained with some of the samurai that stood in the meeting hall. "I had not expected your arrival so soon already, Uzumaki-san."

"We came as soon as we could after receiving our mission, Zenchi-sama," Naruto bowed politely, although the somewhat cold and calculating smile from the chiji disturbed him a little. This man seemed to be intelligent, not the sort of man who deserved to be stuck out here. While his task of leading the Northern provinces seemed important, a chiji had relatively little personal power. Commands issued by the administrators of the capital still had to be followed, after all.

"And I thank you for it, both of you," Zenchi spoke evenly. "Although the task for which I requested for you is not a matter of that much urgency, I will be pleased once I know my fortress is secure. The actions from Otogakure created quite a few worries here in the North."

"It seems doubtful that Otogakure would attempt to openly seek conflict with Konoha," Raido couldn't help but remark. "Their invasion failed, they turned their only ally into an enemy, and after their treachery it seems unlikely that any other nation would aid them."

"But it is not their reason I fear, shinobi-san, it is their inability to reason," Zenchi shook his head slowly, his long black hair brushing over his white-and-green kimono. "Orochimaru conducted a lot of strange experiments, I am afraid. Some resemble more the demons of lore than the men they have once been. It is regrettable that Sandaime-sama did not manage to kill him during the invasion."

"You seem well informed."

"Yes, shinobi-san, I do make a habit of gathering trustworthy information. Information, after all, is power. For instance, there is the way that the newly-appointed Godaime managed to restore much of the diplomatic relations with Sunagakure," Zenchi smiled finely. "I gathered that you and Gaara-san have gotten quite friendly despite the impressive display during the Chunin Exams, Uzumaki-san. Yes, I was there too. Watching the battle was an experience that changed my views on you shinobi quite a lot. For two children to wield such power… we simple civilians can barely fathom the burden it must impose."

"The average shinobi is just as oblivious to the weight of the burdens which Gaara and I carry," Naruto said darkly. The things Gaara had experienced always made his blood boil. Naruto hoped that the boy would have a better life in Suna now. But when they had said goodbye when Gaara and Temari returned to Suna, Naruto had felt torn. Sure, with the threat of Otogakure, which had openly snatched away the last Uchiha from Konoha, somehow bypassing every line of defense which should have been in place, Suna had every reason to want their strongest shinobi back in the village. But Naruto would rather have kept Gaara in Konoha. The sense of familiarity between the two, both seeing each other as the first person akin to themselves that they had ever met, had even become a matter of jokes. Kiba had suggested that Hinata had some serious competition in Gaara, for instance.

He frowned, knowing he had to get his mind away from Gaara. His seal was strong now, so Gaara should be able to change his life in Suna now. But while Naruto knew Gaara was serious in his aim to make amends, he also doubted whether the people of Suna would give him a fair chance- but that was in Gaara's hands now. Jiraiya trusted that Suna would change their ways, and Naruto knew that the goofy sage was much wiser than him. He had to trust them, even more because right now he had a mission to focus on. "But regarding the barriers, do you possess any information regarding the current layout of the seals? It would shorten this mission considerably."

Smiling finely, knowing he struck a nerve with Naruto, Zenchi nodded. "Yes, I will make sure the schematics will be ready first thing tomorrow morning. My steward Sakai will lead you to your chambers and will provide you with the breakfast of your desire."

They bowed and followed after the elderly official, who was in charge of managing the entire household, from the cooks and gardeners to the administrative officials. The man had easily passed his sixties, obviously having climbed up the ladder through the years. If Naruto had to make a guess, he'd say the man had once worked in the kitchen. The many small scars that littered the man's hands seemed to point at that.

"Sakai-san, is it perhaps possible that Naruto and I share a larger room with two separate beds?" Raido requested after the doors to Zenchi's hall had closed. He and Naruto chose to ignore the samurai. In their armor and with their helmets, they all looked identical.

"As you wish, shinobi-san," the older man bowed his head slightly. "Then we go to west wing instead. I'm afraid the room will not be as good as the ones I had in mind at first. Your servant will be notified of your new rooms and bring you breakfast at seven."

"We're used to camping out in the wild, so we don't need much luxury," Naruto chuckled. '_Raido is on his guard. I suppose I can't blame him. That Zenchi guy tried to act nice, but he has a rather cold heart. I can't say that he feels like he intends to harm us, though. He doesn't have the power for that anyway. Nor do any of these samurai. Still… he knows who and what I am, and seems to be aware of the treatment most civilians gave me as well. Why would he do all that research on me? Or am I acting paranoid again?'_

* * *

"What is it, Forehead? I'm not really in the mood to bicker today."

"You look exhausted," Sakura frowned. "What have you been doing, Ino?"

"Training," Ino grunted. The blonde had literally trained herself until she couldn't stand straight, and was now sprawled out over the ground. Her long blonde hair was untied and dirty, and her skin pale from the mental and physical exhaustion.

"You know, if you train too hard, you'll only get weaker."

"I need to keep my thoughts on other things. I'll go crazy if I do nothing the entire day!"

"Calm down," Sakura sat down.

Ino wondered how the pinkette had found her out here in this training ground, especially when she hadn't seen Sakura in several days. Something within her friend was broken, Ino had concluded. Ever since Sasuke had defected and Shino had died, Haruno Sakura had ceased being the Haruno Sakura that Ino had known for years. Her closest friend seemed distant, something which was quite unlike Sakura. Ino knew that they had their quarrels over the years, but they had always been open to each other, helping each other out whenever they could. Ino had been there when Sakura was bullied, she had been there when Sakura lost her mother and later her father, and yet this time…

"You're not the one who should be worrying about me. I should be the one worrying about you."

"I'm fine, Ino."

"You're not," Ino huffed. "Don't try to hide it Sakura, you suck at lying. You're hurt, so why don't you stop hiding it? Haven't we always talked about these things?"

The empty gaze of Sakura's green eyes startled Ino. "What happened is irreversible, Ino. No matter what we say, my parents remain dead. Shino remains dead. Sasuke remains a traitor. If not for the mercy of that Oto trash, I would have died. But I'm not planning to let myself be torn apart any longer. I need to move on."

"Are you sure you can just move on like that?"

"Lee told me that the only way to grow is to keep giving it your all: that hard work can overcome any hurdle. I always believed that Sasuke would notice me if I just tried hard enough, Ino; that he would change. I knew he had darkness within him, but I thought that love could change him, that I could save him. But, life isn't a fairy tale: some hurdles cannot be defeated, no matter how hard someone works."

"So you are giving up?" Ino frowned. Sakura's usage of past tense worried the Yamanaka. "The Sakura I know never gives up!"

"Perhaps because I'm not the same Sakura anymore?" Sakura smiled faintly. She knew that Ino was one of the people whom she had to convince first, her closest friend. Ino knew the old Sakura better than anyone. If anyone was to notice that she had changed, it would be Ino; therefore, Danzo had sent her out to earn the trust of the Yamanaka. If Ino was fooled, anyone would buy the change. After all, with the mental traumas which Sakura had suffered, changes in her personality would not be completely unexpected. A Yamanaka would be the first to acknowledge that.

So she told the truth, even though she knew Ino would not understand the truth behind her words. Lies were always stronger when there was a speck of truth behind them. Still, Sakura felt a bit of worry, knowing full well that her (former) friend was an intelligent and perceptive person. Fortunately, Ino fell for it, too concerned about her to get suspicious. Sakura almost smiled when she saw the worry in the blonde's eyes. _'Hook, line, and sinker.'_

"Don't give up…" Ino looked so worried that Sakura only had more trouble keeping her face straight. She filed this observation away for later, as it underscored that she needed more training to control her emotions.

"I don't. Tsunade-sama took over the hospital, and offers to teach those who are able and willing. I'm planning to become a medic, to get stronger." Yes, she'd grow stronger all right- if not through Tsunade, then through Danzo- but Sakura was certain that she'd grow stronger. '_Then Sasuke-kun will acknowledge me.'_

'_Wait, where did that thought come from? I want to get stronger for the sake of Root, don't I?'_

"Let's grow strong together," Ino rambled, not noticing how distracted Sakura had become. Those treasonous emotions were hard to eradicate, and why? Danzo-sama had subjugated her completely, his orders were absolute. So why would she still feel like this? Why was that Uchiha still special to her?

"What is your father training you for right now?" Sakura realized that Ino was talking about being trained for a special project.

"Oh, clan stuff. You know, about using the Shintenshin no Jutsu properly," Ino explained. "The way my jutsu backfired on me because of how screwed up that Oto guy's mind was, was a sign I need a lot more training. Dad says this mission is a perfect test for me."

"Mission?" Sakura frowned. This could be useful information.

"It's a secret," Ino hesitated. "Hokage-sama forbade my father and me to talk about it, so I can't. Sorry."

"And I thought you just said that we shouldn't hide things for each other?" Sakura joked. "Don't sweat it. Orders are orders. I don't want you to be a traitor to Konoha too."

"Right. We've had one traitor too many already," Ino smiled sadly. But Sakura was smart enough in her own right. Ino obviously had to explore someone's mind, and judging by the way she said it, it seemed to be someone similar to the Oto nin that had deflected her mind transfer jutsu. That Jiraiya had made Ino and Inoichi swear secrecy in this matter did not seem to be a coincidence either. Adding up the facts, Sakura concluded that Ino had to interrogate Tayuya, the kunoichi from Otogakure that had been captured and held at the Uzumaki compound.

The more worrisome fact, however, was that the girl wasn't handed over to the T&amp;I department. The Uzumaki and the Godaime hid the girl. How much did they know? Sakura mentally noted that she had to warn Danzo-sama, as soon as she could. But first she had to convince Ino.

"Let's get something to eat. You look like you're starving," Sakura gave her friend the most convincing smile she could muster, partly because she was truly happy. Danzo-sama would be pleased that she obtained this information.

Never did she hear the angry shouts from inner-Sakura, fruitlessly attempting to halt this madness.

* * *

"Are you sure this boy is the key?"

"He is, honey, trust me," Zenchi smirked.

"Zenchi-sama, your guests have arrived," Sakai bowed after having knocked and entered the dining room.

"Welcome, Uzumaki-san, Namiashi-san," Zenchi smiled and offered them a place on the dinner table. "This is my wife, Eiko-chan," he gestured to the woman sitting on the other end of the table.

She was fairly thin, with her long brown hair tied into a complex braid. Her white kimono bore the symbols of the house of the Daimyo and Hi no Kuni. Her face was narrow; Naruto would almost joke that someone tried to flatten her head, but realized that it would be extremely rude to say. Still, with that small nose and narrow face, she reminded him a bit of a weasel.

The weasel-like woman bowed to them, after they had bowed first. "I understand you have inspected the barrier today, Uzumaki-san?"

"I have, Eiko-sama," Naruto nodded. "The schematic seems to be fairly accurate. The seals at the steep end of the mountain are especially well chosen. A bit old, perhaps, but they still function well."

"We had seals on the mountainside?" the noblewoman frowned slightly.

"Shinobi could run up to the walls, using chakra to stick their feet to any object," Raido clarified. "However, those seals prevent a shinobi from latching onto the stone, and thereby inhibiting their ability to walk up the steep sides which protect the castle."

"The same seals have been used for the walls themselves," Naruto noted. "That way, shinobi face the same sort of difficulties as ordinary soldiers when it comes to passing obstacles."

"Fascinating," Eiko smiled. "It pleases me to know that our castle cannot be entered that easily."

"It is why I requested the assistance of Uzumaki-san, Eiko-chan," Zenchi laughed gently. "His prowess in fuinjutsu impressed me during the Chunin Exams. And the Uzumaki clan has always been known as the foremost fuinjutsu experts. It is sad how your clan suffered an untimely demise, Uzumaki-san…"

"Please excuse my husband," Eiko laughed. "He always reads too much, and when it is a happy occasion like today's dinner, he brings up such gloomy stories."

"I don't mind, Eiko-sama. I'm happy to know that the legacy of my clan still lives on," Naruto smiled, seemingly carefree. Inwardly, though, he wondered why these people were trying to appease him like this. First the chiji had made remarks on his status as jinchuriki, and now they were praising his clan. While Naruto could let it pass as a common courtesy, Raido had warned him not to trust these people too much. Nobles rarely said things without some hidden reason, and having grown up amidst the intrigue of the capital, a smart man like Zenchi would know this better than anyone.

"I, for one, am happy knowing that someone of your stature is working on securing our home. After all, Hi no Kuni seems to be taking the safety of the nation for granted these days," Eiko remarked.

"Eiko-chan, you accuse me of bringing up historic facts, yet you talk about politics?" Zenchi joked. But to Raido, the exchange of words felt rather forced. It was as if their hosts had prepared this conversation for them. Unfortunately, Naruto did not seem to notice this.

"Why would the Daimyo take the safety of the Northern region for granted?"

"Well, the recent invasion weakened Konogakure a bit," Zenchi answered, just a fraction of a second too early, confirming Raido's suspicions. The man was smart, yet a bit too eager. "The unprovoked attack from Sunagakure and Otogakure caused quite a bit of damage. The loss of men and material cannot be recovered instantly, but our noble Daimyo could have done more to stimulate the nation's strongest asset. A Daimyo should invest in the safety of his realm, rather than being so economical regarding the matter."

"I trust that Godaime-sama will ensure our losses will soon be restored," Naruto said formally. This was also a mistake, in Raido's opinion. These people were seeking Naruto's support it seemed, perhaps because Zenchi wished to make a claim for the position of Daimyo.

'_If this Zenchi saw Naruto fight against Gaara, he must have realized that Naruto will become someone of vital importance to Hi no Kuni if his power keeps growing at this rate. This is dangerous… While I know Naruto is loyal to Jiraiya-sama, I doubt he will feel much for the Daimyo. Naruto hates the inequality in this world, and the Daimyo and the royal house are living proof of that inequality. If Zenchi exploits that, and turns Naruto against the current Daimyo with promises of being a better leader… Did Jiraiya-sama make a mistake by sending Naruto on this mission? He may be promoted to chunin, but is he ready for these matters?'_ Raido fell silent, focusing on his food, listening to the idle conversation between Naruto, Zenchi, and Eiko. It seemed like the nobles had spoken the words they had prepared, and were now just going with the flow. '_I need to warn Naruto. These people are dangerous. If they have the audacity to try to win him over for their goals, there is no saying how many other ploys they have prepared.'_

Complimenting Eiko, as the hostess, on the quality of the meal he was eating, Naruto laughed and talked merrily. Observing his thirteen years, the chiji and his wife had made the mistake of underestimating him. His heavenly blue eyes turned to Raido, and the cold stare was enough of a message to the tokubetsu jonin. Growing up amidst the Hyuga clan had ensured that Naruto had enough knowledge about political machinations.

Besides, it was not as if they could hide their greed from him. It was a black stain in their heart. While it was not exactly malice or murderous intent, in terms of having the intent to inflict pain upon others, it was most definitely a negative emotion. It was much easier to have these people underestimate him, as they clearly were no Hyuga and could not see through his expressions. Fooling them was easier, easier than the guarded silence with which Raido surrounded himself, him being someone who specialized as an assassin in staying in the shadows, who would only stand out more and make himself more suspicious to them.

After all, Jiraiya had pointed out to Naruto that causing problems with the Daimyo and his family was a matter which they should avoid at all costs. If these two were foolish enough to start trouble… well, in a conflict with nobility, the truth about the situation was of lesser importance. It would be obvious who would get the blame if things turned sour.

* * *

Three days. For three days they had wandered around, not having the faintest clue as to where to find their target. Hinata felt uncharacteristically annoyed by the situation. The Hokage had personally chosen team eight for this mission, and for all these days they hadn't found a single clue. There was an empty house in the village, yet no one could, nor wanted to, tell them who lived there. There were at least four who had lied, Hinata had seen, but what could they could do?

Kurenai had stated that using genjutsu on civilians in order to get the truth out of them was unacceptable within the current mission perimeters. So they searched on. Kiba and Akamaru had spent several hours yesterday tracking down a scent, but it had been a dead end. Karin couldn't sense a thing either. There were a few faint signals of chakra in the vicinity, but nothing noteworthy: some samurai who were guarding the regional capital, some shinobi in the distance that had border patrol missions, but other than that… nothing.

"Kurenai-sensei, who is this Terasu?" Kiba asked again.

"A contact of Jiraiya-sama, a retired shinobi," Kurenai recited from what she memorized from the files. "A man in his early forties with reddish-brown hair, over six feet tall with a broad face and broad shoulders. He is known to have quite a few scars, presumably from being hit by shrapnel during an explosion. The file also indicated that he had a prosthetic left leg, although he knows how to hide it very well. That is all we know."

"And no one knows such a person," Karin sighed. "This mission sucks. It's like seeking a needle in a haystack, while the haystack denies that it ever contained a needle."

"Have we searched in all surrounding villages?" Hinata frowned, looking at the dejected Uzumaki. "We still haven't visited Takeda castle, perhaps they know more? After all, the local officials are all housed there. We knew this mission would not be obvious. Tracking someone down is never that obvious."

"Any contact of Godaime-sama is bound to have lived low-key," Kurenai agreed. "We can try, but I doubt someone like Terasu would like to be known by the authorities. There are always risks when living as an informant in one of the biggest spy networks in the elemental nations. And the fact that the files said nothing about the man's past other than being a retired shinobi also seems to point out that this man stays hidden."

"Why does that matter, Sensei?" Kiba wondered. "I mean, there are many people who got incapacitated and retired as shinobi, so why is this man different?"

"A former shinobi from Konohagakure would still have a record," Kurenai clarified. Karin and Hinata realized the problem, but Kiba just looked at his teacher while not having a clue. "It means this Terasu is likely someone from another hidden village, Kiba. A missing nin, perhaps, or someone who is believed to have died. In fact, 'Terasu' is most likely not even his true name."

"Oh…" Kiba blinked owlishly.

"Finding someone who tries to remain hidden from the world seems like an impossible mission," Karin grumbled. "This mission only gets worse."

"But Hokage-sama gave us this information and told us that we should be capable of finding Terasu," Hinata disagreed. "We must be forgetting something. Or perhaps we should try a different approach at inquiring with the civilian of the village where Terasu was said to have lived?"

"We tried multiple approaches, disguises, and even offered incentives, but no one would talk. The people seemed to be afraid of something," Kurenai frowned.

"But there are no known groups of bandits or missing nin that raid this region. According to our information this region is quite safe, for a border region at least," Hinata suddenly realized the other option which was left open. "Could it be… the local authorities?"

"Hinata?" Kurenai blinked, but when she saw Hinata's expression she realized what she pointed out. "That the civilians fear the chiji and his law enforcers? It could be an option… but corruption on this level would be dangerous. This man is related to the Daimyo by blood, we cannot easily act against him or his soldiers."

"Unless we find solid evidence," Karin shook her head. "But our mission is to locate Terasu, right?"

"Agreed. But infiltrating Takeda castle goes way beyond a C-ranked mission," Kurenai sighed. "Let's head back to the inn." Kurenai knew she had to send a letter to Jiraiya first. Hinata was right, there was no indication that there were credible threats in this area that would cause Terasu to run while simultaneously forcing all the civilians to keep silent. This more or less eliminated the option that Terasu's cover had been blown. If the man had run, or if he had been snatched away while no one noticed, the civilians would not have felt the need to lie to anyone inquiring about him. Kurenai knew that between herself and her team, there wouldn't be anyone who had evaded their attention for this long.

No, the only option that remained, the only party capable of threatening the civilians into silence, and making it seem like Terasu had never even been here, would be the local government officials. People would have talked when it was bandits or missing nin who threatened them, after Kurenai had revealed her shinobi status, especially when there were no signs of genjutsu. Even civilians knew that there were few opponents that a jonin would not be able to handle.

Still… there was the risk that their suspicions would be wrong. And if they were, Zenchi would be offended if he found out that a squad of Konoha shinobi had been suspecting him of making someone disappear. The village aside, Kurenai had to consider the reputation of the Sarutobi clan too.

'_I really do not like politics…'_

A good night's rest changed a lot for the team, though. Kiba and Akamaru regained much of their enthusiasm, and Hinata and Karin seemed to be less agitated too. Kurenai had not slept very well, her mind calculating all the options the team had. Fortunately, Jiraiya had been quick to reply.

"_Any investigation against a member of the Daimyo's family is a matter that goes beyond the authority of a single jonin and her genin team. However, I tasked team eight with locating my source. Whether or not he is living at Takeda castle is of no concern to Konoha. Nevertheless this is a matter with requires a careful approach. Konoha cannot afford an open dispute with the Daimyo, and the Daimyo cannot afford to have any member of his family be openly prosecuted. As such, I have added the paperwork necessary to prove that team eight is sent to aid Uzumaki Naruto in his mission to reinforce the barriers of Takeda castle. This should be sufficient to enter without raising suspicions. If need be, inform Namiashi Raido of your suspicions, and handle accordingly."_

It was a letter that had filled Kurenai with doubt. Why had Jiraiya emphasized the dangers of an 'open' dispute? Why would she have to discuss her team's mission with Raido, and 'handle accordingly'? A jonin always encountered many unknowns while acting in the field, but this mission was becoming rather annoying.

'_I really do not like politics…'_

"What are we going to do, Sensei?" Karin sighed contently, after finishing breakfast. Kurenai wondered whether every Uzumaki was blessed with an appetite like that. Although the stacks of empty bowls that Hinata made were rather impressive as well…

"Takeda castle."

"We're going to join Naruto-kun?"

"Yes, Hinata, you can sit at Naruto's side today," Kurenai smirked, knowing why the shy heiress was suddenly smiling so happily. Still, they were on a mission, so Kurenai looked around to make sure no one was listening in. "We cannot openly act against the chiji, so Godaime-sama handed us the papers necessary to show that we were sent to aid Naruto. With your byakugan, Kiba's nose, and Karin's sensory abilities, that should not raise much suspicion. That is the key word, Kiba, suspicion. Try to be as subtle as you can."

"Hey, why are you singling me out," Kiba protested to his sensei. Not that anyone listened to his indignant cries. Even Akamaru whined that Kiba had it coming.

"So we need to help Nii-san with the barriers?" Karin frowned. "But none of us even come close to his abilities at fuinjutsu."

"We will help where we can, openly, while covertly continuing our search for Terasu-san."

* * *

A grown woman and three young shinobi left the civilian village, a sight which most people would immediately recognize as a genin team with their jonin sensei. But even from a distance he recognized the unique taste in clothing for which Yuhi Kurenai was known. And by the looks of the pup running alongside the boy, there was an Inuzuka too. The girl behind him was a Hyuga, an unmarked one if his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. The red-haired girl was an unknown, but he had heard rumors of an Uzumaki girl living in Konoha as of late.

This was Konoha's team eight. The former team of Uzumaki Naruto, he knew.

"These the ones?"

"Yes," he sighed. His partner was overeager as usual. "And no, I will handle them."

"Awww… I promise I won't hurt them. Knocking out a few genin isn't even fun," the tall man laughed. "You can have the jonin, she's more your type anyway. I never really like you genjutsu types. Shifty bastards."

He couldn't help but smile a little. "Thank you very much, Kisame."

"You know how I mean it, Itachi," the shark-like shinobi grunted. "I'd rather have a decent fight than all those fancy-smanchy illusions. And a good fight means that I at least get to unwrap Samehada," he patted the bandaged great sword that was hanging on his back.

"We are paid to capture the team that is snooping around, unharmed," Itachi warned. "The chiji specifically stated that we aren't getting any ryo out of this if they are harmed. Although I must admit that I am curious to see how he is planning to make them forget about their mission, like he stated."

"Yeah, yeah, this mission is no fun at all."

"It is if you enjoy genjutsu," Itachi remarked dryly. "Perhaps this Zenchi would give us more money if I wiped the memories of this team? Kakuzu would be overjoyed."

"That bastard and his money," Kisame grumbled. "But let's get moving, I think they've already spotted us."

"They have indeed. That Uzumaki girl is quite perceptive…"

"We could kidnap her," Kisame tried. "Locating the jinchuriki would be a lot easier if we had a trustworthy sensor. Someone who is better at it then Lettuce-boy, at least."

"We stick to the mission. And don't let Zetsu hear you call him like that. You know how annoying he is when his whiter half starts rambling…"

* * *

**Bonus: To live among the Uzumaki **

**(Experiment with first-person point of view.)**

* * *

It was odd. Very odd. I haven't woken up feeling like this… ever. Sleeping without that constantly nagging distrust and fear. Wondering if I would become the next person used for experiments. Or if I would be targeted due to my gender. Too many kunoichi who didn't turn out strong enough were used like that, for their offspring, and it utterly disgusted me. I never asked for this. I never wanted to be a girl. Hell, life as a guy would be much easier. Although I had heard many rumors that the slippery snake bastard was actually into boys…

That was the life I knew. A horrid plain of existence, most likely created to make us suffer for sins we committed in past lives. And yet here I was. Waking up after a night where I was barely haunted by nightmares. The comforting warmth of the talkative feline who lay softly snoring next to me. Chie.

Talking animals were no big surprise to a kickass shinobi like me, but this cat… she knew me. The past me. At first I didn't believe her at all, but she managed to show me my past. My father, my mother, my former self. A life where I was loved, where people cared for me. Before I was broken and rebuilt as Orochimaru's elite guard. Before I became a murderer, a thief, a liar…

I turned around and opened my father's diary again. I had fallen asleep while reading it. The picture of my mother made me wonder if I would ever grow up to become as pretty as she was. Probably not. It would be safer if I didn't. Ugly women drew less unwanted attention. Once more I looked at my mother's smile, as she held her hands over her swollen belly. Me. So protective, so happy, so… how disappointed would she be if she learned how I turned out?

Whether the cat hadn't been asleep or if I woke her up, I didn't know, but she jumped off the bed. It was a daily ritual by now. I didn't want her near me. I didn't want anyone near. To touch me. Regardless of this new life I had found, I found myself unable to lower my guard. And yet she was next to me every morning, when I woke up. Always using the excuse that I was sleeping so restlessly. She was right about that of course, even I had to admit that, but I wasn't willing to talk about my nightmares. I didn't trust any of them enough those nightmares. The things which I had done, the things which I had seen, I was afraid they'd all reject me if they knew the liar and murderer who I truly was.

I slipped on my clothes and left the bedroom I had gotten. The relatively small living quarters at the Uzumaki compound only had a few bedrooms. I had gotten the one which Chie had previously occupied. Originally because of the seals which had been in place to imprison the mischievous animal whenever necessary, but now I could just leave it freely. It was nothing special, but considering that I never really had a comfortable room to call my own, this was a huge improvement. Like everything was.

The red-haired girl that was now a fellow clan member had also left her room. Uzumaki Karin, she was called. A bit loud, and an annoying obsession with dogs and her Inuzuka teammate, but up till now she had been unusually friendly to me. Although she had seemed a little disappointed when I had bluntly refused to call her my sister. The crazy girl seemed to crave a family. Just like that blond pervert himself. He had the master bedroom at the end of the hall, the room with that amazing painting of the lost village of Uzushiogakure.

Cunning bastard.

Even if it was a misunderstanding, though I refuse to accept that I was the one who misunderstood him, he could have said it differently. He was to blame. How was I to interpret it otherwise when he ordered me to take off my clothes? He was the asshole who captured me, so what was I to expect? Everyone knows what happens to kunoichi who get captured. They'll pry the information out of you, one way or the other. And those filthy male apes usually did it in a way they found the most enjoyable. Dumb brutes.

Still, I had to admit that this blond bastard means well. But that didn't mean he has to blush every time he looks at me. Not that he's foolish enough to try anything. Or expect anything. He liberated me, yes, but that doesn't mean I feel anything about him. He's a guy, so I'm not deluding myself: he must have ulterior motives.

…although that doesn't fit with how he looks at that blue-haired Hyuga girl. The two of them twirling around each other by not knowing what to say made my stomach turn inside out at times. He obviously likes her, she obviously likes him, yet neither seemed to know how to deal with the situation. Like I said: sickeningly sweet. And I hate sweet stuff. It amused the cat and the girl-who-tried-to-be-my-sister but for me it was appalling that two shinobi could act like that. Especially him. As a shinobi, Uzumaki Naruto was nothing less than monstrous. Not that I expected anything less from a jinchuriki. Still, the way he had just shrugged off my genjutsu was terrifying. I was absolutely positive that no one could free themselves that easily. Even Orochimaru had praised me for me prowess in genjutsu. It was the thing that had kept me safe from all those hedonist bastards.

Talking about chakra-monsters, he was just being dragged in. Another early training session, by the looks of it, as he was carried in by none other than Jiraiya of the Sannin, the infamous toad sage and now Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure… not to mention the greatest pervert in the existence of mankind. Even Anko was wary of him whenever she went to a hot spring, she once advised me.

Anko, she was the most tolerable. A little sadistic, perhaps, but she wasn't evil. I liked that. As long as it wasn't aimed at me, that is. Those first days of imprisonment I had hated her more than anyone else, as she had been the one who kept feeding me poison. Only because the little blond pervert had been poisoned or whatever. I didn't even know that a jinchuriki could be poisoned, but if anyone could pull it off it would be that filthy snake.

As such, the dining room was filled up. The silent Raido, the guy with that ugly-ass scar on his face, was looking at me with the usual caution. He didn't seem to trust me as fully as the others did. Then again, Anko also always popped up at the strangest times. Perhaps she just was a better actor than Raido.

"Take a seat," Naruto smiled at me, his face still covered in dirt from training. Jiraiya apparently hadn't shown much mercy, judging by the way the boy held his arm.

"…"

"You know, you don't have to keep acting so grumpy," the only Hyuga of this unusual household spoke up. Hyuga Ako was originally assigned to look after Naruto, while he lived there. Originally her help had been a symbol of the formal ties between him and the Hyuga, although the situation had changed. At first, he'd live at the compound alone, but with Karin and me…

Aside from that, Ako had big plans about moving in with some guy named Iruka. I had never seen that man, but I felt some pity, knowing how fierce this young woman could be. Regardless of how she seemed to be a joke as a shinobi, Ako was capable of instilling fear in anyone, including Jiraiya and Naruto.

"Fine," I huffed. I might know my past, but it didn't mean that I just changed myself completely. I was still me. A murderer. I wasn't like them. But I was hungry, so I sat down and ate until my growling stomach was silenced.

Life in the Uzumaki household was weird. Which soon showed, as Anko and Ako started to fuss about who was the better older sister figure. They were strange. Naruto's involvement was even stranger. "You're the responsible and overbearing older sister, Ako, and you're the insane older sister, Anko," was how he silenced them. Correct assessments, yet not what the discussion had been about, they claimed. I knew why. Anko was just childishly winding up the poor Hyuga, who was too serious for her own good. And she never stopped. And if she couldn't rile up the Hyuga, she'd find other people to pester. Even I soon found myself laughing at her escapades.

For example, Anko had apparently dueled Tsunade over a bottle of sake once, and Naruto had quite the way of retelling that event. Jiraiya's dignity wasn't spared either, considering how he had been dragged there by the intoxicated Senju. Although Jiraiya soon countered with some of the things he knew about Naruto. Foolish… Naruto had far more dirt on the old man. Not even a Hokage was respected in this room, the man soon cried with big, and obviously fake, tears.

Is this goof really supposed to have chased off Orochimaru?I can hardly believe it. Then again, the now cheerfully laughing blond was the one who had killed Jirobo without blinking an eye. At least, that was what I heard. These people were just abnormal. The cat, she jumped on my lap just now, was the worst of all. Mischief incarnate.

"A purse?" I frowned when she gave me something.

"Yeah," Chie said cheerfully. "Although I bet the owner is going to arrive here soon enou-"

I nearly fell from my chair what the door flew open with a thunderous clap. While I'm still not sure why, I somehow managed to empty the purse and shove it across the table. Right at the person sitting in front of me. Senju Tsunade, who had apparently just left the local gambling den if the penetrating smell of alcohol was an indicator, saw Jiraiya and her purse…

"Is this normal?" I asked cautiously.

"Sure, Baachan always treats Erokage like this," my 'brother' reacted. Even if it was a blatant lie, I was officially an Uzumaki now. Which made us family, he said, even if it was all a lie. The logic eluded me, but I accepted it for what it was. No more Orochimaru. No more Kazu, with his sadistic hobby of inflicting pain on others. No more Kenta, and his remorseless hatred against all those with bloodline limits. No more Immore, and his raping pack of beasts. No more Kabuto, with his treacherous mug.

Life among the Uzumaki wasn't so bad in comparison, I decided.

Hell, when I later cashed in the lottery ticket, the only item in Tsunade's otherwise ryo-less purse, I even won a nice sum of money. Tsunade knew she had a ticket with the right numbers, but she blamed the wrong person again. Poor Jiraiya. But I just left them at it. To me, it seemed like Jiraiya didn't mind spending time with Tsunade, even if it was her attempting to maim him. Such was the luck of the poor Senju. For once she got a winning ticket, and then she got it taken from her.

Did I mention that I was a thief? Don't tell anyone, though. I don't want them to know the real me. I think I'd rather stay here for a bit longer, if possible.

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**A/N**: That's it! With Itachi and Kisame popping up, I think it is a good moment to end the chapter. Needless to say, Zenchi is not playing fairly. And where is Jiraiya's contact? I'm curious to see if any of you can already figure out who is playing who. The bonus section was a bit of an experiment this time. Hopefully it was enjoyable regardless of that.

It slipped my mind, but I never recommended another story in the last chapter. Let's fix that by pointing you all at **Whirlpool Among the Eddies** by **CRed1988**. It is a story focusing on the alternative role which Karin could have had during the Chunin Exams. It is always nice to read about Naruto discovering a lost relative, and on top of it all, finding some of his clan's lost legacy too. Yes, I like this story quite a lot. Check it out, and leave some reviews to support a fellow author!

As always I thank **Illuminated** for his role in the creation of the story (without him there wouldn't have been a Terasu). What's left is the usual thing: keep me motivated by leaving **reviews**! And don't forget to check out my new oneshot! Hokage Himawari orders you!

-Z-

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**Additional information:**

_Chiji _is the Japanese term for governor. A chiji is the highest ranking executive of a prefecture, both as magistrate, administrator, and military leader of the local forces. While it is a position that is directly elected for a four-year term in the modern-day Japan, I altered things for the sake of this story, as the world in Naruto seems more militaristic and aristocratic than democratic. After all, power and heritage seem to be key factors in the government of Konoha, and what little Kishimoto told us about the rest of the world mostly resolves around the hereditary Daimyo system. In case of Zenchi, this means he doesn't really stand at the front of the line in terms of succeeding his father. But due to his actions, Zenchi was appointed to be chiji of the northern region by the Daimyo himself, which is effectively a demotion.

Strongly summarized, in modern Japan the government has three branches which operate below the Emperor, who more or less holds a ceremonial function. These three branches are the executive branch, which governs the country, the legislative branch, which creates the laws, and the judicial branch. Obviously, the local government is subject to these three branches. In other words, while Zenchi held a position in one of the three branches prior, he got 'cast out' of the capital to a lower position in the local government.


End file.
